Zhu Zhu, who plays the Blue Princess of the Bayaut tribe Kokachin on Netflix’s new original series Marco Polo, stars opposite Italian actor Lorenzo Richelmy in the epic streaming show.

Zhu Zhu On ‘Marco Polo’

Taken by Kublai Khan, Zhu Zhu’s character Kokachin is a prisoner of the leader of the Mongol Empire, who encounters Marco Polo after he arrives there on his travels. Not long after making each other’s acquaintance, the two fall for one another.

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“She is Marco Polo’s love interest, so basically Kokachin and Marco Polo have the responsibility for the romance of the show,” Zhu Zhu told uInterview exclusively. “But she also has a lot of secrets. The reason I think that they connected with each other is because both of them are from outside of Khanbaliq. One is a guest and the another is a prisoner. A guest and a prisoner in the environment like that is probably not that different. She’s trying to survive and Marco as well. I think both of them are also trying to break free.”

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In order to channel Kokachin, the Chinese actress had to undergo two months of grueling physical training, while also working on her dialect and other skills.  Getting up at 7 a.m. everyday, her schedule included, “two hours of physical training, two hours of dialect training, lunch break, two hours of horseback riding and one hour of archery.”

Zhu Zhu added, “Also, we have on set a culture supervisor from Mongolia, so he will give us lectures and speeches and presentations about Mongo people and how Mongo women should be.”

While filming in Kazakhstan, Zhu Zhu and the other actors and crewmembers soon learned that they were not in for the first class amenities available elsewhere. Making up for the lack of five-star hotels, however, was the first class view of the countryside.

“The view outside my window probably beats anywhere in the world,” Zhu Zhu revealed. “Everyday we traveled to set, we would see snow mountains, desert steppes, canyons, and white camels, running horses and sheep, little villages and children running around, lonely wolves. It’s really, really amazing.”

The first season of Marco Polo is currently available in full on Netflix.