Happy Camp has a long list of celebrity guests, including English soccer star David Beckham who played games with 10 girls in the show. Du Haitao (left) and Wu Xin, two young hosts of Happy Camp. Photos provided to China Daily

Long, 42, still takes time away from her daughter and husband to hang out with her crew, all aged 20 something, in bars and karaoke clubs, as she did when the show first started.

"The target audience does not change," she says. "We had to attract people aged 15 to 25 in 1997, and in 2013 we still have to cater to the same group. It means we cannot relax on old modes."

Competition has been stiff, when many producers have bought copyrights of popular shows in the West, such as The Voice and Top Gear. Happy Camp introduced some games from Western shows, too, but Long has always focused more on exploring local talent and content.

She brought in two younger hosts after 2006 and made the hosting team a well-known brand named Happy Family. The team has released an album and shot a film, which grossed a decent 12 million yuan ($1.9 million) on its opening day, Jan 15.

Like other mainland TV producers, she cannot turn to sex or politics, the two important resources for jokes in Western shows. But she'll never call that a restriction.

"Rules are in every industry," she says. "I feel proud that my show, without sex or politics, still makes people laugh."

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Contact the writer at liuw@chinadaily.com.cn.