Poster of the television series "Chinese Paladin" [Photo: agencies]

The film version of the popular television series "Legend of Sword and Fairy", also known as Chinese Paladin starts shooting in Zhejiang Province today.

The film is shot to mark the tenth anniversary of the television series, first released in 2005.

It's been confirmed that Hu Ge who took the leading role of "Li Xiaoyao" will join the cast of the film, while the name of female lead has not yet been revealed.

Both the film and the television series are adapted from the Taiwan action role-playing game of the same name which was developed by Softstar Entertainment.

The game is considered by many as simply one of the best Chinese RPG's ever created.

Since its first release in 1995, many new versions and sequels have been created. However, fans say none could replace the breath-taking and tragic tale of the original.

The drama and the original game have a large fan base and enjoy great popularity in China, and even elsewhere in Asia.