Wang Yibo is back at work! Here’s why we’re excited

The coronavirus has basically shut down all of China. With over 92,000 cases reported worldwide, and 80,000 of them being in China, the country has experienced a major impact from the virus. Even our beloved Wang Yibo has been affected by the coronavirus, but thankfully not afflicted with it. 

The widespread impact of the coronavirus extends beyond the medical industry, the travel and film industry in China have also been widely affected. Quarantines were put in place throughout mainland China, and the film industry giant Hengdian World Studios closed to “cooperate with the current epidemic prevention and control work.”

Legends of Fei shut down in January

Wang Yibo’s newest production, Legends of Fei was shut down in late January by China’s Hengdian World Studios. Nine other productions were also halted, including  Yang Mi’s Thank You, Doctor, Qin Lan’s Legacy, and the favored Chinese drama Story of Yanxi Palace. 

When filming was shut down over a month ago, Wang Yibo and the rest of the cast and crew were all put in quarantine, with Hengdian World Studio’s official statement explaining, “Taking into account the severity of the coronavirus and in accordance to government requirements, we will be postponing all filming activities. Shoots are activities which involve many people, and that is likely to contribute to the spread of the virus”.

Quarantined and coping

With a huge population in China quarantining themselves at home and working remotely, the Chinese entertainment industry has been getting creative in providing entertainment. Shows like the Chinese variety show featuring Wang Yibo, Day Day Up were forced to halt production, but then got creative and had all 5 hosts jump onto a video chat with their guests, and they filmed that. 

We admit that these episodes of Day Day Up are especially adorable and will go down in history as an example of HunanTV’s ingenuity. Providing an unexpected insight into the hosts of Day Day Up, Wang Yibo and the rest of the cast have been sharing how much they miss one another, and even admits to staying on the video chat well past filming, into the wee hours of the morning. Those eps are available on MangoTV but are not yet subtitled.

Hunan Satellite TV allowed viewers to send in messages using their phones to both Day Day Up and Happy Camp, with those notes appearing at the bottom of the screen during the video chat episodes, titling this new format “Cloud Filming”. 

Additionally, The National Center for Performing Arts uploaded recordings of concerts from orchestras worldwide, and Chinese museums have been holding online exhibitions. 

How Wang Yibo stayed busy under quarantine

Wang Yibo led off the first episode of “Cloud filming” Day Day Up by showing off some of the magic tricks he taught himself while home during the quarantine. That episode itself has gained over 8 million views on Mango TV. 

Additionally, Wang Yibo says he got deep into his Lego love, saying that he built cars out of Legos for a solid fourteen hours one day. The Chinese star also caught up on some much-needed sleep during the downtime. We can only assume this was tremendously necessary based on his intense filming schedule.  

Wang Yibo also shared with fans that his quarantined time was spent polishing his motorcycle helmets and eating so much he worried he may be getting fat. We would love you anyway, Wang Yibo.

Finally free, what’s next for Wang Yibo

Thankfully, the quarantine has been lifted, which hopefully means that production on Wang Yibo’s Legend of Fei can continue. Wang Yibo should also shortly begin working on his “dream role” of playing a narcotics detective in the crime drama, Being A Hero. We’re going to need to see both of these roles sooner rather than later. We have high hopes that filming resumes as normal immediately.

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