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Looks like they may begin filming this week.

That's a really fair point about the video game look. Though to be fair, I think a lot of people confuse 'AI dramas' with cheap AI face-swapping (which is usually just an emergency fix to edit out canceled actors). Tianxing Jiuge isn't doing that.

The big distinction here is that this show is a direct adaptation of a famous 3D donghua (animation). Because anime characters have stylized, physics-defying movements, using AI digital engines to recreate those fantastical elements actually makes sense, much like CGI—as long as the real actors are still anchoring the emotional scenes. If this were a classic, grounded wuxia like The Legend of the Condor Heroes, using AI would be a terrible choice because audiences expect raw, organic, heavy physical stunts. But for a literal anime adaptation, a stylized video-game aesthetic is sort of the point.

As for Yang Xuwen, I don't think he’s hurting for choices. He actually wrapped this up on October 2nd so he could immediately jump straight into filming Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty 5 this month or some time this autumn. Because Tang Dynasty is a massive, high-end franchise that takes months of traditional, gritty on-location shooting, squeezing in this quick 30-day stylized project was probably just an efficient gap-filler for him. Another thing is, in this drama he isn't doing any martial arts since his character is someone who doesn't know martial arts.

But you're definitely right that iQIYI is taking a huge gamble—if the visual blend feels too artificial, audiences will turn it off regardless of the tech behind it.

You’re totally right! I completely missed the true scale of how iQIYI is using the technology when I first looked into it. Your skepticism is spot on—a regular historical drama would never finish 24 episodes in just 30 days.

According to iQIYI’s official press release from their recent Fall iJOY Conference, they are explicitly calling this a 'Live-Action + AI Hybrid Production'. They explained that while the actors and martial arts are real, they used a massive AI shortcut for the environment. Basically, iQIYI spent a year pre-building all the backgrounds and sets digitally on computers before filming even started.

Since the digital world was already finished, the actors just stood in a specialized studio and knocked out all their scenes back-to-back without having to travel or wait for physical sets to be built. So you're entirely right to question the timeline—it is a brand-new industrialized shortcut, and a lot of fans are worried it might end up looking a bit too artificial. To be honest, I am too.

I've never watched the animated series but I've looked it up and it says that the protagonist, Han Fei or Han Feng in this live action, is modelled after a real person in history.

They dropped a second teaser today.
https://x.com/dramaobs/status/2102725414645109114?s=20

I've read that AI technology is mainly used for post-production special effects and visual enhancement. The characters are played by real actors and the action sequences are also done by them.

They dropped a teaser today.
https://x.com/darkrivertes/status/2102613198247760238?s=20

You're welcome! 😊 They had planned to make 10 cases in season 3 but due to the limited broadcast length (maximum 40 episodes), they cut 2 cases out of the main season and compiled them into a miniseries. And also it's said that the production team (Guo Jingyu's team) has a superstition about the number 4. So Strange Chronicles of Tang was not named season 4 though it's considered season 4.

Hi! Season 4 goes by the title of Strange Chronicles of Tang. It uses a micro-short drama format with an average runtime of about 19 minutes per episode. Season 4 aired in December 2025 immediately after season 3. You can watch it on iQiyi.

Synopsis:
Set during the volatile and chaotic twilight of the Warring States period, the story centers on Han Feng, the brilliant, strategically minded Ninth Prince of the Han State. Upon returning to his homeland after years of studying abroad, he finds his kingdom crumbling under severe internal corruption led by malicious officials and facing an imminent existential threat from the predatory Qin State. Refusing to watch his country fall, Han Feng collaborates with the lethal, calculating swordsman Wei Zhuang and the sharp, mysterious tavern owner Zi Nu. Together, they establish a clandestine intelligence and martial arts organization known as "Quicksand". Utilizing philosophical insight, sharp legalist deduction, and high-level combat tactics, the group sets out to solve complex royal conspiracies.
Cast:
Yang Xuwen as Han Feng
Wang Hongyi as Wei Zhuang
Kong Xueer as Zi Nu
Sun Qinghui as Hong Lian
and more.

First day of filming.
https://x.com/ForCdrama/status/2095449146245419209?s=20

For sure, just dropping the latest news for anyone tracking the thread.

The cast has been changed. Yang Xuwen, Kong Xue Er, Wang Hongyi, Sun Qinghui have been cast. The filming will start this week on Thursday, 3 Sept in Hengdian.

Filming will commence this week on Thursday 3 September in Hengdian. The drama stars Yang Xuwen, Kong Xue Er, Wang Hongyi, Sun Qinghui, and more.

Filming is scheduled to start this week, this Thursday 3 September in Hengdian.

Ep. 1 looks promising. I will wait for a few more days so that I can binge watch.

Me neither. I was just saying that your question chimed with that coming from some reviewers in Douban.

Lu Lingfeng really does feel like a different person in S3.
He grew so much—from the hot-blooded, impulsive detective in S1 into a seasoned, calmer (but still passionate) investigator in S2. But in S3, he suddenly regresses back to being reckless and impulsive.

Take that moment when he lets Pei Xijun stalk a suspicious guy alone—what?! Isn’t he supposed to be an experienced general and detective by now? Why would he allow someone—especially someone he cares about—to take on such a dangerous task completely alone? That scene was so out of character, I actually had to pause the series for a few days.

And I couldn’t agree more about the romance. They’ve turned him into a romantic Zorro—all dramatic stares and slow-motion embraces. But those scenes add nothing to the plot. If anything, they weaken his character and distract from the mystery.

For the first time ever, I found myself fast-forwarding through LLF–PXJ romantic scenes—something I never did in S1 or S2.

This is one of the complaints about this season that I read on Douban. AvenueX made a short comment on this issue in one of her videos. Though it could be relevant to the time (Tang period) but for today's Chinese generation it looks like they're glorifying the gentry.

I think part of the reason is that on MDL, many international viewers follow actors first, not stories. Strange Tales doesn’t have mega-idol leads—it’s loved in China for its writing and mystery, not star power—so it flies under the radar here.