# Candle in the Tomb: The Lost Caverns (龙岭迷窟)
**Candle in the Tomb: The Lost Caverns** (龙岭迷窟, also known as 鬼吹灯之龙岭迷窟) is a Chinese 18-episode adventure web series that premiered on [Tencent Video](https://www.edgepedia.org/tencent-video) on April 1, 2020 and concluded on April 29, 2020[1](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/47053/candle-in-the-tomb-the-lost-caverns). Adapted from the second volume of Tianxia Bachang's (天下霸唱) novel series *Ghost Blows Out the Light* (鬼吹灯), it follows tomb raiders Hu Bayi, Shirley Yang, and Wang Kaixuan (Fatty Wang) as they investigate an abandoned Tang-dynasty tomb in the Longling hills of Shaanxi Province[2](https://ycpai.ycwb.com/ycppad/content/2020-04/01/content_734968.html) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12075220/). The series was the fourth *Ghost Blows Out the Light* web drama produced, and it became the highest-rated screen adaptation of the franchise, holding a Douban score of 8.3[4](https://ent.people.com.cn/n1/2020/0328/c1012-31652010.html) • [5](https://ep.ycwb.com/epaper/ycwb/resfile/2020-04-24/A13G/ycwb20200424A13G.pdf).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | 龙岭迷窟 (Gui Chui Deng Zhi Long Ling Mi Ku)[1](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/47053/candle-in-the-tomb-the-lost-caverns) |
| Run | 18 episodes, Tencent Video, April 1 to April 29, 2020, Wednesdays 20:00[1](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/47053/candle-in-the-tomb-the-lost-caverns) |
| Director / executive producer | Fei Zhenxiang (director); Guan Hu (监制)[6](https://gd.people.com.cn/n2/2020/0403/c123932-33925477.html) |
| Main cast | Pan Yueming as Hu Bayi, Zhang Yuqi as Shirley Yang, Jiang Chao as Wang Kaixuan, Gao Weiguang as Partridge Whistle, Tong Lei as Da Jinya[7](https://k.sina.cn/article_1477150671_580b87cf00100wo48.html) |
| Douban rating | 8.3, the highest of any *Ghost Blows Out the Light* screen adaptation at the time[5](https://ep.ycwb.com/epaper/ycwb/resfile/2020-04-24/A13G/ycwb20200424A13G.pdf) |
| Franchise role | First installment of a five-part consecutive production plan with a fixed lead cast[8](https://www3.xinhuanet.com/ent/20210913/c1d3617d06db49999a367379c016f13e/c.html) |
| IMDb rating | 7.4/10[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12075220/) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
The story picks up after the events of the Jingjue ancient city expedition. Hu Bayi and Wang Kaixuan, together with the antique dealer Da Jinya, are drawn to the fictional county of Gulan in Shaanxi by a story about an embroidered shoe unearthed from a tomb. After falling into the Longling labyrinth caverns and suffering a bat attack, they discover red spots on their bodies and meet Shirley Yang, who is investigating the same curse. Guided by the blind old tomb raider Chen Blind (陈瞎子), they learn the story of Partridge Whistle (鹧鸪哨) and Master Liaochen's search for the Muchen Pearl (雮尘珠), the artifact that can lift the curse, and descend into a abandoned Tang-dynasty tomb beneath the Fish Bone Temple, where they face traps including the Suspended Soul Staircase and a chessboard mechanism before recovering the Dragon Bone Heavenly Book[9](https://wetv.vip/zh-cn/play/zd567j31yuhj933/z0033rlkzt0-%E9%BE%99%E5%B2%AD%E8%BF%B7%E7%AA%9F_01). The finale leaves the Muchen Pearl's location pointing toward Yunnan, setting up the sequel[10](https://ent.people.com.cn/n1/2020/0425/c1012-31687480.html).
### Place in the franchise
**A turning point for the IP.** Before *The Lost Caverns*, the *Ghost Blows Out the Light* adaptations had been scattered across film studios and changing casts, with quality that varied widely; of eleven rated adaptations counted by 1905.com, six scored below 5 on Douban[17](https://www.1905.com/news/20200411/1449594.shtml) • [19](https://www.forbeschina.com/city/48404). Starting with this series, Penguin Pictures committed to shooting five installments consecutively with one creative team and a fixed cast of Pan Yueming, Zhang Yuqi, and Jiang Chao, followed by *[The Worm Valley](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-worm-valley)* (云南虫谷), *Kunlun Shrine*, *The South Sea Tomb*, and *The Coffin in the Wu Gorge*[8](https://www3.xinhuanet.com/ent/20210913/c1d3617d06db49999a367379c016f13e/c.html). Each installment was given a distinct visual palette tied to its setting, with *The Lost Caverns* carrying the yellow of northern Shaanxi[8](https://www3.xinhuanet.com/ent/20210913/c1d3617d06db49999a367379c016f13e/c.html).
A separate, unrelated web film with the same Chinese title, *Gui Chui Deng Zhi Long Ling Mi Ku*, directed by Piao Zhutian and starring Lin Yushen, was released on iQIYI on April 2, 2020 and scored about 3.0 on Douban, a contrast widely covered in the Chinese press[20](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E9%AC%BC%E5%90%B9%E7%81%AF%E4%B9%8B%E9%BE%99%E5%B2%AD%E8%BF%B7%E7%AA%9F/19270140?fromModule=lemma_inlink) • [17](https://www.1905.com/news/20200411/1449594.shtml). An interactive spin-off, *The Last Mountaineer of the Migratory Tombs* (龙岭迷窟之最后的搬山道人), launched on Tencent Video during the series' run[21](https://www.10100.com/article/52768718).
## Adaptation choices
**The screenwriter's three changes.** Chief screenwriter [Yang Zhe](https://www.edgepedia.org/yang-zhe) described the adaptation as doing three things: reordering the story, adding supplementary plot, and adding adventure-film elements[11](https://k.sina.cn/article_3970126254_eca351ae02700puil.html?from=ent&subch=oent). The novel is not continuous from start to finish, so the writers rearranged events so the story would flow in one sweep[11](https://k.sina.cn/article_3970126254_eca351ae02700puil.html?from=ent&subch=oent).
Two changes stand out. In the novel, the farmer Li Chunlai sells a single embroidered shoe in Beijing and Hu Bayi buys it for 600 yuan, after which the three men decide on their own to hunt antiques in Shaanxi; the series instead has Hu Bayi, Wang Kaixuan, and Da Jinya travel back to Li Chunlai's home village to see a box of tomb goods, which gives the trip a concrete motive[11](https://k.sina.cn/article_3970126254_eca351ae02700puil.html?from=ent&subch=oent). The coffin-shop owner Ma Dabao, nearly absent from the book, was expanded into the antagonist who lures the trio into the trap and later forces them into the tomb[11](https://k.sina.cn/article_3970126254_eca351ae02700puil.html?from=ent&subch=oent). Shirley Yang's entrance was also moved earlier: she appears in episode two as a setup for joining the adventure, whereas in the novel she arrives in the second half[11](https://k.sina.cn/article_3970126254_eca351ae02700puil.html?from=ent&subch=oent).
Reviewers noted that some of the novel's puzzle sequences, particularly the Suspended Soul Staircase, were simplified, which critics said weakened the original's logical tension even as it tightened the screen pacing[12](https://yule.360.com/detail/5164894).
## Production
Filming began in May 2019 in Yulin, Shaanxi[4](https://ent.people.com.cn/n1/2020/0328/c1012-31652010.html). The series was produced by Penguin Pictures with Wanda Pictures and 7 Impressions Culture[7](https://k.sina.cn/article_1477150671_580b87cf00100wo48.html).
Cinematographer Chen Ying described a deliberate visual identity for the [Loess Plateau](https://www.edgepedia.org/loess-plateau) setting: a saturated orange-yellow palette, with the director summarizing the desired texture in four words, "dry, stubborn, coarse, parched" (干、艮、倔、燥)[13](https://www.sohu.com/a/392083815_652472). She proposed a 2.66:1 widescreen aspect ratio, unusual for a web series, to exploit the landscape; the production built 20,000 square meters of interior sets and rigged full lighting across 3 kilometers of cave locations, and the visual-effects teams joined preproduction to keep the underground scenes coherent[13](https://www.sohu.com/a/392083815_652472) • [14](https://www.jiemian.com/article/4219287.html). Filming dark spaces lit only by torches, candles, flashlights, and fluorescent lamps was a stated technical challenge[13](https://www.sohu.com/a/392083815_652472).
The title sequence calligraphy and the theme-song lyrics were contributed by lead actor Pan Yueming[15](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_7271464).
## Reception
The series opened to a Douban score of 8.4 and settled at 8.3 by its finale, the highest rating of any *Ghost Blows Out the Light* screen adaptation to that point[16](https://ycpai.ycwb.com/ycppad/content/2020-04/07/content_745672.html) • [5](https://ep.ycwb.com/epaper/ycwb/resfile/2020-04-24/A13G/ycwb20200424A13G.pdf). Viewer praise centered on the casting, the period detail of 1980s Beijing's Panjiayuan antique market, the leads' Beijing-accented banter, and fidelity to the novel[15](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_7271464) • [17](https://www.1905.com/news/20200411/1449594.shtml). A data review put cumulative plays at 2.30 billion, Weibo topic reads at 1.14 billion, and the audience at 63 percent male[18](https://23813463.s21i.faiusr.com/61/ABUIABA9GAAgvMX2gwYolp3Mag.pdf). On IMDb the series holds 7.4/10[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12075220/).
## References
1. [Candle in the Tomb: The Lost Caverns, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/47053/candle-in-the-tomb-the-lost-caverns)
2. [网剧《龙岭迷窟》今起开播，潘粤明主演胡八一, 羊城晚报](https://ycpai.ycwb.com/ycppad/content/2020-04/01/content_734968.html)
3. [Candle in the Tomb: The Lost Caverns, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12075220/)
4. [潘粤明出演"胡八一"《龙岭迷窟》定档, 人民网](https://ent.people.com.cn/n1/2020/0328/c1012-31652010.html)
5. [《龙岭迷窟》收官，口碑稳住了, 羊城晚报](https://ep.ycwb.com/epaper/ycwb/resfile/2020-04-24/A13G/ycwb20200424A13G.pdf)
6. [新剧《龙岭迷窟》开播热度高, 广州日报 via 人民网](https://gd.people.com.cn/n2/2020/0403/c123932-33925477.html)
7. [《鬼吹灯》五年改编17部，潘粤明之后再无胡八一？, 新浪娱乐](https://k.sina.cn/article_1477150671_580b87cf00100wo48.html)
8. [国产系列剧"火不过三"怎么破？, 新华网](https://www3.xinhuanet.com/ent/20210913/c1d3617d06db49999a367379c016f13e/c.html)
9. [龙岭迷窟 第01集, WeTV](https://wetv.vip/zh-cn/play/zd567j31yuhj933/z0033rlkzt0-%E9%BE%99%E5%B2%AD%E8%BF%B7%E7%AA%9F_01)
10. [《鬼吹灯之龙岭迷窟》原班人马出演续集《云南虫谷》, 人民网](https://ent.people.com.cn/n1/2020/0425/c1012-31687480.html)
11. [杨哲：悬疑冒险剧的趣味男女有别, 新浪娱乐](https://k.sina.cn/article_3970126254_eca351ae02700puil.html?from=ent&subch=oent)
12. [《龙岭迷窟》：踏破龙岭迷局，重启盗墓国风史诗, 360娱乐](https://yule.360.com/detail/5164894)
13. [专访《龙岭迷窟》摄影指导陈莹老师和灯光师刘中顺, 搜狐/ARRI](https://www.sohu.com/a/392083815_652472)
14. [连载IP影视化的难题，《龙岭迷窟》解决了吗？, 界面新闻](https://www.jiemian.com/article/4219287.html)
15. [《龙岭迷窟》：节奏很对，也有内味儿, 澎湃新闻](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_7271464)
16. [豆瓣破8分，爆款网剧《龙岭迷窟》霸榜了！, 羊城晚报](https://ycpai.ycwb.com/ycppad/content/2020-04/07/content_745672.html)
17. [网剧8.2分网大2.9分《龙岭迷窟》为何口碑两极？, 1905电影网](https://www.1905.com/news/20200411/1449594.shtml)
18. [《龙岭迷窟》数据复盘 (industry presentation PDF)](https://23813463.s21i.faiusr.com/61/ABUIABA9GAAgvMX2gwYolp3Mag.pdf)
19. [《龙岭迷窟》再掀"盗墓潮"，盘点那些鬼吹灯IP改编, 福布斯中国](https://www.forbeschina.com/city/48404)
20. [鬼吹灯之龙岭迷窟（2020年电影）, 百度百科](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E9%AC%BC%E5%90%B9%E7%81%AF%E4%B9%8B%E9%BE%99%E5%B2%AD%E8%BF%B7%E7%AA%9F/19270140?fromModule=lemma_inlink)
21. [欢迎你，新的玩家！龙岭迷窟互动剧今日上线！, 大数跨境](https://www.10100.com/article/52768718)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › East Asian drama series › East Asian web and streaming serials › Titles symbols to Co*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license