Filmed in the Prince Gong Mansion itself, Chen Xiao’s first serious lead is looking amazing already.

Chen Xiao + director Hu Mei aka the master of bioepics like Yongzheng Dynasty + Prince Gong in the late Qing
=  Twilight of the Empire 帝国黄昏  aka  epicness in the making.

The series co-stars Chen Xiao’s college classmate Lin Peng  and is based on a non-fiction bibliography of the Prince.

For a glimpse of Prince Gong’s controversial  life, here is the New York Times report on his first international appearance, signing the unequal treaties after the burning of the Summer Palace and the fleeing of his brother the Emperor from Beijing.  Just thinking about the potential depth of this role makes me excited for Chen Xiao.

Prince KUNG is about 28, but looks older; his countenance is not devoid of intelligence, but there was an expression of anxious, nervous care, partly fear struggling with anger, no doubt at finding himself in a position so different from the one he had been accustomed to hold in the presence of the high officials of the Government; yet there was a curious mixture of familiarity and respect in the manner of the officers towards him.

The bioepic even had the promo MV is filmed in the Prince Gong Mansion itself!   It would be pretty awesome if the drama was partly filmed there, too.  Okay, enough talk, here’s the preview MV :