Chinese dramas and films

On 30 July 2026, the long‑anticipated sequel to the cult favourite «Mystic Nine» premiered on streaming platform Youku. 

The new 36‑episode series is titled «The Mystic Nine against the Coming Storm» (九门, The Treasured Bajia Book, The Mystic Nine 2, Old Nine Gates 2) and stars William Chan («Love's Ambition», «The Dance of the Storm»), Zeng Shun Xi («Veil of Shadows», «Perfect Match») and Chen Yao («Whispers of Fate», «Echoes of the Self»).

The series is a direct continuation of the story that began in 2016. It expands the universe of «Grave Robbery Note» and «Time Raiders», and sheds light on the relationship between Wu Lao Gou and Huo Xian Gu, which was only briefly touched upon in the original novels.

Set in Changsha in 1930, the plot follows Zhang Qi Shan (William Chan), the city’s defence commander and head of the "Nine Gates", who discovers the mysterious disappearance of all members of his 401st battalion, plus another hundred people from a military hospital.

Read more: William Chan returns to his role from the drama «Mystic Nine»

During his investigation, he finds a mysterious underground location called Ge Shi Lou. To get to the bottom of it, Zhang Qi Shan enlists Wu Lao Gou (Zeng Shun Xi), the fifth master of the "Nine Gates". In the franchise’s lore, Wu Lao Gou is the grandfather of Wu Xie, who appears in other series within this universe.

Chen Yao plays Huo Xian Gu, the only female head of a clan within the "Nine Gates". She leads the Huo clan. Huo Xian Gu and Wu Lao Gou share a complicated romantic past: in her youth, she was in love with him, but he married someone else. She later married a high‑ranking official in Beijing, using that union to strengthen her clan’s position. Their shared history is one of the drama’s key storylines.

The three of them enter a deadly labyrinth, navigate a system of sinister traps, and unexpectedly uncover a large‑scale conspiracy orchestrated by the Japanese (who else could it be?). In addition to the hostile Japanese forces, the "Nine Gates" also face the looming threat of the Kuomintang military authorities.

Filming took place from May to September 2025, primarily in Hengdian. The project became one of the most expensive in the genre’s history, with a budget of 3.6 billion yuan. To create an authentic atmosphere, over a kilometre of a Republic‑era street was recreated.

Even before its release, the series had already garnered over 600,000 advance bookings on Youku. Within the first hours after premiere, it topped Maoyan’s popularity chart, and its rating on Youku surpassed 6,000 points. According to Dengta, first‑day views reached 32.36 million. All three lead characters – Zhang Qi Shan, Huo Xian Gu and Wu Lao Gou – each surpassed the 100‑million popularity mark on premiere day.

One of the most notable achievements came in advertising: the first four episodes contained 49 commercials from 14 brands, totalling 877 seconds – a record for Youku in terms of ads per episode. By the time of the premiere, the series had attracted 14 advertisers, making it the leader in advertising contracts among all 2026 projects.

On premiere day, the series received massive support from Chinese entertainment stars. Social media reported that numerous well‑known actors and singers organised special screenings and posted in support. Among them were Zhang Ruo Nan, Liu Yu Xin, Li Xian, Wang An Yu, Zhao Lu Si, Meng Zi Yi, Bai Lu, Chen Du Ling, Liu Xie Ning, Zhang Kang Le, Li Yi Tong and Chang Hua Sen. In total, more than two dozen celebrities took part in the campaign.

However, the premiere did not escape criticism. In particular, a pool scene involving two male characters sparked considerable controversy, where someone somehow saw something in something that somewhere might be considered something of a extremist nature (but that's not certain). Still, we are confident that Chinese censorship stands firm in guarding our morality and innocence, and that nothing of the sort could ever seep into any pool scene.

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