Xi Shuo Qian Long 戏说乾隆

Another classic Chinese drama series that I used to watch, this is about the Qing dynasty's Emperor Qian Long. I especially like the theme songs (link to Youtube below). The show has also been released on DVD, though the one with English subtitles doesn't seem to have a good review (something about the English translation being lousy). I guess that means our non-Chinese speaking friends won't get to enjoy this classic show.

The show is about Emperor Qian Long and his exploits, as he travels undercover to take a look at the real world, rather than the coloured version that he gets through his ministers attending court. At 42 episodes (for the first season), this is a long-running show, but it is interesting and will keep you glued to the TV watching episode after episode (if you have the DVD...) I remember having to wait through the week trying to find out what is going to happen during the next episode (they used to air only two episodes a week, if I remember correctly).

Adam Cheng portrays the part of the emperor just great. I guess it takes an experienced actor to be able to pull it off, since the part requires both charisma, wit and character. Angie Chiu portrays his love interest and does so quite nicely too.

Besides the first season, there is also a second season to the drama series. The two seasons are usually known as "The Legendary Chien Lung" and "The Legendary Chien Lung II" in English, while "Xi Shuo Qian Long" is the hanyu pinyin (aka romanization) of the Chinese characters 戏说乾隆, which is the title of the show in Chinese.

The opening theme song at Youtube
All three theme songs at Youtube
Watch the episodes online