The Journey of Flower

Synopsis

Hua Qiangu (Zanilia Zhao) is an unlucky orphan who is born with a strange scent which attracts demons, and therefore is hated and feared by all the villagers. When she faces danger, she is saved by a man called Mo Bing, who is actually Bai Zihua in disguise. Bai Zihua (Wallace Huo) is a kind-hearted demigod who wants to protect all the Earthly beings. The only calamity in his life is actually Hua Qiangu, whom he is tasked to kill by his master. However, after witnessing her kind heart and foreseeing her tragic future, he spares her life.

In search of her benefactor, Hua Qiangu heads to Chang Liu, the immortal mountain. With the help of Bai Zihua, she passes through various trials and tribulations to become his only disciple. As the two spend more time together, Hua Qiangu falls in love with her teacher, but doesn't reveal her true feelings until the end. Eventually, the truth has been revealed that she was born as Nü Wa's descendant and has access to godly power. When Bai Zihua falls into danger, she summoned the Demon God to save her master. The Demon God transferred all his power into her body afterwards.

With the death of Tang Bao and her friends, Hua Qiangu fell into desolateness and with that, unleashes the Great Desolate Energy Force and became the new Ruler of the Demons. Bai Zihua tries to get her to return to the righteous path, and comes to her side alone to accompany her. When Hua Qiangu realizes Bai Zihua's true feelings for her, she decided to let herself be killed by him to restore peace to the world.

After Hua Qiangu died, Bai Zihua feels extremely remorseful. One of the three masters from Chang Liu, Mo Yan, decided to use the power of nature to exchange his life for hers and restored her. In the end, Bai Zihua decides to leave Chang Liu to take care of Hua Qiangu.

Production

Fresh Guoguo, the writer of the novel, was recruited to be one of the scriptwriters of the drama. Academy-award nominee Chung Munhai, who was the costume designer of the movie Curse of the Golden Flower was also recruited on set. The 3D effects are handled by the company Prime Focus.

The shooting of the drama started on May 6, 2014, in Guangxi, China and was wrapped up on September 14, 2014 in Hengdian World Studios, China. The preliminary work started one and a half years ago, including choosing of outdoor scene locations and building filming sites in scenic spots in Guangxi.

Reception

Two versions of a three-minute short trailer, one in Chinese and the other dubbed in English, were released online, receiving more than 280 million views on Weibo and becoming one of the hottest topics on social media. In October 2014, two longer trailers dubbed in both Chinese and English language have been released in Cannes, France and received an overwhelming response.

The drama was a huge commercial success in China, with an average rating of 2.784% (CMS50) and 2.213% (nation-wide), becoming the second highest rated drama of the year. It also became the first Chinese drama to surpass 20 billion online views. A licensed mobile game was also released, and brought in more than 10 million active players and 200 million yuan in revenue in its first two months.

In 2016, The Journey of Flower was featured on the New York Times.

International broadcast