It is my opinion that the male and female lead are doing a fantastic job in keeping the audience interested and following every episode anxiously. Also the spectacular cinematography like the grassland episode, the incredible costumes and set design are truly of a grand production. I think that it is good that Zhang Ziyi got involved in the making of the movie and probably involved in the selection of the super talented cast as well. Her experience doing movies with award winning directors are a reflection of how well this drama is coming along.
It is also nice to see older and mature actors doing a movie that is currently pretty popular especially outside of China.
Too bad that the newer generation is not familiar with the ZZY great movie career.