Actress Vicky Chen Wen-chi (center) and actor Zheng Hao play a couple of sibling hunters, who become best friends with Wang's character. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Adapted from the book of the same name by best-selling novelist Zhang Muye, who writes under the pen name Tianxiabachang (literally "a voice dominating the world"), Eagles and Youngster follows the adventures of the 18-year-old Beijing native as he treks deeper into a mysterious village in northeastern China's snowy wilderness.

Embarking on a journey to find a remedy for his comatose teacher, Zhang encounters a pair of sibling teenage hunters and a team of geoscientists, with whom he joins forces to unravel a thrilling mystery revolving around some buried treasure.

Unlike most television productions, which tend to shoot dramatic sequences in studios, the crew opted to film in remote, snowbound regions of Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces in northeastern China from last November to February this year.

Although the cast members were forced to endure the chill of winter with outdoor temperatures reaching as low as -22 C, their efforts in making the backdrops for the story appear as real as possible paid off in spades, says Gao Mingqian, the producer behind the series.

And Wang's performance also presented another pleasant surprise for the producer, who founded the Beijing-based company Radiant Pictures to produce the series in 2017.

"Most insiders thought the TV series would flop, as they didn't have much faith in Wang's acting ability," says Gao. "The result was much better than any of us expected. Wang is a quick learner and his approach to work was painstaking."

Born in Southwest China's mountainous city of Chongqing in 1999, Wang shot to fame when he debuted as the lead singer of the hit trio, TF Boys, in 2013.

His flamboyant singing and dancing skills, coupled with his boy-next-door appeal quickly established his popularity and went on to earn him a huge fan base, which now runs to almost 65 million followers on social media platform Sina Weibo. His 18th birthday prompted his fans to celebrate it in many creative ways, such as hiring pilots to create sky writing that formed Wang's name, and helping to raise 18 orphaned elephants in Africa.

But Wang, who is studying acting at the Beijing Film Academy, appears to have greater ambitions for his career than simply being a pop idol.