Young actor Yi Yangqianxi plays protagonist Li Bi.[Photo provided to China Daily]
It is the Lantern Festival, a time when people take to the streets at night to celebrate. But, as the capital faces an imminent enemy attack, the entire city depends on a criminal on death row to save the day.
上元佳节，人潮涌动，灯市繁华。然而，这座都城却正面临着一场敌人的突袭，而拯救整座城市的重任都落在了一个死刑犯的身上。
This is the plot of the current hit thriller series The Longest Day in Chang’an, which stars young singer-actor Yi Yangqianxi, actor Lei Jiayin and Beninese-American actor Djimon Hounsou.
这是近期热播悬疑剧《长安十二时辰》中的情节，该剧由年轻歌手兼演员易烊千玺、演员雷佳音以及贝宁裔美籍演员杰曼·翰苏主演。
Set in Chang’an, today’s Xi’an and capital of Shaanxi province, during the heyday of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the series depicts the events of a single day divided into 12 periods according to the traditional Chinese zodiac.
该剧背景设定在盛唐时期的长安（即今天的陕西省省会西安），讲述了一日之内所发生的事情，而这一天又根据中国传统生肖被分为十二时辰。
The show has been compared by viewers to the US action drama series 24, not just due to its daylong format, but also for its suspenseful storyline and high-end production values.
观众们将这部剧比作美国动作剧集《24小时》，因为除了“一天”的故事设定之外，该剧的剧情也充满了悬念，并拥有超高的制作水准。
The show has been streaming on Youku since June 27, and 20 out of its 48 total episodes have aired as of Thursday.
该剧于6月27日在优酷上首播，截至本周四已更新至第20集（全48集）。
On popular review site Douban, the show reaped a rating of 8.6 out of 10 by more than 134,000 viewers, with nearly half of them awarding it full marks.
在热门影评网站豆瓣上，超过13.4万观众为这部剧打出了8.6的高分，超过半数的观众打了满分10分。
Many reviews laud the show for its historical accuracy, from the costumes down to the sets.
不少剧评盛赞该剧从服装到场景都准确地还原了历史。
The top review on Douban by Shanshui Yanhua, which received over 7,000 likes, says: "The detailed depiction of the city of Chang’an alone deserves a five-star rating. It is a historical show made with deep sincerity."
网友“山水烟花”的这条热门剧评在豆瓣上获得了7000多个赞：“就冲着对长安的还原也要给五星，诚意十足的一部古装剧。”
The beginning of the first episode uses a long take to set the scene of the ancient capital during a festive occasion, drawing the viewer down into the ancient streets of Chang’an to walk among the children, street vendors and officials.
第一集开头便运用了一段长镜头展现古都佳节的情景，带观众回到长安街头，漫步于孩童、小贩和官兵之中。
"All the costumes used in the show, whether for the protagonists or the extras, were made by the team－none of them were rented. We wove and dyed a lot of the cloth and printed the patterns ourselves," director Cao Dun says.
“剧中每一个角色，甚至包括群众演员在内，所有人的服装都是自己制作 —— 没有一件是租来的。很多布都是我们自己织的，上面的图案都是我们自己印染的。”导演曹盾表示。
Even Ma Boyong, the author of the original novel was amazed by the meticulous attention to detail that the director and his team put into the production. For instance, he did not think the team would actually design an entire visual encryption system for sending signals between the watchtowers.
就连原著小说作者马伯庸也惊叹于导演和剧组在拍摄过程中对细节之处的用心。比如，他没想到剧组真的设计出了一整套加密暗号，用以在望楼之间传递情报。
Negative audience reviews about the show mainly center around the show’s plot development and the use of ancient prose in conversations that some found obscure.
而观众对于该剧的负面评价则主要集中于剧情发展以及台词中使用了一些生涩难懂的文言文。
Starting from July, the show has also been launched as paid content on several overseas streaming platforms, including YouTube, Amazon Prime and Viki.
从今年7月起，这部剧也在维姬、亚马逊和优兔等多个海外视频网站作为付费剧集上线。
On Amazon US, one of the top reviews by user Nathan L. says the show is very well executed: "The details put in as well as the professionalism of the crew are superb."
在亚马逊美国网站上，用户Nathan L.的热门评论称这部剧拍的相当不错：“剧中的细节以及剧组的专业程度都没得说。”
The show now has a rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars on the streaming platform, with viewers pleading for more episodes and complete set of subtitles in both English and Chinese.
这部剧如今在亚马逊视频平台上的评分为4.9（满分5分），观众们都在要求更新剧集和中英文完整字幕。
