What a view | The Longest Day in Chang’an – hit Chinese web series makes it to Amazon Prime Video
- Pop star Jackson Yee takes one of the lead roles and shines in the suspense drama that is set during the Tang dynasty
- The show has been an audience favourite in China and the streaming service is hoping to replicate its success elsewhere
A shadowy gang has infiltrated the city. No one knows who the outlaws really are, but the authorities, terrified of the apparent threat to law and order, have rumbled their presence and are deploying intimidating security forces to cut them down.
It can only be the city of Chang’an, capital of China’s Tang dynasty (618-907), playing host to the latest visually sumptuous, action-flavoured period drama. And what a substantial work The Longest Day in Chang’an, now streaming on Amazon Prime Video, turns out to be, from a vivid cast of characters so extensive it should come with a dramatis personae, to its attention to costume and architectural detail (CGI notwithstanding), to its central, thriller-like storyline.
Seven months of set building were required to realise Chang’an (present-day Xian), but the pay-off is that not a moment is wasted in struggling to picture the action, be it at court, up in watchtowers, down in dusty alleys or at the city gates. Season one of this big-budget blockbuster is now available for bingeing. If only a little more of that big budget had been spent on accurate subtitles.