Serial thrillers

With their lavish productions, set in exotic locations, online Chinese drama serials are seeing a shift toward storylines that encourage empowerment, Xu Fan reports.

Generating nearly 14 billion "clicks" in around 50 days, the fantasy series Legend of Fuyao has become the most viewed online drama of the summer - the most competitive season for reaching young audiences.

Adapted from the hit novel of the same title, the series, co-headlined by Chinese mainland actress Yang Mi and Taiwan actor Ethan Juan, debuted on streaming platform Tencent Video on June 18, and was also aired on Zhejiang TV from June 18 to Aug 13.