'Nirvana in Fire' is a big hit on the small screen

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A visitor at China Pavilion at the recent 2015 Discop Africa, during which participants showcase their latest and most popular TV content. [Photo by Zhai Jianlan/Xinhua]

But she dismissed reports about an English-subtitled version of 55 episodes. "So far we have no such plans," says Li, also the distribution head of Nirvana in Fire, in a telephone interview with China Daily.

Despite there being no official English version, enthusiasm from viewers has led them to create versions with subtitles in other languages.

For now, a version with English subtitles can be had from Viki.com, a Singapore-based video-streaming site, and it is recruiting volunteers to do subtitles in other languages, including Spanish, French, Romanian and Hungarian.

Li says that the series' overseas promotion was launched in September 2014, a year earlier than its Chinese mainland debut.

Separately, the series' producers have participated in nearly all the most influential international television exhibitions in the past 14 months, including the Cannes-held MIPTV, or Marche International des Programmes de Television, one of the world's largest TV and digital content markets.

"We've maintained contacts with foreign traders, and they're pretty interested in the Chinese audience reaction and feedback," she says.

While most homegrown TV serials have English titles translated from their Chinese names, Nirvana in Fire is not the English translation of the Chinese title, but is a name purposely chosen to attract overseas viewers.

The Chinese title is Langya Bang, or The List from Langya, which can be seen as a kind of Forbes list of the smartest, most powerful or most beautiful people in the fictionalized kingdom.

Nirvana in the English title refers to the tragic life of protagonist Mei, who dies in the last episode of the series after he has finished his tough missions. Taken from Indian Buddhism, nirvana means "freedom from an endless cycle of personal reincarnations".

While previous Chinese series which have gained popularity abroad have been mostly adaptations from Chinese classics, such as The Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Journey to the West, Nirvana in Fire is different.

"It proves that a good tale can capture audiences beyond a nation and its culture," says Li.

Hou Hongliang, the producer of Nirvana in Fire, says in earlier interviews that the series highlights justice, patriotism and brotherhood.

Meanwhile, latest available figures show that China is seeing a rise in the exports of movies and TV series, with more than 10,000 hours programs sold to more than 100 countries and regions in Asia, Europe, the Americas and Oceania in 2014.

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