I have officially coined this summer my “C-drama summer” for those of you who don’t know what C-drama means. It’s Chinese Drama. Everything in my life has been changing recently, from letting go of a job that no longer served me, friendship fall outs, my home life changing. That the one place that I found comfort in has been watching Dramas. I have a list of dramas that I have watched and these are my top 5 that as a new-bie I would 100 % recommend to others.
P.S. Some things to note especially if you are new to Dramas. They are longer than 20 episodes, which is something that took me a while to adjust to as I was used to Korean Dramas which can typically have 20 episodes max. Just something to keep in mind as you go along for the ride.
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Speed and Love
Episodes: 29
Cast: Esther Yu and Je Yu
This was my very first C-drama that I had ever watched. I happened to see a small clip of it on Facebook while scrolling and was bored and decided to give it a try. The first time I watched it I felt off halfway through the series and not because it wasn’t interesting, but because I wasn’t used to episodes being so long as I had mentioned before. I decided to give it another try afterwards and really loved it. The plot is of a girl who travels to Thailand to find her adopted brother, whom she has liked since they were little. When her parents divorced he moved away with the dad to Thailand and she stayed in China. Time has passed and when she visits her dad in Thailand she realizes that he is a street car racer. The story unfolds with lots of challenges along the way.
2. Never Ending Summer
Episodes: 29 episodes
Cast: Bao Shang’en and Zhou Keyu
This is the one show that got me into C-dramas and really started it all for me. It’s a mixture of coming of age story. It has two high schoolers, a girl who is very smart, the top of her class. However, she is struggling to make ends meet and support her grandmother who is sick. She sells tests to students to earn some extra cash. Her father passed away and her mother abandoned her. So, she has to fight through life to make it forward. The Male Lead has this bad boy reputation, skipping class and not caring about school. However, as the story progresses you realize that he isn’t who he portrays to be. He is actually very smart and he has gone through a lot of pain losing his mom. The story is how they feel in love in High School and they are forced to separate. 10 years go by and the story continues as adults.
One of my favorite lines: If you love boys who yearn this is such a strong story. There is a line that is one of my favorites, “ Zhou Wan.. you just need to say you love. I’ll forgive you for anything” The way the actor delivered this line, the pain and heartbreak in his eye is chef’s kiss.
Note: When I like an actor’s work I always try to check out what else they have been in. I follow their work.
3. Pursuit of Jade
Episodes: 40
Cast: Zhang Linghe and Tian XiWei
This is probably my number one C-drama. I finished all 40 episodes in like 3 days. After no sleep, but 100 percent worth it. It’s fairly recent, it came out in March 2026. It is rated 8.7/10 by others, but infinity/10 for me. The actors performance was incredible, both the female lead and the male lead gave an outstanding performance. The director did such an incredible job with lighting and the edits. This was also my first historical drama and I loved seeing all of the cultural references from altars to ancestors, Chinese new years celebrations, and even learning about hierarchy rankings. As I was watching it, I had to google so many things and that’s what made it special. It was filled with so much detail and depth.
It was 40 episodes and it still felt too short because I didn’t want the story to end. It’s filled with comedy, love, drama and all of it. The supporting characters had strong stories of their own too. They added so much depth to the story.
The story is of a butcher’s daughter and a hidden noble who enters a fake marriage that turns into true love.
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The Best Thing
Episodes: 28
Cast: Zhang Linghe and Xu Ruohan
Like I mentioned before, I love following actor’s work. I watched this one right after finishing Pursuit of Jade and It was refreshing and heartwarming. It’s about a traditional Chinese doctor and a hotel manager. It talks about topics like healing from a broken relationship. I learned so much about traditional Chinese Medicine. The overall story felt healing. The story was also realistic, like the girl being pressured to marry because she is older or wanting to study abroad but feeling pressure from life. It was about following what you love and learning to love yourself.
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Genius Girlfriend
Episodes: 28
Cast: Tian XiWei and Hu Yitian
Again, this one is me following an actor’s work. Tian Xi Wei, who also has another show coming up where she plays the villain. I can’t wait to see it, but for this show. It’s very much like The Best Thing where it feels healing. It’s about a genius girl who is very smart and wants to fit in and she wishes for a friend. When she is 10 years old she meets a friend and he moves away. They meet again in high school and they go through so much growth together and then they meet again after 5 years in adulthood. It’s a story about love, friendship, resilience, it’s very good. It’s still ongoing as I publish this blog post.
Another pattern that I have noticed with Chinese dramas is that they will have time pass between them and not just months, but years.
These are my top dramas that I watched this summer. There are so many more dramas that I have watched and so many more that are currently being filmed that I am excited to watch.
Do you watch C-dramas? If so, which one has been your favorite?
