The show stars actor Lei Jiayin, who plays the role of Zhang Xiaojing, a criminal on death row.[Photo provided to China Daily]

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.