All in a day's work

He says that although the film set was not 100 percent historically accurate, the crew spared no effort in trying to recreate the distinctive flavor of the Tang Dynasty, from the way people talked to the smallest details of their everyday life.

"All the costumes used in the show, whether for the protagonists or the extras, were made by the team－none of them were rented. We wove and dyed a lot of the cloth and printed the patterns ourselves," Cao says.

Ma Boyong, the author of the original novel, says that he endeavored to give a faithful account of the era by doing a lot of background reading and research, consulting with historical experts and going on field trips to historical sites.

However, even he was amazed by the meticulous attention to detail that the director and his team put into the production. For instance, he did not think the team would actually design an entire visual encryption system for sending signals between the watchtowers.

"I feel some of the designs turned out to be better than I initially envisioned. When I was writing the book, I would leave the audience enough room to use their imagination. But the director gave the sets an exquisite presentation using his unique visual language," Ma says to China Daily.

Yu Gengzhe, historian and professor at Shaanxi Normal University, says on Weibo: "The costumes, makeup and props for this show are commendable. Although there are some flaws, the crew has worked very hard and already excelled themselves."