Promotional material for Sword Snow Stride Photo: Courtesy of Tencent Video

One of the most anticipated dramas of 2021, Sword Snow Stride debuted on Chinese streaming platform Tencent Video on Wednesday. The period drama follows young Xu Fengnian (Zhang Ruoyun) as he travels a long and bumpy road to become the king of Northern Liang. 

Based on the popular web novel by writer Fenghuoxizhuhou, the series not only covers times of war and peace among the kingdoms depicted in the novel, but also follows Xu's time spent studying with martial arts and became masters or wuxia. 

A genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China, wuxia has always been a favorite among young people in China and Chinese-speaking communities around the world. 

The first six episodes released on the site introduce Xu and the other characters in Northern Liang, either among the grassroots of society or at the king's court. The show has become a new hit not only for its attention-grabbing story, but also through its characters - simple but real people with their own responsibilities and obligations. 

Lao Huang, Xu's horseman, spent three years with Xu during their adventures in the southern kingdoms and accompanies Xu to meet different challenges in the series. But one day, after their return to their comfortable home, he makes a decision to leave to complete an unfinished task and a promise for a new challenge. 

The show is a reminder of the importance of key positive messages like promise and growth, especially for young people like Xu, as they chase their dreams and challenge the impossible. 

As a result, the show has become a hot topic on social media platforms such as Sina Weibo and Chinese media review platform Douban.