The Longest Day in Chang'an sets the scene of the ancient capital during a festive occasion. [Photo provided to China Daily]

However, even he was amazed by the meticulous attention to detail that the director and his team put into the production. For instance, he did not think the team would actually design an entire visual encryption system for sending signals between the watchtowers.

"I feel some of the designs turned out to be better than I initially envisioned. When I was writing the book, I would leave the audience enough room to use their imagination. But the director gave the sets an exquisite presentation using his unique visual language," Ma says to China Daily.

Yu Gengzhe, historian and professor at Shaanxi Normal University, says on Weibo: "The costumes, makeup and props for this show are commendable. Although there are some flaws, the crew has worked very hard and already excelled themselves."