Thanks to a gripping plot and a strong and clever female lead, Chinese imperial drama Story Of Yanxi Palace easily became one of the biggest Asian television hits of the year.
In China, the 70-episode series, starring relative unknowns such as Wu Jinyan and Qin Lan, racked up a cumulative 13.3 billion views, which averaged to about 190 million views an episode.
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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 26, 2018, with the headline Look like Chinese royalty. Subscribe