Honestly, I'm not that late. It's only been 6 days since part one.
Following on from the last post about my favourite K-dramas, we now move on to my favourite Chinese dramas that I watched in 2025. Unlike Korean dramas, where picking the top shows were much easier to decide, I had a lot of trouble with the Chinese list as I enjoyed all the dramas so much. But there have to be winners and, as I said several times last year, 2025 was definitely Liu Yu Ning’s year.
Chinese Dramas
A Dream Within a Dream – 40
Episodes
Third-rate actress Song Xiao Yu (Li
Yi Tong) is mysteriously transported into the plot of the script she's
reading and becomes its tragic female lead, Song Yi Meng, who is used and
discarded by the villainous male lead Nan Heng (Liu Yu Ning), and even
tortured to death. Knowing her story ends in tragedy, she decides to change the
plot. Unfortunately, no matter what she does, she becomes trapped in a
never-ending loop of ‘bugs’, dying in unique and absurd ways, waking up right
back up where she started – in Nan Heng's control. In a last-ditch attempt to
create a better ending for her character, Xiao Yu decides to hatch a plan to
kill him, but eventually comes to a painful realisation that no matter how hard
she tries, the ‘plot’ always pulls her back to the male lead, forcing her to
re-enact the script’s iconic scenes repeatedly.
Only when Xiao Yu realises that she is no longer
living in the old plot and Nan Heng isn’t the villain she thought he was, can
they both find the truth and perhaps love along with it.
This was, hands down, one of the funniest dramas I’ve seen in a long time, and definitely in 2025. From the opening scenes of her transmigration onwards, it was a non-stop rollercoaster, taking the piss out of every trope ever used in dramas, and it did it brilliantly. My only complaint would be that it took far too long for her hatred of the Nan Heng to be resolved – Yi Meng soon worked out that everyone else wasn’t necessarily what they seemed, compared to her script, and were even changing as a result of her efforts. But she refused to believe that despite everything he did to prove his worth, Nan Heng could be anything other than the villainous character she knew only from her limited view of him in the script. It had me, and many others, if my C-drama Discord is anything to go by, screaming at her stupidity, as time and again Nan Heng revealed himself as the true hero of the story, and she dismissed it ‘because he’s the villain’.
The Prisoner of Beauty – 36
Episodes
Xiao Qiao (Song Zu Er), a
clever girl from the Qiao family, is arranged to be married to Wei Shao (Liu
Yu Ning), the sharp and kind master of the Wei family, in order to create a
strategic alliance between the two feuding clans. With years of bad blood
between their families, the two start off on a rocky path, constantly wary of
each other and testing each other’s boundaries in both funny and tense ways.
However, over time, they begin to
appreciate each other's quirks and talents and gradually begin to trust each
other as they face issues that require working together. Before they know it,
Xiao Qiao and Wei Shao begin to develop genuine feelings for each other. Through
ups and downs, they learn to work as a team, tackling family drama and bigger
issues to bring some peace to their world. It’s a story of partnership built
through trial, error, and a bit of chaos.
To be honest, it was a toss-up between this and A Dream Within a Dream as to which one would take first place. It could have been either, depending on my mood on the day, and they’re both firmly up there with New Life Begins, which until now has been my all-time favourite C-drama. I was completely blown away by this drama when I first watched it as the characterisation is so strong for both the leads and the supporting cast that you become so deeply invested in the story you really feel like you’re living through it rather than just watching.
Fangs of Fortune – 34 episodes
During the Zhenyuan era, the
accidental death of the Bai Ze goddess, who governed the realms of humans and
demons, causes the disappearance of the Bai Ze Order, leading to chaos from
rampant demon beasts. In response, the demon leader, Zhu Yan (Hou Ming Hao),
disguised as Zhao Yuan Zhou, volunteers to help form a demon-hunting bureau.
Wen Xiao (Chen Du Ling),
the new goddess, suspicious of Zhao Yuan Zhou, joins the bureau alongside her
childhood friend Zhuo Yi Chen (Tian Ji Rui), a skilled detective and
swordsman, the aloof archer Pei Si Jing (Cheng Xiao), and the timid
doctor Bai Jiu (Lester Lin). Together, they confront demon beasts from ‘The
Classic of Mountains and Seas’ and uncover the truth behind their violent
actions. As they face great responsibility and personal loss, will their
friendship and the love between the top demon beast and the goddess overcome
the challenges they face?
I would have watched this series at some point anyway because it’s right up my street, with all the demons and stuff, but my beloved Yanan (my bias from Pentagon) was playing Li Lun (one of the main baddies, and he was perfect both in character and looks), so it shot straight to the top of my watch list as soon as it arrived somewhere I was able to see it. I was trying to decide what to say about this amazing series, when I found this post, which sums it up perfectly:
Looking at the note I made about it, I asked who cried more, me or the cast? I’m still not sure, even now. While it wasn’t quite as good as the previous 2 dramas, it’s still in my top 10 of all-time favourites, so I liked it a lot.
The rest:
Filter – (32
Episodes) – When Su Cheng Cheng (Landy Li), an ordinary woman, acquires
a high-tech ‘filter bracelet’ that allows her to change her appearance, her
life changes completely. She begins to use the bracelet to adopt different
identities, using her newfound abilities to help others. Unaware of her secret,
Tang Qi (Tan Jian Ci), a man with gradually worsening eyesight, happens
to fall for each and every one of her personas, only to lose them time and time
and again. To protect her identity, Cheng Cheng weaves an increasingly tangled
web of lies, deepening Tang Qi’s heartbreak and her own guilt. Will she ever
reveal the truth to Tang Qi, and could they find true happiness together – with
no lies or disguises?
Perfect Match – (36 Episodes) – During the Northern Song
Dynasty under Renzong, Mrs. Li (Ni Hong Ji), from a wealthy Luoyang
family, moves to Bianjing with her 4 daughters, Shou Hua (Liu Xie Ning),
Kang Ning (Lu Yu Xiao), Hao De (Ke Ying) and Le Shan (Huangyang
Tian Tian), each unique in personality, to reunite with her second daughter
Fu Hui (Wu Xuan Yi) and resolve a family matter. Despite their beauty
and talent, her daughters struggle with marriage prospects, prompting Mrs. Li
to seek new suitors in Bianjing. However, their journey is met with challenges,
including social setbacks and difficulties in settling down. Ultimately,
through perseverance and twists of fate, the Li family finds suitable husbands
for the daughters, creating a lively comedy about life and marriage in the
Northern Song Dynasty.
Love Game in
Eastern Fantasy – (32 Episodes) – Mischievous Ling Miao Miao (Esther
Yu) unexpectedly finds herself transported into the world of a fantasy
novel called ‘Chasing Demons’ as a villainous supporting character. To return
to the real world, she must complete a series of tasks – including winning the
heart of Mu Sheng (Ding Yu Xi), the female lead's adoptive brother with
a possessive love for her. Teaming up with Mu Yao (Zhu Xu Dan), a member
of a monster-hunting family, and Liu Fu Yi (Yang Shi Ze), a monster
hunter, they battle creatures, level up, and gradually work to dissolve an
age-old animosity between humans and demons, rewriting the fated ending, and
saving the world.
Mobius – (16
Episodes) – Homicide detective Ding Qi (Bai Jing Ting) accidentally
gains a strange ability: under specific circumstances he can turn back time to
the start of the day up to five times. Ding Qi utilizes his new power to solve
difficult cases by traveling back in time to gather evidence, then putting all
the pieces together on his fifth loop. However, when Ding Qi receives an
ominous warning from a suspect nicknamed ‘Squid’, he starts to wonder if others
have also gained the ability to time travel. His investigations lead him to a
genetic research group where several executives have recently died, raising
even more questions. Alongside researcher An Lan (Janice Man), Ding Qi
commits to uncovering the truth behind these deaths – even if it means making
the ultimate sacrifice.
Blossom – (34
Episodes) – After losing her mother at a
young age and later being abandoned by her husband, Dou Zhao (Zoey Meng)
becomes disillusioned with family and love. However, when she unexpectedly
finds herself reborn as a young girl years in the past, armed with the memories
and regrets of her previous life and a mysterious prophetic book, she decides
to use the opportunity to change her fate and protect her family. While Dou
Zhao fends off malicious rumours started by her stepmother, she meets Song Mo (Li
Yun Rui), a noble in disguise who is trying to find out the mysteries
behind his family's downfall, and who shares her secret of rebirth. Together,
they navigate court intrigue, hidden conspiracies, and personal vendettas,
slowly building trust and affection as allies who get a second chance to right
the wrongs of their first lifetime.
Fated Hearts – (38
Episodes) – When Jinxiu Kingdom is on the brink of defeat in the battle at
Pingling, the female archer in red, Fu Yi Xiao (Li Qin), shoots an arrow
at Susha's eldest prince, Feng Sui Ge (Chen Zhe Yuan), turning the tide
of the battle. But Yi Xiao accidentally falls off a cliff shortly after and
loses her memory. After Yi Xiao is rescued by the Ling family of doctors of the
Righteous Villa, she unexpectedly reunites with her old enemy, Sui Ge. Looking at
the mess Yi Xiao is in, Sui Ge infers that it must be related to his
predicament in the battle at Pingling. He wants to use Yi Xiao to find out
the truth behind the scenes, while she wants to use Sui Ge to survive under
heavy pursuit. So, the two, who were mortal enemies a month ago, must now rely
on each other to survive in the turbulent Yujing City, as their love secretly
blossoms through countless near-death experiences. The seeds have been sown,
and amid the hatred, betrayal, deception, unrequited desire, and inability to
let go, everyone is both a player and a pawn. Yi Xiao and Sui Ge can only work
closely together in the storm to overcome the dark conspiracy, break the
shackles of fate, live up to the people’s expectations, and not let each other
down.
The Demon
Hunter's Romance – (12 Episodes) – In Guangping City, where humans
and demons coexist, Duan Ban Xia (Song Zu Er), a wealthy girl with the
rare ability to see demons' true forms, is deemed delusional by her family.
After exposing her cousin’s bride as a demon, she’s forced to flee and meets
demon hunter Jiu Xuan Ye (Ren Jia Lun). He helps her see the hidden
world more clearly and reveals not all demons are evil. As they investigate her
father's mysterious death and other strange events, their bond deepens. But
Xuan Ye's buried past and a shocking truth about his identity threaten to tear
them apart.
