Despite being chosen partly because of his facial resemblance to a young Jiang, Xia's spirited and moving performance as a renegade youth conquered audiences.

[7] Like many of today′s actors in China, Xia Yu also has an extensive TV career, appearing on such shows as Records of Kangxi's Travel Incognito, Classical Romance and Sky Lovers.

Most of Xia′s TV roles have been secondary ones until he was cast to star in The Ugliest In the World, where he played Liu Baoshan, a genius of the Qing Dynasty who gave up the opportunity to become an official in order to become a clown.

[8] In 2016, he took on the role of Wong Jack-man in the Bruce Lee biopic Birth of the Dragon, produced by American filmmaker George Nolfi.

[10] In 2019, it was announced that Xia will play Shen Gongbao in the upcoming fantasy film series Fengshen Trilogy directed by Wuershan.