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Why Story of Yanxi Palace is a bigger deal for Hongkongers than US-China trade war, Typhoon Mangkhut and the World Cup
- Hit Qing dynasty television series tops list of Google’s top trending searches for the year – just one of six dramas or movies in Hong Kong top 10
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It’s official: Hongkongers cared more about a Chinese television drama more the US-China trade war, monster Typhoon Mangkhut, and everything else this year.
Google on Wednesday announced its top trending searches for this year, with the Chinese drama Story of Yanxi Palace topping the chart, followed by World Cup, WhatsApp Sticker, and Typhoon Mangkhut – one of the most powerful storms on record to hit the city – in September.
In fact, Hongkongers love entertainment so much that, of the top 10 trending searches, six are dramas or movies.
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The 70-episode Story of Yanxi Palace, produced by mainland Chinese companies, is a drama about a quick-witted servant who investigates the death of her older sister amid a power struggle between back-stabbing Qing dynasty imperial concubines vying for the ruler’s affection with the hope that they may one day become empress.
On one Sunday in August, an episode of the drama clocked up 530 million views online, setting a single-day online viewership record in China.
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