A scene from the TV series Dream of the Red Chamber, directed by Wang Fulin. [Photo Provided to China Daily]

So when the series celebrated the 30th anniversary of its first airing recently, Ouyang Fenqiang, who played one of the main characters in the TV series, the rebellious and pampered young man Jia Baoyu, decided the crew members of the TV series needed to be brought together for a reunion to mark the occasion.

After six months' preparation it took place in Beijing on June 17, 101 actors and crew members gathering in a concert held in the Great Hall of the People. The audience of about 5,000 was taken down memory lane with songs, dialogue and photos from the series.

Ouyang, 54, an actor-turned-director, has written a book, 1987, Our Dream of the Red Chamber, published in Beijing, which features the reminiscences of leading actors and crew members about their acting in the TV series and its making.

"Initially I didn't want to do the reunion," Ouyang says. "It was a daunting idea in so many ways. I was in constant contact with just a few actors and crew members, most of us having lost contact over the years, and I was unsure about who would want to take part. After all, 30 years is a long time, and we had all moved on in our lives."

In fact, it was impossible that all those involved with the series would attend the union. For one thing, one of the leading actors, Chen Xiaoxu, died of breast cancer at the age of 42 in 2007. That same year, Chen, who played one of the main characters in the series, an introverted and sensitive young woman named Lin Daiyu, had come to public notice again when she was tonsured at a Buddhist temple in Changchun, Jilin province.

Even though the reunion was the biggest for those involved in the 1987 TV series, it was by no means the first. In 2003 more than 70 actors and crew members got together on the CCTV show Artistic Life.