It was directed by Yang Jie and stars Liu Xiao Ling Tong as Sun Wukong, Chi Chongrui as Tang Sanzang, Ma Dehua as Zhu Bajie, and Yan Huaili as Sha Wujing.
Along their journey, the four pilgrims face 81 tribulations, some of which involve affairs of normal humans, whilst others consist of the disciples protecting their master from various demons and monsters who wish to consume Tang Sanzang's flesh in hopes of gaining immortality.
Journey to the West was greenlit in late 1981 as part of reformist leader Hu Yaobang's efforts to dramatise Chinese literary classics on state-run television.
[1] A major difference from the novel was the depiction of Tang Sanzang having his faith challenged after the queen of Women's Kingdom develops romantic feelings for him and he is, in turn, tempted to give into mortal desire.
[4] Initial casting for the characters, notably the role of Sun Wukong, proved difficult as the production team had no points of reference to base off of in modern media.
[1][4] On location shooting took place across various provinces and cities in China including Beijing, Guizhou, Jiangsu, Sichuan, and Xinjiang, while episodes depicting India were completed in Thailand.
Slaying Demons in the Kingdom of Wuji was broadcast as a pilot on National Day of 1982 where it was poorly received by test audiences, who primarily criticised its crude makeup and cinematography while CCTV was also reportedly unhappy with Wang Yue's portrayal of Tang Sanzang.
To ensure the acrobatic elements of Peking opera did not detract from the realness of battle scenes, wushu practitioner Lin Zhiqian, who also portrayed Erlang Shen, provided most of the action choreography for season one.
[3] To compensate, cardboard boxes and pillows were placed beneath the wires while young athletes from local sport schools were hired to perform stunts using trampolines for high angle shots.
[4] Due to the innate danger of using real flames, special effects were originally set to be used whilst filming Sun Wukong's imprisonment in Taishang Laojun's furnace as well as during his battle with Red Boy.
[3] Season one was only able to be completed when supporting cast member Li Hongchang helped secure a three-million-yuan loan from the China Railway 11th Bureau Group.
[3] Xu Jingqing was selected to be the series' main music composer in 1983 after Yang Jie heard a demo of "Happy Gathering at Flower Fruit Mountain".
[10] Prior his involvement with Journey to the West, two themes had been recorded and released in 1982 and 1984, with one titled "Swaying Clouds, Vast Seas" and the other “Thousands of Adversities Prove One's Sincerity".
Titled Qi Tian Le Festival Gala, it featured a range of performances by a majority of the show's main and supporting cast from episodes 1 to 20, alongside guest appearances by singers Jiang Dawei, Yu Junjian, Wu Jing and Hu Yinyin.
[14] Upon its release, Journey to the West was praised for its faithfulness to the source material and lauded as one of the pioneers in national media for artistically representing China's traditions and values, its aesthetics helping break 'the single-role-image constructed by previous TV series'.
[20] Since their original airing, the first 25 episodes have been rebroadcast over 2000 times across various television networks in Mainland China, making Journey to the West one of the country's most watched series.
[23] In response to the series' enduring popularity, Yang Jie was quoted as saying "People often express their love for Journey to the West to me, but every time I hear that kind of thing, I regret that I didn't do it better.