Promotional material for Candle in the Kunlun Tomb Photo: Courtesy of Douban

'Kunlun Tomb': Adaptation of popular web novel lifts veil on mysterious Chinese legend

A TV adaptation of an extremely popular Chinese web novel has won great reviews from viewers since it was released on September 20. With its fantasy-background and tight compact storyline, the show's adventures into mysterious tombs have captured the attention of the public.  

The streaming series Candle in the Tomb: Kunlun Tomb, adapted from the popular web novel Candle in the Tomb, follows a three-member expedition team after they arrive on the snowy plateau of Southwest China to seek out the legendary frozen corpse recorded in the traditional Tibetan Opera Epic of King Gesar.

At the request of an antique dealer from Hong Kong, who seeks to unlock the secrets of the frozen corpse, the expedition team consisting of Hu Bayi, Shirley Yang and Wang Kaixuan start a new adventure on the snowy plateau.

The storyline is a sequel to the previous series Candle in the Tomb: The Worm Valley, which saw the team head deep into the ancient Dian Kingdom to find a way to save the local people. 

In Kunlun Tomb, the expedition team will continue to explore their next destination: snowy mountains in Xizang Au.

The series kicked off to a stunning start as Hu wakes up in a multi-layered inverted dream and Wang (nicknamed Chubby boy Wang in the story) is infected with a strange disease that causes him to turn into a scary mummy from time to time.

Director Guan Hu has done a good job in grabbing the attention of the audience by creating an atmosphere that intertwines suspense, tension and mystery.

The series is led by actors Pan Yueming, Jiang Chao and actress Zhang Yuqi.

Pan said that he was very impressed by the special effects that bring the show's monsters to the small screen. 

"The monsters are really life-like and the scene with them is both scary and funny. It is my favorite," Pan told the China Youth Daily.

In addition, the series also visited remarkable filming locations. Beautiful aerial shots above the Garze Ink Stone Park in Southwest China's Sichuan Province and the glaciers in the Xizang Autonomous Region help ground the fantasy show in reality. 

The production team revealed that nearly 7,000 special effect shots are in the series, which currently has a score of 8.2/10 on review platform Douban.

Global Times