# Demon Girl (半妖倾城)
**Demon Girl** (半妖倾城) is a 2016 Chinese fantasy romance web drama produced by Mango TV and made by Huanyu Film and [Television](https://www.edgepedia.org/television), a script-first production released alongside a comic and novel of the same name credited to Mo Bai Qian Jiu (墨白千九). Written by Yu Zheng and co-directed by Ren Haiyao (任海曜) and Liu Zhenming (刘镇明), it stars Li Yitong as the half-demon Nie Qingcheng and [Zhang Zhehan](https://www.edgepedia.org/zhang-zhehan) as the wealthy young Ming Xia, whose love affair unfolds against the late Qing and Republican-era backdrop.[1](https://www.maigoo.com/citiao/998280.html) The series ran for two seasons of 20 episodes each, with the first season premiering on Mango TV and LeTV on June 30, 2016.[1](https://www.maigoo.com/citiao/998280.html) • [2](https://watch.plex.tv/zh/show/demon-girl-1)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title / English title | 半妖倾城 / Demon Girl; also romanized Ban Yao Qing Cheng[1](https://www.maigoo.com/citiao/998280.html) • [3](https://www.thetvdb.com/series/demon-girl) |
| Production | Mango TV production, made by Huanyu; directors Ren Haiyao and Liu Zhenming; writer Yu Zheng[1](https://www.maigoo.com/citiao/998280.html) |
| Source | Script-first production; the novel of the same name by Mo Bai Qian Jiu and the comic were derivative works based on the television script[1](https://www.maigoo.com/citiao/998280.html) • [5](https://media.people.com.cn/n1/2016/0705/c40606-28523867.html) |
| Format | 2 seasons × 20 episodes, about 45 minutes each; season 1 premiered June 30, 2016 on Mango TV and LeTV[1](https://www.maigoo.com/citiao/998280.html) • [2](https://watch.plex.tv/zh/show/demon-girl-1) |
| Main cast | Li Yitong (Nie Qingcheng), Zhang Zhehan (Ming Xia), Merxat (You Tong), He Ruixian (Jiang Xuewu), Wang Maolei, Liu Min[1](https://www.maigoo.com/citiao/998280.html) |
| Viewership | 10 million views in the first hour, 100 million within 24 hours, and over 1.5 billion total by the end of season 1[4](https://www.sohu.com/a/112424210_197009) |
| Setting | Late Qing to Republican era; in the story the "demons" are aliens, and the plot spans the Ming, Qing, and Republican periods[5](https://media.people.com.cn/n1/2016/0705/c40606-28523867.html) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
The story opens in the late [Qing dynasty](https://www.edgepedia.org/qing-dynasty), when the [Eight-Nation Alliance](https://www.edgepedia.org/eight-nation-alliance) invades Beijing and carries out massacres. Nie Rufeng (王茂蕾), his wife Ying Die (安以轩), and their daughters are caught in the danger. Ying Die sends her husband and children away and faces the invaders alone, transforming into a half-demon with wings to fight them; she dies under their guns, and the transformation is photographed without her knowledge. The scene is witnessed by Jiang Banian, a hospital director who thereafter tracks the demons' whereabouts.[6](https://tongye.cn/tv/banyaoqingcheng/) • [3](https://www.thetvdb.com/series/demon-girl)
Fifteen years later, in the Republican era, the elder daughter Nie Qingcheng (李一桐), raised as an ordinary human and unaware of her own nature, meets the wealthy young Ming Xia (张哲瀚), and the two fall in love after many trials.[6](https://tongye.cn/tv/banyaoqingcheng/) The main storyline follows the entangled love among Nie Qingcheng, Ming Xia, and Jiang Xuewu (何瑞贤), who is obsessed with hunting demons.[3](https://www.thetvdb.com/series/demon-girl) The demon king Hua Yuenong, played by Chen Zihan, appears as the first character to become a demon king, with pointed ears, long nails, and a small sprite companion rendered in a deliberately anime-like style.[7](https://ent.cnr.cn/gd/20160728/t20160728_522807973.shtml)
## The "half-demon" concept
Yu Zheng deliberately redefined the fantasy element. In the drama's setting, the so-called demons are aliens, and the half-demons are the children of aliens and humans; these beings are also tied to the rise and fall of the Qing dynasty. The story background spans the Ming, Qing, and Republican eras.[5](https://media.people.com.cn/n1/2016/0705/c40606-28523867.html) Yu Zheng said he wanted to create a Chinese equivalent of the "alien," rather than relying on the image presented in Western works, and noted that the mix of demon-versus-demon conflict and an alien arriving on Earth required frequent changes of scene and costume and a heavy effects workload.[8](https://yule.bandao.cn/news_html/201703/20170309/news_20170309_2712446.shtml)
The production leaned into a two-dimensional aesthetic: each episode opens with a hand-drawn comic sequence in an ink-wash style that explains the half-demon lore, from origin legends to demon hibernation and demon-hunting, with content updated to match each episode's plot.[7](https://ent.cnr.cn/gd/20160728/t20160728_522807973.shtml)
## Production and release
Yu Zheng's company began filming in December 2015, with him serving as chief producer, artistic director, and lead writer; the official stills and synopsis were released on February 16, 2016.[9](https://m.mxgxt.com/news/view/1497523) In a 2016 interview Yu Zheng described the show as spanning six eras, with many play-within-a-play scenes shot entirely against green screen, so that actors were composited into backgrounds and "every frame required extensive effects."[10](https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1450333) Reported production figures circulated in the press included an investment of 4 million yuan per episode and more than 100 million yuan in total, with the main characters' demon-form accessories said to be made of pure gold.[11](https://www.sohu.com/a/104699161_116162)
Season 1 premiered on Mango TV and LeTV on June 30, 2016, in 20 episodes of about 45 minutes.[1](https://www.maigoo.com/citiao/998280.html) The theme song was performed by Yisa Yu (郁可唯) and was described as the first English-language theme song for a Chinese television drama.[1](https://www.maigoo.com/citiao/998280.html) The season concluded on LeTV in early September 2016, with the finale revealing that the second male lead [You Tong](https://www.edgepedia.org/you-tong) (Merxat) sacrifices himself for love and that Ming Xia loses his memory.[12](https://www.eastyule.com/news/yl/n2016090219342.html) A second season of 20 episodes followed, bringing the total to 40 episodes.[2](https://watch.plex.tv/zh/show/demon-girl-1)
## Reception and transmedia strategy
**Commercial performance.** On Mango TV the first hour of release passed 10 million views and the first 24 hours passed 100 million; by the approach of the season 1 finale the total had passed 1.5 billion, with the show regularly in the top three of web-drama rankings and repeatedly at number one.[4](https://www.sohu.com/a/112424210_197009) An analysis of Mango TV's catalog later reported that 80.65% of the show's viewership came from female viewers, a higher share than for dramas such as *Day and Night* or *Yu Zui* on the same platform.[13](https://pdf.dfcfw.com/pdf/H3_AP201810291223449938_1.pdf) Hashtag topics around the show also drew large readership, with the topic about the character You Tong exceeding 20 million reads.[4](https://www.sohu.com/a/112424210_197009)
**Critical reception was mixed.** A commentary in Sohu's Yingshi Dushé column noted that after six episodes the Douban rating stood at only 3.9 out of 10, and criticized the heavy color grading and the golden demon nails while conceding that the pointed ears and red eyes of the demon transformation were less jarring than online mockery suggested.[11](https://www.sohu.com/a/104699161_116162) People.cn's coverage recorded divided viewer opinion: praise for the lavish sets, costumes, and the looks of the young cast, alongside criticism of the plot's "Mary Sue" qualities.[5](https://media.people.com.cn/n1/2016/0705/c40606-28523867.html)
**Script-first IP development.** Unlike the usual path of adapting an existing hit novel, *Demon Girl* was developed script-first: the television script came first, and a comic and a novel based on the drama, along with a mobile game, were released when the show began airing to build the property's heat.[11](https://www.sohu.com/a/104699161_116162) Yu Zheng said the derivative novel and comic went online during shooting, with physical novels and official merchandise following broadcast, and a film version was a possibility; a concept trailer starring Song Weilong and Wu Jiayi, set in the present day, introduced the world before the season aired.[8](https://yule.bandao.cn/news_html/201703/20170309/news_20170309_2712446.shtml) The second season was promoted as a pioneering "3D web drama," a term its marketers used not for stereoscopic visuals but for a multi-dimensional presentation combining the series with its spin-off media.[8](https://yule.bandao.cn/news_html/201703/20170309/news_20170309_2712446.shtml)
The show also served as a career starting point: it was Li Yitong's first television drama, after which she was cast as Huang Rong in the new *The Legend of the Condor Heroes*.[5](https://media.people.com.cn/n1/2016/0705/c40606-28523867.html) For Wu Jiayi, the two seasons marked her first fantasy drama appearances.[14](https://wetv.vip/zh-cn/star/101034?cid=9mr4yz0safda66w&cidTitle=%E7%90%86%E7%A7%91%E7%94%9F%E5%9D%A0%E5%85%A5%E6%83%85%E7%BD%91)
## References
1. [《半妖倾城》电视剧简介, 买购网](https://www.maigoo.com/citiao/998280.html)
2. [半妖倾城 (2016), Plex](https://watch.plex.tv/zh/show/demon-girl-1)
3. [半妖倾城, TheTVDB](https://www.thetvdb.com/series/demon-girl)
4. [网剧投资成红海 芒果TV《半妖倾城》如何差异化破局, 搜狐](https://www.sohu.com/a/112424210_197009)
5. [于正新剧舍弃宫斗玩奇幻, 人民网传媒](https://media.people.com.cn/n1/2016/0705/c40606-28523867.html)
6. [《半妖倾城》剧情解说, 同业剧情网](https://tongye.cn/tv/banyaoqingcheng/)
7. [于正《半妖倾城》玩转二次元, 央广网](https://ent.cnr.cn/gd/20160728/t20160728_522807973.shtml)
8. [于正自制剧《半妖倾城2》革新"3D网剧"概念, 半岛网](https://yule.bandao.cn/news_html/201703/20170309/news_20170309_2712446.shtml)
9. [于正(中国内地影视男编剧、制片人), 明星关系图](https://m.mxgxt.com/news/view/1497523)
10. [专访｜于正：我用新人的戏每部都火, 澎湃新闻](https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1450333)
11. [《半妖倾城》：吐槽于正剧时，我们想表达的是什么, 搜狐](https://www.sohu.com/a/104699161_116162)
12. [《半妖倾城》全面收官, 东方娱乐网](https://www.eastyule.com/news/yl/n2016090219342.html)
13. [芒果TV自制剧分析报告 (2018)](https://pdf.dfcfw.com/pdf/H3_AP201810291223449938_1.pdf)
14. [吴佳怡 TV Shows, Movies & Biography, WeTV](https://wetv.vip/zh-cn/star/101034?cid=9mr4yz0safda66w&cidTitle=%E7%90%86%E7%A7%91%E7%94%9F%E5%9D%A0%E5%85%A5%E6%83%85%E7%BD%91)
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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 Cr to In*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license