Folklore beats with a modern pulse

Two years after the phenomenal success of its Season 1, the hit animated series Yao — Chinese Folktales made a strong comeback with a highly anticipated Season 2.

Premiering exclusively on Chinese video-sharing platform Bilibili, the nine-episode Yao — Chinese Folktales 2 continues the series' creative core of "traditional culture through contemporary expression". The new season offers modern reinterpretations of classic cultural imagery, while delicately portraying the emotions and reflections of people living today.

As in Season 1, each episode is independently led and produced by different directors, resulting in a wide range of distinctive stories, styles and narratives. United by a shared exploration of Eastern aesthetics, the two seasons together weave Chinese-style fantasy into fables, embedding profound real-world meanings to inspire the audience.

The first episode unveiled in this season, How to Become Loongs, explores the theme of "identity". Drawing on the Eastern mythological symbolism of snakes and dragons, the episode examines the tension between aspiration and self-acceptance, conveying a message about respecting individuality and breaking free from self-imposed limitations.

Rooted in the snake's cultural status as a precursor to the dragon, the story follows three tiny snakes who long to become godlike dragons. Through their relentless efforts to pretend to be rain-bringing dragon kings and bless the villagers, they gradually come to embrace who they are. True growth begins not through transformation, but through acceptance. In the end, instead of becoming dragons, the ordinary snakes are worshipped as themselves — and recognized as gods in their own right.

"We all dream of becoming great, but not everyone will realize that dream. We may probably not become what we first imagined, but it would be enough if we can touch and be recognized by one or two people around us," says Yang Mu, director of the episode, who returned for the second season.

Hu Rui, the director of the episode Man in the Ear, also rejoined Season 2. Continuing his experimental visual presentation and narrative style in Goose Mountain from the previous season, this new episode delves into the topic of inner desire and accepting one's true self.