Shiyan to produce TV drama on tai chi master

Officials from Wudang Mountains and Shiyan city in Hubei province announced their plans for a 30-episode TV period drama about martial arts, at a ceremony at the Beijing Broadcasting Tower on Nov 18, wudangshan.gov.cn reported.

Shooting of New Tai Chi Master Zhang Sanfeng, jointly sponsored by the management committee of Wudang Mountains Tourism and Economy Special Region and several film and TV culture companies based in Beijing, will start in Wudang Mountains in April 2014.

The drama is based on the novel by Ouyang Xuezhong, which focuses on the life of tai chi master Zhang Sanfeng, who is credited with originating the concepts of tai chi. According to legend, he observed a bird attacking a snake on Wudang Mountains and was inspired by the snake's defensive tactics to create a 72 movement taijiquan set.

The new generation of martial arts stars, such as Chen Hu, Wu Yue and Wu Jing, are hotly tipped to take on the lead role, and actors like Zhang Jiayi and Sun Honglei are also expected to join the cast.

Representatives of Wudang Mountains and Shiyan, confirmed cast members and director Bryan Leung attended the ceremony, and Chinese painting master Xu Zhan participated in the event, showing off his skills by writing the name of the drama.

Kung fu show

Chinese painting master Xu Zhan shows off his skills by writing the name of the drama.

Calligraphy works of Zhang Sanfeng, the tai chi master

Zhang Daoyuan(center), composer of the theme music of the drama

Director Bryan Leung (right) signs his name.

A costume show

Director (second from right) introduce the plot of the drama.

Group photo of the cast of the drama

Edited by Niva Whyman and Le Qin