Diving into Xiao Zhan's World in 'Legend of Zang Hai', Everything You Need to Know

In general, the Legend of Zang Hai tells the story of Zhi Nu, the son of the Head Astronomer of the Yong Dynasty Empire, whose family was slaughtered in one night. After going through a period of fleeing and intense training, he returns disguised as Zang Hai, a clever advisor who manages to penetrate the palace circles.

His main goal is to uncover the conspiracy that destroyed his family and take revenge. However, as he becomes more deeply involved in state affairs, a change of heart occurs, leading him to prioritize the welfare of the people over personal vengeance.

In this drama, Xiao Zhan plays Zang Hai (also known as Zhi Nu), a protagonist who initially appears cold, sharp, and harbors great anger towards those responsible for the massacre of his family. As the story unfolds, the audience will see his gentle side when he begins to be moved by the suffering of the people he leads.

Meanwhile, Zhang Jingyi plays Xiang An Tu, an intelligent woman with a sharp political vision and her own family agenda. Initially, their relationship is based solely on mutual interests. Zang Hai seeks to gain power for revenge, while Xiang An Tu tries to expand her family's political influence. However, it eventually develops into a deep strategic cooperation, which ultimately fosters seeds of love as well as inner conflict for both of them.

This drama is an adaptation of a novel titled Zang Hai Zhuan by Nanpai Sanshu, a writer known for a series of popular mystery and adventure novels such as The Lost Tomb. In the adaptation process, the script was written by Zhao Liuyi, while the director's chair was filled by Zheng Xiaolong, whose name is associated with the cinematic quality of palace dramas, along with co-director Cao Yiwen, who has worked on several renowned productions.

The shooting process began on December 30, 2023, at Hengdian World Studios, an iconic location for many Chinese costume dramas. The production team built ancient city sets and magnificent palaces to support the atmosphere of the Yong Dynasty era. After more than five months, the shooting officially concluded on June 1, 2024, marking one of the productions with the longest shooting duration in recent years.

The audience's enthusiasm for Legend of Zang Hai was evident long before the first episode was released. On September 10, 2024, Youku officially included this drama in its featured list for 2025, followed by an announcement as one of the 'Most Anticipated Works' at the Weibo Vision Conference. Thanks to the reputation of both lead actors and the original novel's author, the drama achieved a record of 9.7 million reservations on Youku before airing, the highest number in the platform's history.

In just 38 hours after its premiere, its popularity soared beyond 10,000 points on the heat index on Youku, and the television rating on CCTV on the first day reached 2.4666%, surpassing various other programs in the same time slot. Internationally, during its first week of airing, this drama ranked first on Disney+ Taiwan for seven consecutive days, and also entered the Top 10 in regions such as Hong Kong, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Russia, and even Ukraine.

Legend of Zang Hai marks Zhang Jingyi's debut in a grand costume drama, where she had to learn the body language of the ancient palace, dressing styles, and etiquette in the imperial government environment to convincingly portray Xiang An Tu.

The original soundtrack features renowned musicians such as Sun Nan, Yuan Yuwei, Xilinnayi Gao, and Dan Yichun, with the theme song It’s Me sung by Sun Nan, a Mandopop legend. Interesting, right? So don’t miss out!