
Shawn Dou stars as Detective Shen Yan in mystery thriller City of Burns
It’s Chinese actor Shawn Dou’s 37th birthday today and, in celebration iQIYI released a celebratory visual of Dou (aka Dou Xiao) starring as Detective Shen Yan in the yet-to-be-released mystery thriller City of Burns (aka 焰火明城).
Along with the birthday visual, iQIYI also gave Dou a birthday greeting that included commentary about his upcoming role:
Unraveling mysteries and solving cases with justice. Happy Birthday to Detective Shen Yan (Dou Xiao)! May your courage finally be rewarded, as you unravel the fog and let the light of justice pierce through the chaos of the world!
City of Burns preliminary details
Shawn Dou stars in City of Burns alongside Shen Yu Jie (Coroner’s Diary) and Wu Xing Jian (The Narcotic Operation).
The drama is adapted from Jin Ling Yun’s novel ‘The Shadow‘, is directed by Hu Yao Zhi (Hanging Mirrors) and is set against the backdrop of the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China.
The suspense thriller tells the story of police officer Shen Yan who, while investigating three bizarre murder cases in the city, unexpectedly uncovers an old case from twenty years ago involving Zhou Zi Heng’s gang stealing and selling treasures and framing a patriotic merchant.
It will likely still be a while before City of Burns premieres, as the C-drama wrapped up its filming on March 16th, 2025 but has not yet received its distribution license.
Keep an eye on this one, though, as the cast is excellent (also includes Zhang Feng Yi, Zhang Ling Xin, Li Hong Tao and Zhao Bin) and, of course, Shawn Duo is always a stellar choice for a male lead.
