My Fair Princess

My Fair Princess, also known as Return of the Pearl Princess or Princess Returning Pearl (Chinese: 還珠格格), is a 1998-1999 television costume drama jointly produced by Yi Ren Communications Co. (怡人傳播公司) in Taiwan and Hunan Broadcasting System in Mainland China. Season 1 (1998) was filmed in 1997, and Season 2 (1999) in 1998-1999. Both seasons were filmed in Beijing, Chengde and the Bashang Plateau on the mainland, and first shown on China Television in Taiwan.

Written by creator Chiung Yao, the Cinderella-like story is set in 18th-century Qing dynasty during the Qianlong Emperor's reign. It follows tomboyish and innocent Xiaoyanzi, originally an orphaned and semiliterate vagrant in Beijing who, after befriending the emperor's illegitimate daughter Xia Ziwei, becomes a princess by accident. Although some characters, the plot premise, and certain sections of the story are based on historical events and figures, considerable artistic license was employed.

A massive international hit in East Asia and Southeast Asia, the drama is considered the most commercially successful Chinese-language series in history. Hunan Broadcasting System, after achieving ratings as high as 65% of audience shares, permanently became China's second largest network. Meanwhile, little-known cast members were made household names and huge teen idols over night, like the actress trio of Zhao Wei, Ruby Lin and Fan Bingbing, who are still among the biggest stars in Chinese entertainment more than 15 years later.

My Fair Princess III

My Fair Princess III, also called My Fair Princess III: Heavenly Earth, is a 2003 television drama and the sequel of the 2-season series My Fair Princess (1998-1999). A joint production between Ho Jan Entertainment International Limited (可人國際影視文化傳播有限公司) in Hong Kong and Hunan Broadcasting System in Mainland China, it was also written by Taiwanese novelist Chiung Yao.

Only 5 actors returned from the first 2 seasons (Zhou Jie, Wang Yan, Zhao Minfen, Wen Haibo and Liu Fang), while 12 recurring characters were portrayed by new actors, including central protagonists Xiaoyanzi, Xia Ziwei, Yongqi and Qianlong Emperor. For this reason the series was not well-received, although it still achieved moderately high ratings in Mainland China.

Cast