Chinese spinoff drama on royal affairs debuts on Netflix
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E-mail chinadaily.com.cn, January 10, 2020
Statistics from broadcasting tracker CSM Media Research show that the Chinese TV drama ran for 42 episodes per series in 2018 on average.
Considering that dramas on Netflix are much shorter, Princess Adventures recounts "a comparatively simple story" to be told in just six episodes, Yu adds.
"Most domestic production companies are still exploring how to better sell Chinese stories abroad. I hope this drama demonstrates the beauty of Chinese culture to foreign audiences," Yu says.
Yu, who shot to fame after penning the 2005 TV series Yanhua Sanyue (The Spring of March), has since written and produced more than 20 period dramas featuring lavish sets and exquisite costumes.
A production highlight of the Story of Yanxi Palace is that ahead of filming the 2018 series the props team had invited artisans to make replicas of, or seek inspiration from, the jewelry and outfits once worn by the queens and concubines of the Qing Dynasty that are now displayed at the Palace Museum (Forbidden City) in Beijing.
"We used the same department to design the costumes and makeup for Princess Adventures with the aim of recreating the royal lifestyle of the Qing era as realistically as possible," says Yu.
Yu says he enjoyed the atmosphere, "which felt like traveling back in time" during the shooting of Princess Adventures in Hengdian, the country's largest studio base for TV and film in Zhejiang province, where sets replicating imperial architecture have been built.
"When the camera starts to roll, it feels like you are jumping into another world. You can see 'ancient figures' walk and speak, ... and the kind of scenery that has always captivated me and given me the impetus to keep on writing," he adds.
A key ingredient in making period dramas popular, Yu says, is character development.
"The audience wants to see someone special, but you also need to make the character convincing and relatable," he adds.
Before Princess Adventures, other period dramas that have won recognition in overseas markets include The Legend of Luzhen (2013) and The Legend of Haolan (2019), contributing to an increase in foreign audience's curiosity about Chinese history and culture.
TV series can do more than entertain, Yu says.
"They can create an interest in the legacy of Chinese culture and encourage more people to join the preservation and passing on of traditional craftsmanship."
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