Into another world: Must watch!!!
Chinese dramas are a daily aspect of my everyday life. With multitudes of them, it is always a difficult task trying to find the most entertaining that will bring you to tears (but not too much), allow you to fall in love, and force you to roll around in laughter. I am a big fan of slices of life dramas and ones without much conflict; however, occasionally, I delve into those complicated stories that are all rather annoying. All in all, there are zero reasons to miss all these great shows, just because you do not understand the language, especially when a lot of them are free on YouTube. I.e. the ones I’m about to mention below.
Below are my top 5 must-watch Chinese dramas (in no particular order, of course;-)))
A Good Cry?
- ASHES OF LOVE
My first drama recommendation is Ashes of Love.
This is a 63-episode Xianxia drama, meaning it’s a fantasy drama influenced by Chinese mythology and other Chinese elements, so you can assume it tells the intrigue, heartache and a whole load of other emotions that I must have felt in this long drama with only one season. At some point, you will feel frustrated and want to tear your hair out, which is what a long drama would typically do to you, but that’s worth it in the end. This drama is a drama that will break you but then will slowly fix you. It is amazing. It is about a young flower immortal who cannot fall in love for some reason and a fire phoenix that falls for her. It follows their story as they figure out her identity, she learns what love is, and they try and stay together. There is much heartbreak, and we can feel those emotions with them due to the acting and scenes.
The story goes through many tribulations, and you will hate and love many characters. For me, still, I’m not too fond of one character to this day (that’s how well he played the role), and I am still unable to forgive him because of the pain he inflicted. To this day, I have not seen a drama like it. This is 100% a must-watch.
2. LOVE AND REDEMPTION
A beauty. That is the only word I can use to describe this series: two individuals from different sects who fall in love. Chu Xuan Ji is the lead girl, and she was born without her six senses. As a result, she’s suffered in life. However, she is deeply loved by her family and sect members. Yu Sifeng is the male lead, a skilled disciple of his sect. His sect is extremely strict and prohibits love and friendship. However, Yu Sifeng falls for Xuan Ji, which results in him being punished by his sect by wearing a mask that will drain his life if he is affected by emotions of love and friendship.
The story follows them through their years as students and then after. We find many hidden secrets throughout the show which will immediately blow your mind. With 59 episodes, it’s a long watch but worth your time. Again, there will be characters you will hate, but then there will be characters you will also love. This show forced me to cry tears I didn’t even know I had. It reached deep into my heart and crushed it like fragile ice. But I still loved it and will 100% rewatch it.
Something Lighter?
3. INTENSE LOVE
Intense love is a feel-good drama. It tells the love story between an actress and a genius doctor who have an arranged marriage with their parents. They realise that love is fated in an attempt to refuse this marriage.
The main female lead is Su Jin Bei, and the male lead is Zhou Shi Yun. It’s a drama where some aspects will be highly confusing. As a result, you would want to quit; however, it is perfect for forgetting daily hardships and immersing yourself in a world you would not usually see.
This carefree romance will allow you to see the strength of love (in a show anyway) and pretend (like the rest of us single people) to be in a relationship.
4. LOVE SCENERY
There’s Love Scenery.
This is a must-watch for anyone wanting to sit back and enjoy a lightheaded romance that will make your heart flutter. I came upon this drama by chance, and it is now one of the few I have watched without quitting (and trust me, there’s a LOT of them).
Anyway, Love scenery is about a top university student, just like myself, Lu Jin, who falls for a graduated senior, Liang Chan, is a well-known singer. Through a manner of coincidences and what would be called fate. With 31 episodes, I have to say it is one of my favourite shows, and it’s stunning in every way, including the cinematography, the actors, the production. Everything is done in a manner for you to fall in love. It is adapted from a Chinese novel called ‘A bright spear is easy to hide, but a secret love is hard to prevent. This drama does precisely that, with a bit of a clandestine feel; we all love a bit of that. This drama draws you into its thrills and feels. It’s brilliant.
B{R}omance and Cheekiness?
5. THE UNTAMED.
The Untamed is a reverse Xianxia drama (meaning, the good guys are seen as the bad guys while the bad guys portray themselves as the good guys, with a few exceptions). With many subtexts, it is about a character named Wei Wuxian who, after cultivating the dark arts, perishes and is resurrected and Lan Wang Ji (or Lan Zhan as Wei Wuxian likes to call him continuously). Unlike the ones above, this drama has two male leads in what should have been a romantic setting as the drama is based on Mo Xiang Tong Xiu’s Novel, a BL (boys love). However, due to censorship in China, it was made into a sort of bromance (though there are subtle hints that fans can detect).
The drama was superb to the point that I’ve read the whole novel and watched the anime on it. I could not get enough. However, the story goes into more detail, so it is a better read, but the drama does not let you down.
I cried, laughed, and then cried again, but overall, it’s 100% on my recommendations list. Exquisite.
As you can see from my list above, I am a sucker for romance dramas (with happy endings) and do not like sad dramas very much. However, occasionally one or two is needed to let that darkness within your soul out to cry, but maybe that’s my exaggeration.
You can watch all those mentioned above for free on Youtube. But you can also watch other shows on Netflix, iQiyi, Tencent, Viki, WeTV and Youku (all websites you can imagine I’m a frequent visitor)
