The play is based on "The Biography of Jiao Yulu" written by Yin Yunling and Chen Xin, which was the only one approved by Comrade Xu Junya, wife of Jiao Yulu during his lifetime.

After receiving the topic selection, the screenwriter He Xiangjiu followed Jiao Yulu’s footsteps for more than four months, traveling around Lankao to get an in-depth look at life, and twice to Jiao Yulu’s hometown, Beigushan Village, Boshan District, Zibo City, Shandong Province. Jiao Yulu studied and worked in Harbin Institute of Technology, Luoyang Mining Machinery Factory (now CITIC Heavy Industry Group), and Weishi County in Henan Province. He interviewed more than 120 villagers, comrades, colleagues, and leaders during his lifetime. After the interview, He Xiangjiu went into "reclusion" for half a year to complete the literary script of the play.

After screenwriter He Xiangjiu completed the first draft of the literary script, he invited Jiao Yulu’s second daughter, Sister Jiao Shouyun, to review it, and obtained her approval and her signature on the family power of attorney; he then distributed the script to Lankao, Comrades from the Shandong and Luo mines looked at it extensively and got some revision opinions. The script went through 12 revisions and 4 major revisions. More than 40 national first-class actors participated in the play.

Jiao Yulu’s second daughter Jiao Shouyun trained the actors, and Jiao Shouyun accompanied the crew throughout the creation. Jiao Yulu's grandson Yuyin sang the theme song composed by his mother Jiao Shouyun for the play. The drama was launched on April 18, 2011 at Harbin Institute of Technology. The crew moved from Harbin to Heihe, Qinghe, Luoyang, Lankao, Zibo and other places. After more than three months of filming, the filming was completed on July 6 of the same year in Beigushan Village, Boshan District, Zibo City, Shandong Province, Jiao Yulu's hometown.