In 2004, Hu Ge got his breakthrough role as Li Xiaoyao in the TV series "Chinese Paladin," an adaptation of the action RPG "The Legend of Sword and Fairy." Hu also performed two songs for the series soundtrack, which launched his music career.

After "Chinese Paladin," Hu took on a number of television projects, most of which were in the wuxia genre. Hu also appeared in several films, including "The Ghost Inside" and "Phone Call 601." In late 2008, he starred alongside Wu Chun and Charlene Choi in "Butterfly Lovers," based on the Chinese legend of the butterfly lovers. That same year, he played the role of Guo Jing in "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," an adaptation of Louis Cha's novel of the same name.

Hu performed many songs for the soundtracks of the television series in which he starred. On October 31, 2006, Hu released his mini-album titled "Treasure, or Tell Her I Love Her," which included three songs. On May 15, 2008, Hu released his first full-length music album titled "Start," which included ten tracks.

On August 29, 2006, Hu was in a car accident while returning on the highway from Hengdian to Shanghai. He survived, suffering severe injuries, while his assistant died. Hu had to undergo surgery, and the entire recovery process took about a year. Filming of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," which he was working on at the time, was temporarily suspended because of his injury, and he was also unable to complete promotion of his finished project "Young Warriors" together with his castmates. Hu expressed his feelings about the incident through performing his single "To Love" and shot a music video with his co-star in two series and friend Cecilia Liu.