A popular online fantasy novel's movie adaptation to release in July

A bittersweet romance novel about a 140,000-year-old fox princess and a 50,000-year-old dragon prince recently took to the big screen.

This follows the fever of a TV drama series based on the same story from a popular online fantasy novel, Eternal Love, Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms.

An online novel that transitioned into a multi-platform franchise now has aroused interest from both Chinese and overseas audiences. Xu Fei tells us more about the upcoming movie.

The fantasy film has a very mythical name, "Once Upon A Time".

The TV drama series, based on the hit 2008 online novel, has generated quite a stir. Statistics from Sina Weibo, one of the biggest Chinese social media platforms, show that threads related to the series were viewed over 10 billion times.

Also, the short clips cut from the drama scenes have been played 5.8 billion times.

The lead role, a fox princess, is played by renowned actress Yang Mi in the TV adaptation; she gained mass popularity primarily through her breakthrough role as Luo Qingchuan in the 2011 TV series Palace.

The fox princess in the film is played by a different famous actress.

Crystal Liu Yifei, who is widely known as "Fairy Sister" in the entertainment industry, has a sweet and delicate image in series that bares similarities to her real-life image.

"I know it's important to let audience members become fond of and recognize my character. Thus, I have been working hard to make my portrayal of Princess Bai Qian, known as the High Goddess of the White Fox clan, and the ordinary human Susu close to the original novels. I don't think I'm good at controlling my emotions in impromptu shows. I should thank Yang Yang for his advice. We were demanded to put on an impromptu more frequently than in other movies."

Actor Yang Yang co-stars with her in the upcoming movie and acts as Liu's love interest.

At a recent promotional event, Yang Yang briefly described his acting experience.

"This is a tragic love story, in which I found I had a split mind."

The story weaves a complicated timeline into a fantasy romance that proves even death cannot stop love, and the movie is set in a world where monsters, gods, and humans coexist.

Popular Chinese actress Crystal Liu Yifei (left) and actor Yang Yang (right) portray two star-crossed lovers in a fantasy film "Once Upon A Time", and the pair promote their upcoming movie on Thursday, March 30, 2017 in Beijing. "Once Upon A Time" is scheduled to hit theatres in China on July 21st.[Photo provided to China Plus]

A recently released film trailer demonstrates the dazzling visual effects audiences can expect to see in the movie, while setting a fitting atmosphere for a tragic love story.

Cinema photographer-turned director Zhao Xiaoding and Hollywood veteran Anthony LaMolinara are co-directors for the film and ensure the film is well shot. LaMolinara won Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for his work on Spider-Man 2.

In addition, researchers also found a link between this mythical novel and a time-honored collection of Chinese mythology, the Shan-hai Ching, or Classic of Mountains and Rivers. Many characters and places in the novel actually have roots in the Shan-hai Ching.

This film "Once Upon A Time" is hitting theatres in China on July 21st.

From a novel to a TV drama series and a movie adaptation, this multi-platform franchise has turned out to be a "very savvy" move to gratify readers-turned audiences' interest.