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4 cool The Guardians posters drop as Zhang Yi Shan and Elvis Han’s C-drama waits for premiere

Michelle Topham September 16, 2025

The guardians poster

Four new posters have dropped for the upcoming Republican-era Chinese drama The Guardians.

The new C-drama is directed by Vincent Yang (Royal Nirvana), and stars Zhang Yi Shan, Elvis Han (aka Han Dong Jun), Zhang Tian Ai, Liu Huan, Zhu Gang Ri Yao and Fan Shi Ran and, as spy thrillers go, this one sounds an intriguing one.

Especially for me, as I recently finished watching Elvis Han in Fake It Till You Make It.

A role in which I was mesmerized watching Han excel as rising star investment banker Xu Zi Quan, and in which the chemistry between him and co-star Elvira Cai was beyond electric.

I am interested then in seeing him get his teeth into the role of Gu Yin Shan. An intelligence agent who involves himself in a kidnapping that almost immediately goes haywire, and something that sounds directly opposite to his portrayal of Xu Zi Quan.

I always love seeing an actor test their chops, and this looks like it might be the perfect chance.

The Guardians poster

Co-star Zhang Yi Shan always nails his performances as well, so I am expecting great things from this.

The plot of The Guardians goes like this:

In 1939, a Shanghai intelligence agent, Gu Yangshan (played by Elvis Han), kidnaps Joseph Needham, a blind cryptographer and also his Oxford University alumnus. He forces him to abandon his work developing encryption codes for the Japanese army.

A stage extra from the Chaosheng Theatre Troupe, Ding Yi (played by Zhang Yi Shan), is originally just hired by the fearful Joseph Needham to impersonate him. However, he suddenly finds himself tangled in this unexpected crisis.

To sabotage the development of the enemy’s cryptographic system, Gu Yang Shan has no choice but to continue “employing” Ding Yi to pose as “Joseph Needham,” while he himself takes on the role of his assistant. Together, they must pass through layers of tests to infiltrate the heavily guarded Japanese military facility.

During the mission, the two operatives constantly live on the edge of death. They must not only work to destroy the Japanese code-making project but also be constantly vigilant to prevent anyone from discovering the truth: that Ding Yi is neither blind nor knows even the slightest bit about cryptography.

The espionage-themed drama has not yet received a premiere date but, with four posters being released today, chances are we may not be that far off.

Let’s freaking hope so, eh?

The guardians poster

Especially as The Guardians finished filming waaaaaay back in November, 2023 and that it was announced around the same time that it would be streaming exclusive on YOUKU.

RELATED: The Guardians exceeds 1 million reservations with several days to go before it premieres

The Guardians poster

Along with the four new The Guardians poster releasing today, YOUKU also commented:

#The Guardians Premieres Soon Poster#

In front of the stage, he disguises as a blind expert; behind the scenes, he masterminds a deadly game of strategy. Meanwhile, she navigates through multiple challenges to resolve crises.

Watch the guardians leverage their unique skills, join forces to unravel the plot, and unfold a breathtaking legend of saving the nation!

Starring: Zhang Yi Shan, Elvis Han (listed in order of characters’ surnames)
Lead Starring: Zhang Tian Ai

Reserve now on Youku.

Coming soon, eh? Well, fingers crossed.

Update: The Guardians premieres on September 23rd. Yay, eh?!

About the Author

Michelle Topham

Editor

British-American journalist obsessed with C-dramas, a subject I have been writing about for more than two decades. How many C-dramas have I watched? Many many hundreds. How many are still in my backlog? Hundreds more.

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A blog dedicated to Chinese dramas founded by Michelle Topham -- a British-American journalist who spent almost two decades living in Asia, and wrote about Chinese series for most of that time. That's me!

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