Trivia / The Empress of China

• Dawson Casting: For the first half of the series (while Taizong is alive), Wu was in her early teens to early 20s. Her actress Fan Bingbing was in her early 30s at the time of filming.
• Follow the Leader: This series revived interest in Sui-Tang history. Producers particularly noticed how Gaozong's great-grandaunt Dugu Qieluo influenced her husband Yang Jian (Emperor Wen of Sui) more than 50 years before Wu Zetian. In 2018, at least 2 drama series on her were released, one being The Legend of Dugu.
• This series was Aarif Rahman's (Gaozong) debut acting role in a TV series. He and Fan (Meiniang) had previously starred in the rom-com movie One Night Surprise. As an interesting coincidence, Aarif's Chinese name is Li Zhi Ting; his "Li Zhi" is the same as Gaozong's real name.
• Chen Kefan, the child actor who portrayed a young Li Zhi in this series, would later portray another young future Tang emperor in The Legend of Dugu. (Li Yuan, Gaozong's grandfather)
• Li Cuicui, the actress who portrayed Luo Yushan ("General" Luo), herself portrayed Wu Zetian in the 2009 documentary series Legend of The Tang Empire (Chinese title: 大明宫, "Da Ming Gong" (Da Ming Palace)).