When the dissolute last emperor of the Sui Dynasty tries to hold an empire-wide beauty contest, a corrupt official takes advantage of the opportunity to divert money into his own coffers and steals the winner of the contest, Yingying, for himself. Yingying’s admirer, both caught up in the plot, flee for their lives, but fall into an ice cave and are quick-frozen — until a thousand years later, when the ice melts and the two men awake to find themselves in 21st-Century Beijing ..
Lao San is a young veteran high in Kungfu power but low in intelligence. After landing on a job as a body guard for a wealthy antique collector, Lao San finds out his boss's plot to rob the National Art Museum.
The story of the Opium War between China, in the waning days of the Qing Dynasty, and the British Empire, in the 1830s, and the subsequent takeover of Hong Kong by Britain; through the eyes of the key figures, fiercely nationalistic Lin Zexu, and opportunistic British naval diplomat Charles Elliot.
