Pursuit Of Jade actress Tian Xiwei touched by the C-drama’s popularity in Singapore

Chinese actress Tian Xiwei referred to Singapore viewers’ warm reception of Pursuit Of Jade during a celebratory dinner on April 13 in Beijing to mark the conclusion of the popular Chinese series.

In the 40-episode period drama, available on streaming platforms such as Netflix, iQiyi and Tencent Video, she plays butcher Fan Changyu opposite Chinese actor Zhang Linghe’s fallen noble Xie Zheng.

At the dinner, Tian, 28, recalled how Pursuit Of Jade surpassed a popularity index of 10,000 on iQiyi and 30,000 on Tencent Video on March 11 after the show’s premiere on March 6. It also debuted at No. 1 on iQiyi International’s weekly top 10 Chinese-language dramas chart.

On that day when the figures were released, she said she was attending a promotional event alongside Zhang and director Zeng Qingjie when her colleagues off-stage reacted with joy at the news. But it had not sunk in for her at that time.

“It hit me only when... people started creating all sorts of memes online,” she said. “I really wanted to share them with the platform executives, but I held back.”

The actress continued: “The next time it hit me was when Pursuit Of Jade performed exceptionally well on Netflix – like in Taiwan and Singapore. I suddenly felt that I had an obligation to contribute to cultural outreach. I realised the direction of my life has taken on a higher purpose: I want to create quality cultural content and let the world see what China has to offer.”

Pursuit Of Jade has gone viral outside China, becoming the first Chinese title to reach No. 5 on Netflix’s global weekly top 10 (non-English) chart and stay there for four consecutive weeks. It is also the platform’s top-ranked drama in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand, outperforming a slew of South Korean titles.

Zhang, 28, also shared his thoughts at the April 13 dinner.

“The (entertainment) industry has faced challenges over the past two years, but the success of Pursuit Of Jade has given me, as well as all the investors, platforms and viewers, some confidence,” he said. “I believe long-form dramas have the potential to spark a new wave of popularity and attract more viewers to this market.”

Thanking the crew members for their hard work and support, the heart-throb added: “I also hope to bring more projects to everyone in the future, so that more people will take an interest in long-form dramas, in me and in the fact that this market still holds promise. Most importantly, I want to thank the viewers for giving Pursuit Of Jade this opportunity.”

Zhang was also in the news earlier in April after he was ambushed by fans at a train station in China.

The star was on his way to take a high-speed train to Changsha city when he was mobbed by fans and paparazzi. The incident allegedly caused a commotion and affected the safety of other passengers.

Zhang’s agency issued a statement on Chinese social media platform Weibo on April 5 condemning the behaviour of those fans. The actor shared the statement on Weibo, urging fans to respect public order and express their support in a safe setting.