Actress Liu Yifei shows off tea acrobatics in her latest outing

A Dream of Splendor, marking A-list star Liu Yifei's return to the historic theme, has quickly hooked millions of views since the 40-episode costume series began streaming on Tencent Video domestically and its overseas platform WeTV on June 2.

Starring Liu as a brave and independent young woman, the tale set in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) is inspired by Jiu Feng Chen, a four-act play about a sophisticated heroine's effort to rescue her friend from domestic violence by Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) playwright Guan Hanqing.

The series features China's traditional tea acrobatics, an equivalent to coffee art, as one of its top draws. Liu's role, a teahouse keeper, demonstrates dazzling skills of pouring tea or creating beautiful patterns on the surface of a cup of tea in some scenes.