Back in the limelight

A number of scenes are given over to settings modeled on the architecture of the Palace Museum. The interior decoration of the rooms, according to the set designers, match the personalities of the characters from the series.

At the same time, the costumes, makeup and accessories of these characters were partly inspired by portraits of concubines from the era.

The jewelry of the women in the royal court portrayed in the series also attracted a lot of attention. Manchu women wore three pearl earrings on each ear, according to historical documents, which was an important form of etiquette to distinguish them from other women, since the country was ruled by the Manchus in the Qing era.

Thanks to the popularity of the series, Nanjing-based velvet flower artist Zhao Shuxian, 64, has been spending much of his time dealing with requests for interviews－at least two a day, often from the national media.

He is one of the few artists who are still making velvet flowers, a remaining example of the intangible heritage rooted in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu province, that dates back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

Made of silk and copper wires, velvet flowers were popular in ancient times for their long-lasting "blossoms". Its Chinese name, ronghua, a homophone of the word for "glory", is considered auspicious.

Last year, Zhao and his apprentices were invited to create 19 styles of velvet-flower headwear for the series based on photos of hair ornaments housed in the Palace Museum in Beijing.

In the series, Emperor Qianlong's wife Empress Fucha started to wear velvet flowers on her head instead of pearls or jade in order to introduce frugality to the royal harem－a detail that mirrors actual historical events.

The complexity of the velvet flower headwear varies according to the wearer's status, according to Zhao.