Beijing (CNN) China's hugely successful period dramas could be facing increased scrutiny from the Communist Party and its ever-widening dragnet of cultural censorship. In the spotlight is "Story of Yanxi Palace," an epic 70-episode series about a maid's rise to power in the court of the Qianlong Emperor, who ruled China between 1735 and 1796. More than half a billion Chinese viewers watched it online in a single day last August, with the series streamed more than 15 billion times in total. An editorial in a state-run paper accused the showed of being 'incompatible' with socialist values. It also criticized the notion that characters in the show were more popular than communist heroes in state propaganda.

Source: CNN February 03, 2019 02:48 UTC