Hit costume drama boosts popularity of places in Palace Museum

As the online costume drama Story of Yanxi Palace wrapped up Monday, it has become another popular small screen work featuring concubines in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) after the 2011 TV series Empresses in the Palace.

Based on palace intrigue, called gong dou, these dramas mainly center on fights among a group of concubines of an emperor.

Full of tricks, conspiracies, revenge and affairs, stories and dramas of this kind have spawned a whole new genre. Despite plethora of similar versions in recent years, the genre has not lost its appeal.