After broadcasting in China in 2020, the Legend of Fei, an adaptation of a novel of the same name, is set to air on VTV2, a Vietnamese state-run broadcaster, during prime time starting November 26, 2021. Photo: Web

Another Chinese costume drama is heading to a state-run television network in Vietnam, where Chinese dramas have continued to spread their wings. 

After broadcasting in China in 2020, the Legend of Fei, an adaptation of a novel of the same name, is set to air on VTV2, a Vietnamese state-run broadcaster, during prime time starting Friday, Vietnamese media has reported. 

The costume drama tells the story of the female warrior Zhou Fei, played by Chinese actress Zhao Liying, and her adventurous experience in the martial arts world with Xie Yun, played by famous actor Wang Yibo.

After broadcasting in China in 2020, the Legend of Fei, an adaptation of a novel of the same name, is set to air on VTV2, a Vietnamese state-run broadcaster. Photo: Web

The drama was extremely popular in China, earning more than 5.4 billion views on Tencent Video, one of China's largest streaming platforms.

It comes as no surprise that Legend of Fei is going on air in Vietnam, as "people in the country have a long history obsessing over China's high-quality productions," Wang, who is working on the translation for the TV drama, told the Global Times.

After broadcasting in China in 2020, the Legend of Fei, an adaptation of a novel of the same name, is set to air on VTV2, a Vietnamese state-run broadcaster. Photo: Web

Chinese-made dramas such as Legend of Fei, Forever Love and Monarch Industry account for more than half the dramas on BiluTV, a Vietnamese streaming platform, with the remaining dramas consisting of local fare and South Korean series.

"Ever since 2010, Chinese TV dramas began to have an absolute advantage in both broadcast time and ratings on stations ranging from Vietnamese national TV stations to local stations," Chen Shishui, a researcher at the Institute of Chinese Studies, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, told the Xinhua News Agency.

The popularity of Chinese dramas has even created some drama itself. In 2019, Vietnamese video broadcasting website Zing Tv was once sued by a Chinese distributor for broadcasting the Chinese costume drama Eternal Love on its website without permission.

As early as in 1993, Chinese high rated drama Desire once gained massive popularity in Vietnam. Afterwards, classic TV series such as Journey to the West, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and classic martial arts TV adaptation The Romance of the Condor Heroes have been broadcast on Vietnamese national TV, Xinhua said.

"It's easy to understand this popularity in Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam that have a familiarity with Chinese culture. The stories have to be sophisticated and attractive of course, but the similarity of cultural backgrounds is our key to raising the audience's interest in these stories," said Wang.