Lead actor Guo Xiaodong plays a Communist Party spy in Mission Impossible, a 30-episode series, which premiered on Beijing Satellite Channel in February. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Veteran Taiwan actor Alex Man stars as a shipping magnate, a role that is based on Chen.

Man, winner of the 1990 Taiwan Golden Horse for best actor, says he feels lucky to play a role that pays tribute to the patriotic business tycoon. Chen famously sank the remainder of his ships when the war broke out to avoid having cargo confiscated by the Japanese army.

Lead actor Guo Xiaodong, plays a Communist Party spy and jokes that a hero complex prompted him to accept the job. He spent more than 40 days kung fu training in a sweltering summer to prepare for the role.

"I believe that most actors want to be a hero to rescue the world. When I read the script, my role looks like a Chinese version of James Bond. It’s pretty exciting to have so many fight scenes," says the actor, who is more famous for his work in art-house productions. In the TV series, Lin Jiansong, a Communist Party agent played by Guo, has to risk his life to blow up a bunch of Japanese army weapons, an "impossible" mission.

Yang Yi, the director, says the big-budget series hired a sea freighter cable of transporting 6,000-ton cargo and a plane for aerial shots.