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Things You Probably Didn't Know About The Early Spring
1. 32 episodes became 24
The Early Spring was originally planned to have 32 episodes. It was later re-edited into 24 episodes, with the story's pacing given more emphasis. Heavy censorship-related edits may have reduced it’s original episode count. While it has secured its official release on platforms like Youku and Netflix, viewers have actively discussed noticeable cuts, narrative jumps, and altered pacing attributed to content reviews.
2. Filming Period
The Early Spring was filmed for nearly three months, from September 5 to November 26, 2025, in Beijing and a Harbin. The Harbin winter shoot was particularly challenging.
3. SUN QIAN x HARBIN
Sun Qian has a strong connection to her character. Sun Qian is originally from Harbin, as is her character Shang Zhitao.
4. THE SNOW
When the crew arrived in Harbin in November, there wasn't enough natural snow for the winter scenes. So artificial snow was laid across some l filming locations to create the snowy world we will see on screen.
5. Sun Qian was built for this
Meanwhile. Sun Qian had the home advantage. She is from Harbin, so she was already accustomed CO ( to the freezing weather, while Jing Boran reportedly struggled more with the cold.
6. That scene was filmed at -20°C
The scene where Luan Nian drunkenly chases after Shang Zhitao was reportedly filmed in temperatures reaching 2 around -20°C.
7. Jing Boran went inside a real advertising agency to prepare for Luan Nian. To make his portrayal of an advertising creative director/GM more convincing, Jing Boran spent time inside a real advertising agency, observing the workplace firsthand. He even recorded discussions/arguments in meeting rooms and used them as references for his performance.
8. And Luan Nian's wardrobe wasn't an afterthought either.
Jing Boran reportedly used his own fashion resources to help revamp the character's image, contributing to Luan Nian's polished, clean-cut style and those immaculate suits. So yes... the fits were fitting for a reason. Story sets between 2011 to 2020 so he changed his wardrobe accordingly.
9. SUN QIAN PREPARED TOO
And Jing Boran wasn't the only one doing research. To better embody Shang Zhitao and her advertising career, Sun Qian reportedly obtained an advertising qualification certificate. The commitment from both leads?
10. TONAL SHIFTS
Compared to its source novel, the adapted drama version softens the sharper, more toxic traits of the male lead (Luan Nian, played by Jing Boran) to align better with mainstream viewer friendly and censorship-approved morality guidelines.
11. SOME C-NETIZENS DOUBTED THIS CASTING
Many people in China doubted Jing Boran and Sun Qian as a couple, questioning if their chemistry would be convincing. AND THE CAR KISS HAPPENED
One car kiss changed the conversation.
Before the drama even aired behind-the-scenes footage of their car kiss went viral Suddenly, people were talking about their chemistry for a completely different reason.
WELL...THAT AGED WELL
Before airing, some wondered if Jing Boran and Sun Qian would have chemistry. Now that The Early Spring is on, that xy question is definitely answered. The chemistry is CHEMISTRYING
CONGRATULATIONS!
Five days into its run, The Early Spring surpassed 10.000 Youku heat, becoming Youku's fastest modern romance drama of 2026 to reach the milestone
And the opening OST? Liu Yuning never misses.
LettuceLoveSF9:
Thanks for this tall drink of water! 💦 All this extra info helps quench my TES thirst while enduring for 1 episode per day. Looking forward to more adds to this thread! 👏
Thankyou! Will keep updating more whenever I see some new information about BTS and shoot! I am planning to watch rest of them together to avoid waiting🤣 it is so tempting to see that 13th is online now but have to hold myself for four more days! 🙈🤭
