Last updated on May 12th, 2023 at 09:32 pm
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Netflix might be known for its exclusive series such as The Queen’s Gambit, The Crown, Bridgerton, and Stranger Things but did you know Netflix also has dozens of Chinese dramas on there?
There is a reason why other than YouTube, Netflix is arguably the most-watched video streaming platform around the world. It’s because they have tons of content available for selection!
This blog post will break down the best Chinese series on Netflix so that you’re not scouring the platform wondering which one is worth watching.
This will be a long post so I organized it so that there will be a historical drama section first before talking about modern dramas.
Best Chinese Series on Netflix (Historical)
With beautiful CGI, costumes, and scenery, it’s no wonder that Chinese historical dramas are usually the ones to go viral on social media. Get all that eye candy by watching one of the following dramas.
1) Eternal Love
Yang Mi and Mark Chao star in Eternal Love, an extremely popular Chinese drama when it first came out in 2017.
It’s about a love story that spans over three lifetimes. The first lifetime is between teacher and disciple, Si Yin and Mo Yuan. The second lifetime is with Su Su and Ye Hua. The third lifetime is with Bai Qian and Ye Hua.
You’ll often see this drama on must-watch Chinese shows list on different websites for a good reason. The cinematography, storyline, acting, and original music soundtrack will blow you away.
It is 58 episodes long so those who might not want to watch such a long TV series can watch a movie version of Eternal Love instead.
Though, I have to warn you that the TV version is superior. There’s more time to flesh out the characters and plot in the TV series. Also, the main actors change from Yang Mi and Mark Chao to Liu Yi Fei and Yang Yang in the movie version.
There is also a spinoff drama called Eternal Love of Dream. Dilraba and Gao Wei Guang reprise their roles as Bai Feng Jiu and Dong Hua Di Jun except they’re the main characters in this drama instead of being side characters in Eternal Love. Yang Mi plays a cameo too as Bai Qian!
Unfortunately, Eternal Love of Drama is not on Netflix (yet) but I thought it would be a good side note for people who get addicted to Eternal Love.
2) Ashes of Love
Synopsis – When Jin Min was born, her mom foresaw her future and fed her a loveless pill so she can’t feel romantic love. Trouble ensues when she meets Xu Feng, the Prince of the heavenly realm who falls for her after spending years together in the heavenly realm.
Alongside Eternal Love, Ashes of Love is also a top Chinese series that is beloved by the public. There is a good reason for that.
This drama will take you on a roller coaster ride of emotions. It is light and funny in the beginning before it gets to those heart-breaking scenes. There is a good balance between light and dark moments although you do need to be patient with the female lead.
Some viewers couldn’t continue to watch Ashes of Love because they couldn’t stand her character in the beginning. Hold on tight because she won’t always stay like that. Jin Mi goes through massive character development.
3) Love and Redemption
Synopsis – The cold and smart Si Feng meets a girl who does not have her senses, Chu Xuan Ji. Together with loved ones, Chu Xuan Ji goes on a quest to recover her six senses.
Love and Redemption is a mixture of Ashes of Love and Eternal Love. Both leads have been connected for several lifetimes (Eternal Love) and also the female lead is clueless in the beginning (Ashes of Love).
Although Love and Redemption is not as successful as the previous two dramas on this list, it does still stand out on its own.
I might be a little biased as this is probably my favourite Chinese romance drama of all-time. It’s a show I tend to rewatch every few months because I love Si Feng so much! He’s the perfect male lead that makes countless sacrifices for the one he loves.
4) Love Between Fairy and Devil
Synopsis – The kind-hearted and innocent fairy, Xiao Lan Hua accidentally saves the all-powerful devil that has been locked up for thousands of years, Dong Fang Qing Cang. Dong Fang Qing Cang’s emotions get linked to Xiao Lan Hua and he experiences the highs and lows of the emotion spectrum through her.
It’s a domineering CEO falls for a good girl type of story but it’s in ancient times.
From being ridiculed online for his acting skills in other dramas to being praised in a few short years, Dylan Wang as Dong Fang Qing Cang deserves a standing ovation. He has come far in his acting skills compared to Meteor Garden.
If the casting team went with other actors instead of Dylan Wang and Esther Yu, Love Between Fairy and Devil might not have been as popular. The story, chemistry, and acting are why this drama is a success.
I consider this to be one of the best Chinese series on Netflix. It’s another one of my personal favourites.
5) The Princess Wei Young
Synopsis – Princess Feng Xi Er’s life changes overnight when her family is killed, leaving her the only one to still be alive. She takes on Li Wei Young’s identity as she swore to take revenge on her family’s behalf.
The two leads in this drama, Tiffany Tang and Luo Jin are married in real life. Watch this drama to see what a real-life couple’s chemistry looks like on screen.
6) Who Rules the World
In the martial arts world, Hei Feng Xi and Bai Feng are rivals since they are both intelligent and talented in martial arts.
Something else they have in common is that they are a royal prince and princess in their kingdom. With family, politics, and enemies, how will their love survive through all this chaos?
The fight scenes, visuals, and top stars in this drama sure attracted a lot of attention. There were even rumours that these two leads dated in real life.
7) The Long Ballad
The Long Ballad stars Dilraba and Leo Wu. Li Chang Ge’s family gets murdered so she swore to seek revenge.
The ‘this person killed my family so I will kill them too’ is a common trope in Chinese dramas.
To be honest, I was enthralled by the secondary couple’s love story more than the main couple, which is extremely rare. The second female lead in this drama is Zhao Lu Si (from Who Rules the World) while her love interest in The Long Ballad is Liu Yu Ning. The way her sweetness melts Hao Du’s heart is adorable.
For this couple alone, it’s a drama that’s worth watching.
8) The Blue Whisper
Dilraba sure knows how to pick her dramas because this is the third drama on the list that has her in it and they’re all historical dramas too.
The Blue Whisper is about Yun He being ordered to tame the merman, Chang Yi, and get his tail. The problem is that he has to give up his tail on his own free will so she must think of ways for him to do that. As she gets to know him, she is hesitant to hurt him and soon has to make a decision – will she choose his freedom? Or hers?
The lead character being a merman is unique in the Chinese drama world as the characters tend to be a deities, demons, or humans.
One thing to note is that this 2022 drama is split into two parts. Part 1 has 22 episodes while Part 2 has 20 episodes. There were some TV restrictions, which is why the drama was split into two parts. However, this won’t affect your viewing experience on Netflix as the episodes are all already out.
Best Chinese Series on Netflix (Modern)
9) Boss and Me
The male lead in Boss and Me is a CEO called Feng Teng. He has a sister that has a rare blood type and when an employee at his company, Xue Shan Shan steps up to donate her blood (they share the rare blood type), Feng Teng thanks Shan Shan in an unconventional way by getting her meals.
It’s a rich guy poor girl story.
Zhang Han plays Feng Teng, a cold CEO. It is a role that should be familiar to the audience because it’s what he does best. For fans of Chinese dramas, Zhao Li Ying should be a familiar face as she starred in many TV series over the years as an actress. Her face definitely fits the sweet and pure girl type of role.
10) Meteor Garden
Shan Cai is an average girl that challenges F4, a group of 4 boys that are wealthy, popular, and handsome. She gets entangled with the childish and spoiled leader of F4, Dao Ming Si.
Meteor Garden started as a Japanese manga but its popularity in Asia grew so much that Japan, Korea, Thailand, and Taiwan also made a TV series based on the books.
It’s an iconic series so fans of the manga won’t want to miss out on this.
If you watch Meteor Garden and Love Between Fairy and Devil, you’ll notice the huge leap of improvement in Dylan’s (Dao Ming Si) acting skills.
11) Put Your Head on My Shoulder
A cheerful female lead, Si Tu Mo meets the genius Gu Wei Yi in this university love story. They even end up having to live together.
This drama was an unexpected hit amongst the public for its light-heartedness drama. It will have you cooing for the lead couple.
12) Love 020
Love 020 is a love story that revolves around video games. Both Bei Wei Wei and Xiao Nai are at the top of the fields and are known to be extremely good-looking and smart at their university. They get to know each other online and it transfers to an off-screen romance.
Online gamers have to watch this Chinese series on Netflix. They are quite a few scenes about gaming. If you’re not into that, this drama might not be for you.
13) A Love So Beautiful
A Love So Beautiful has the same female lead as Meteor Garden, Shen Yue. In her debut drama as a lead actress, she is paired with Hu Yi Tian.
In this drama, Shen Yue plays the bright and optimistic Chen Xiao Xi. She has a one-sided love for Jiang Chen, her next-door neighbour that is smart, intelligent, handsome, and cold.
It might be easy to scoff at this type of plot as it’s been played dozens of times already like It Started with a Kiss. However, Shen Yue does a terrific job of pulling off Chen Xiao Xi to the point where she is her character. Did she have a similar experience when she was at school?
Usually, it’s the male actor that stands out but Shen Yue shines in her role as Chen Xiao Xi. She’s that good.
14) The Rational Life
Time is ticking for the female lead, Shen Ruo Xin as she battles workplace drama and societal pressure for love as a woman in her mid 30s. She meets her assistant that is 12 years younger, Qi Xiao. Although an older woman and younger man romance continue to become more commonly accepted nowadays, there are still conservatives who turn their nose at a woman being older in a relationship. Will Ruo Xin defy society’s expectations and dare to go for a younger man and one that has a ‘lower’ status than her?
The Rational Life is a good female empowering drama that encourages ladies to follow their hearts. She’s someone to look up to.
The downside to this drama is that the age gap is a bit uncomfortable. In the drama, there is a 12-year age difference between the two leads. In real life, the age difference is almost 20 years.
Just like Dilraba, Dylan Wang is in three dramas on this list. He has made his affection for her obvious in past interviews. Hopefully, they’ll get to collab on a TV drama soon.
15) My Sunshine
Zhao Mo Sheng and He Yi Chen were college sweethearts before Yi Chen breaks up with Zhao Mo Sheng. 7 years later, they meet again. Can they overcome the obstacles and be together again?
My Sunshine is a second-chance romance drama that stars Tiffany Tang and Wallace Chung.
If you don’t want to go through a 32-episode drama, you can also watch the movie version of My Sunshine. In the movie version, the lead actors are Yang Mi, who’s also in Eternal Love, and Huang Xiao Ming.
At one point, it was very common to have a movie version of the TV series. Although with different actors, My Sunshine, Eternal Love, and Love 020 all had a movie version of their Chinese counterpart dramas.
How Much Does Netflix Cost?
Netflix has increased its price in recent years. Currently, in 2023, the prices for the three plans per month are the following:
Basic – 63 HKD
Standard – 78 HKD
Premium – HKD 93
The main differences between the three plans is the number of devices you can watch at the same time and show quality (HD, Full HD, and Ultra HD).
Watching TV shows at the end of a tiring day is often a go-to way for people to unwind and get some me time.
Netflix is great because there are no ads. In addition, as each episode ends, the platform automatically moves on to the next episode. You don’t even have to move your fingers!
Final Thoughts – Best Chinese Series on Netflix
Doesn’t this list seem long?
It does, doesn’t it?
You might be surprised to know that there are even MORE Chinese dramas you can watch on Netflix. With a pretty extensive selection on Netflix, you might not know what to watch especially if you’re just starting out in the Chinese entertainment world.
That’s why I created this list of Best Chinese series on Netflix so you can skip all the other ones and just focus on these 15 dramas.
When you find a good show, you’ll find yourself down the rabbit hole and be completely immersed in this fantasy world where you feel like you know the characters intimately. When the show ends, you’ll even feel empty for a little while because you were so invested in these episodes.
Watching Chinese dramas is extremely addicting. It also requires dedication as most shows especially historical dramas can be 50+ episodes but it’s worth it, I promise.
Once you start watching these shows, you’ll understand the global hype.
So what are you waiting for? Subscribe to Netflix and indulge in Chinese dramas!
Now to You – Best Chinese Series on Netflix
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Xoxo,
Nicole