The rumours refuse to die - is Chinese actress Wu Jinyan dating her co-star Hong Yao from the palace drama Story Of Yanxi Palace (2018)?

There is talk yet again that they are a couple after they were suspected to have recently travelled to Sanya city in Hainan province.

The irony for fans of the popular show is that they play characters who hate each other - Wu played consort Wei Yingluo, whose sister was raped in the drama by Hong's Prince Hongzhou.

Wu, 29, and Hong, 27, who are said to have grown closer to each other while acting in Yanxi Palace, have been dogged by dating rumours since last year.

They were reportedly holidaying together in Bali in February last year. Eagle-eyed netizens saw that they wore identical clothes and similar rings in photos circulated online. But Wu swiftly denied that they are an item.

In April last year, Hong posted a photo of Wu resting her head on his shoulder on Weibo before deleting the photo about 20 minutes later.

In the latest incident, netizens spotted similarities between the video clips Wu posted on social media on Feb 6 and the one Hong that posted last Saturday (Feb 15).

Netizens speculated that they could have stayed in the same hotel room after they noted the similar colours of the flooring, wall and interior decoration.

Besides Yanxi Palace, Wu and Hong have also acted together in dramas such as Untouchable Lovers (2018), The Legend Of Hao Lan (2019) and the new TV serial, Fighting Youth, which has further fuelled speculation that they are dating.