Beginning in the 2010s and crescendo-ing in the early-2020s, international cinema and dramas are having a moment. With globalization at an all-time high, people are more willing to consume content from different countries and languages, and are willing to talk about this newfound passion on the Internet. Korean dramas and telenovelas have become some of the most popular genres abroad from their native countries, but Turkish, Indian, and other East Asian dramas are having their time in the spotlight, too. Whether romance, action, or historical shows, there is something for everyone on a Friday or free night.
Chinese language dramas, whether from Mainland China or Taiwan, have been a staple in the East Asian drama world for many years now. Although they may not get as much press as their Korean or Japanese counterparts, the production quality and stories behind these television series have been grand and luxurious. Some of the biggest actors working in both Taiwan and China have come out of the local drama world, and these shows have become classics for many drama fans who follow the latest and greatest from the region. That said, these are the best Chinese dramas you can watch on Netflix right now.
10 Falling Into Your Smile
Falling Into Your Smile, when it came out originally in 2021, garnered quite a dedicated fanbase online for drama fans. The show was adapted from an online webtoon in Mandarin Chinese, and its subject is very contemporary. A woman named Tong Yao is the epitome of a young, feminine adult, but she has a hobby that smashes gender barriers: she’s passionate about e-sports, which is dominated by men. Her reputation goes beyond her friend group though, and when a team manager recruits her in a PR effort to make her the first major female player, her life changes professionally and romantically. As she sets out to smash the glass ceiling in this world, things might not go back to the same way she expected them to be before.
9 Put Your Head on My Shoulder
- Tencent Penguin Pictures
Put Your Head on My Shoulder, too, is based on a webtoon that had dedicated fans before the series' release. Situ Mo, the female lead, is preparing to graduate from college and feels uncertain about what it means to enter the adult world. One day, she runs into a cocky physics student who is considered one of the brightest minds on campus. The two of them clash whenever they interact with each other, but with some meddling from their mothers, a love story is in the making with these two. Put Your Head on My Shoulder is a lighthearted, romantic watch that goes by quite quickly.
8 Love O2O
Actors Zheng Shuang and Yang Yang star in Love O2O, a college drama that mixes fantasy elements. The show was one of the most-watched Chinese dramas of the decade, managing to get a whopping 25.2 billion views online when it finished running, although the show is now banned in Mainland China. Zheng Shuang portrays a computer science student that dreams of working on video games for a living, as she avidly plays an online game called A Chinese Ghost Story. After plotting an in-game marriage with another character to get revenge on someone else, she meets her new virtual husband in person, only to realize he’s a lot better looking than she first imagined.
7 Meteor Garden
Meteor Garden is an adaptation of a popular Japanese Manga that spawned a popular Korean drama and Taiwanese series: Boys Over Flowers. This drama version is specifically a remake of the Taiwanese version and was produced by the original creator of the Taiwanese show. In Meteor Garden, the most prestigious university in the country is run by four arrogant, spoiled rich boys. Unfortunately for Dong Shancai, a girl from a working-class family, she crosses paths with them multiple times, and the vicious leader of the group falls in love with her. Meteor Garden is a classic adaptation, albeit it could use some tweaking to meet contemporary standards.
6 The Princess Weiyoung
Historical shows are a staple in both South Korean and Chinese dramas, and The Princess Weiyoung is pretty satisfying for that craving. The original reception for The Princess Weiyoung was mixed when it came out, although it was one of the highest-rated shows to come out that year. Set in Ancient China, a princess flees as her family is killed by a greedy general. She assumes the identity of a deceased princess and, in her fight for justice against what happened to her, ends up finding love amid her search for vengeance. Epic and full of drama, The Princess Weiyoung is about finding one’s path while it is a complicated journey full of grief, loss, and heartbreak.
5 Accidentally in Love
Released in 2018, Accidentally in Love is a lighthearted show that is one of Netflix’s original series. A rich heiress does not want the destiny her parents have chosen for her, as they have picked her husband. She wants a completely different life than the one she’s living right now, so she decides to flee on her wedding day. After enrolling in a college, she changes her identity and then runs immediately into someone she knew from her previous life. As it turns out, these two are destined to clash when they start fighting immediately, although their story will become quite romantic and sweet throughout the show.
4 The Prince of Tennis
The beloved Japanese manga The Prince of Tennis ran from 1999 to 2008, making it one of the most popular mangas of the decade when it was hitting bookshelves across the world. Multiple dramas, films, and even a musical have been made of the series, showing how it remains relevant even today. The 2018 Chinese adaptation of The Prince of Tennis is set in China, making it the third Chinese-language adaptation. In the show, a tennis prodigy attends an elite academy where he quickly establishes himself as one of the dominant tennis players at the school. Forced to navigate a coming-of-age story, in addition to their sports lives, the characters engage with each other and the incoming issues awaiting them.
3 My Sunshine
Wallace Chung and Tiffany Tang star in My Sunshine, a 2015 drama that was well-loved when it first came out that year. It was adapted from the Chinese novel Silent Separation by the author Gu Man. Set over several years, a university student falls in love with a fellow law student, inducing them to follow their love interest around. Heartbroken after hearing the law student has a girlfriend, the main character, Mosheng, runs away to the United States. But when she returns to China after all those years, she discovers things are not what they seemed, and Yichen, the man she had loved so dearly before, seems to have not forgotten about her after all those years.
2 Who Rules the World
Yang Yang returned in 2022 with Who Rules the World, where he co-stars with actress Zhao Lusi. It is based on a wuxia romance novel titled Let’s Try the World, placing both of its leads in a historical setting. Across 40 episodes, a prince and princess find themselves in precarious situations as political upheavals and societal expectations get in their way. The two are opposites, yet seem to gravitate towards each other, hinting a romance is brewing despite everything going on in their lives. Yet, at the same time, such feelings can be dangerous when the fight for the throne is ongoing and betrayal is ripe in the world that these two live in.
1 The Rational Life
Qin Lan and Dylan Wang star in 2021’s The Rational Life, which features an older female lead. She is in her 30s and has a career, but faces a plethora of problems with it. There’s the issue of regular work life and dealing with coworkers, but at her company, nepotism runs rampant as well. Because she is not married yet, she also faces the societal pressure of settling before everyone sees it as too late. However, things start to look bright when she meets a younger man that she’s interested in. Despite the age gap between the two, The Rational Life shows that she can live on her terms without having to completely bend to the pressures placed on her.