Review: Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty III To Chang’An (2025) 唐朝诡事录之长安
Summary: Former general Lu Ling Feng (ft Yang Xu Wen) and disciple of Detective Di, Su Wu Ming (ft Yang Zhi Gang) return to Chang’An after their journey west. Here, they take up positions in the Capital, this time to not only solve strange mysteries, but contend with political factions as well. They are joined by Pei Xi Jun, Ying Tao. Dr. Fei and Xue Huai
Episode Count: 40
Platform: iQiyi
Episodes: 40
Airing Date: Nov 8, 2025
Warnings – Jump scares and some rather violent fight scenes (think dismemberment).
Final rating: 7.3/10 – A strong season 3 in the dazzling Chang’An, though cases are somewhat weaker than season 2. The crew of Lu Ling Feng and Su Wu Ming work seamlessly together back in the Capital with plenty of historical references and now with a stronger touch of politics.
Lu Ling Feng 卢凌风 Yang Xu Wen 杨旭文
Son on Princess Tai Ping, now Official of Yong Zhou
Su Wu Ming 苏无名 Yang Zhi Gang 杨志刚
Student of Detective Dee, scholar and top detective
Pei Xi Jun 裴喜君 Gao Si Wen 郜思雯
Of the famous He Dong family. Skilled artist. Betrothed to Lu Ling Feng
Chu Ying Tao 褚樱桃 Sun Xue Ning 孙雪宁
Assassin
Fei Ji Shi费鸡师 Chen Chuang 陈创
Legendary Doctor who loves his chicken and drink
Xue Huai 薛怀 Shi Yue An Xin 石悦安鑫
Student of Lu Ling Feng
Princess Royal 长公主 Yue Li Na 岳丽娜
Princess Tai Ping, aunt to the current Emperor. Mother to Lu Ling Feng
Emperor 天子 liu zhi yang刘智扬
Emperor Tang Xuan Zong
Plot Overview
This is a direct sequel to the 2022 hit and we are now back in Chang’An for more gruesome and strange cases with the crew of 5 people. We have Su Wu Ming, disciple of the famous Detective Dee. He is a top detective and scholar but has no martial arts knowledge. After that is Lu Ling Feng, he has a slew of titles but he is from THE famous Lu family from Fan Yang and son to Princess Tai Ping. He is very righteous and extremely skilled at martial arts. He is betrothed to Pei Xi Jun, of the He Dong Pei family. She is a skilled artist and invaluable to the team for sketching out potential suspects. After that, we have Chu Ying Yao. She joined the team late in season 1. She and Su Wu Ming are a pair but she is trained as more of an assassin and is crucial for her more secretive skills. Rounding out the group is legendary doctor Fei Ji Shi who loves ihs drink and chicken and finds time to be a top doctor as well. We also do have Xue Huai, Lu Ling Feng’s student partake in various cases.
This time, this crew is in Chang An where Lu Ling Feng is given a government role. But, if we follow how things are supposed to play out in history, this is when the Emperor, Tang Xuan Zong, Li Long Ji, who is a young man at this point, is currently fighting tooth and nail for power from his aunt, Princess Tai Ping, who is also Lu Ling Feng’s mother. So not only do Lu Ling Feng and Su Wu Ming and company need to solve various gruesome cases, they also have to watch their backs to not step in political landmines.
As with the first 2 seasons, season 3 features many cases – 3-5 episodes per case.
Overall Thoughts
We are back with another season of Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty and this IP is quite well received. It easily breached 10,000 on iQiyi’s popularity index and dominated the streaming charts in November. This is quite a feat because the cast doesn’t feature any idol. Interestingly, despite the series doing quite well and spawning sequels, male lead Yang Xu Wen has yet to make it to the list of young actors that amassed a large following. If we think about other young actors who boast 10,000 popularity index dramas, most of them are at least participating in various marketing activities down that idol path.
Season 3 brings us back to Chang’An during a very interesting time in the Tang dynasty. This is right when the young Tang Xuan Zong is starting his lengthy rule but he is relatively weak in power compared to his Aunt, Princess Tai Ping who is vying for power. (This is another drama set in this time period. The other major drama this year is Flourished Peony, though probably a few years later given limited mention of Princess Tai Ping).
For a history nerd like me, I loved this drama for all the true historical callbacks. Many of the cases add some anecdote or tie in to actual events during the Tang dynasty that made me want to do more digging on what happened. However, that does mean that some of the cases felt a little weaker because the big reveals were more tied towards some political issue or historically important piece of information that can seem “distant” or disconnected to viewers if you’re not familiar with that time period. Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty shines best when the cases are more grounded in the micro universe of the individuals in the case and their emotional ties. That was the case in prior seasons, and that remains true in this season.
Overall, I thought the cases this season were weaker than season 2 but still a bingeworthy watch. The breakout character is Princess Tai Ping who is I daresay even more electric than the main cast.
Season 4 and 5 are on their way so don’t worry, there will be more Strange Tales to watch in the future!
What I Like
Well Oiled Machine
In this season, our main cast already have their set roles within the team and it’s a treat to watch them function like a well oiled machine. There are some conflicts between characters but most of the time, the team works together to solve mysteries and have each other’s backs. That’s why this group cast is so great and why I love watching this series! There’s a lot of fun jokes in between the serious and gruesome detective work that make the drama a breeze to watch!
Memorable cast and connected universe
Due to the sheer number of cases across the seasons, it’s been great to see familiar actors/actresses that may not be that popular but are great actors shine in different story lines. In a world where good actors/actresses are either struggling to find work either because they are not an idol or due to being older, it’s so nice seeing them get the opportunity to have screen time. I also loved the random cameos from prior seasons. Were they absolutely necessary? Not really, but if it meant these people getting work, I’m all for it. It also gives the drama a deeper feeling of interconnectedness because Su Wu Ming or Lu Ling Feng will remind us something was important back in this case in season 1 or season 2. That allows audience members to not only want to watch prior seasons if you did not, but feel like we’re all together on this journey, rather than suffer from changed casts and forgotten plot points.
Tang History and Culture
There are many dramas set in Chang’An during this time period. I mean, Cathy and I did extensive analysis on it when we discussed The Longest Day in Chang’An. But, if you didn’t read our transcripts or watch that drama, this drama has decent pieces of information for people to become immersed in the famous Tang capital city. We learn about the political powers at play during this time in history, about how Chang’An is structured, about the different powerful families during the Tang dynasty of this period. I always love being in the Tang dynasty because there is just so much to discuss or show during this fascinating time in history! Moreover, it is probably the one time in Chinese history where women had immense power. This drama does a great job in portraying the challenges of women at that time, and frankly throughout all of Chinese history, but also the freedom women did have at that time to rise through the ranks.
Princess Tai Ping!!!
Princess Tai Ping is the subject of many dramas over the years because she is such a fascinating character in history. I grew up watching various iterations of her but I am absolutely loving this version of her. She is so 霸气 (Ba Qi) which means she emanates power. She has the confidence and intellect befitting the Princess Royal and you can’t help but wonder, what would the Tang dynasty have been like if she ended up as Emperor. After all, as she exclaims in the drama, her brothers, her father, her mother and her nephew were Emperors. Why can’t she? And I’m like YAASS QUEEEN.
For those that don’t know the history, Princess Tai Ping is the daughter of Emperor Wu Ze Tian, the only female Emperor in Chinese history. Princess Tai Ping grew up with that role model and she was very capable herself. In Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty, she is shown to be calculating and power hungry, but she actually has a soft side. She managed to avert injury in the very first case because of her kindness to a young boy many years earlier. In the last case, she also opts to put all differences aside with her nephew in order to put a united front against international threats.
I, like many viewers, cannot help but wonder how history could have changed if Princess Tai Ping took over instead. Sadly, Princess Tai Ping is killed by her nephew in a failed coup, Emperor Li Long Ji reigned for a long time (the nephew). His early years brought the Tang Dynasty to its zenith in prosperity but also ended in the An Lu Rebellion that brought the Tang Dynasty to its knees. Because of how electric and captivating Princess Tai Ping is in this drama, many people are like, can we PLEASE not follow history, and just create an alternate universe with her as Emperor??
What Suffered
The Cases focused more on history, rather than emotional ties:
Some of the cases felt contrived because they had ties to historical Tang dynasty people or events that felt rather surface level. In the 2nd case called the Tears at Cheng Fo Temple and the 3rd case Tracing the Bai Ze, there were people with close connections to Emperor Wu Ze Tian. But their motivations then didn’t seem as complicated. Mostly, it was for revenge. While fun from a historical perspective, my reactions when I saw such a reveal or a clue tied to these historical characters where mostly, this isn’t possible, or this is a stretch. That made those cases forgettable.
Instead, as is the case throughout the 3 seasons, the cases that were focused on local individuals but were impacted by policies during the Tang dynasty at that time, those are the ones that shined. I was thrown for a loop on what was the true motivation for Hong Yao’s marriage, and was horrified at the behaviors of people in both the scholar class and merchant class. These cases made me think introspectively of preconceived prejudices of certain peoples and understanding what truly matters in relationships and societal structures.