China Arts & Entertainment

Overview of China’s 2017 Top TV Dramas

These are the Chinese TV dramas you should’ve seen in 2017.

Published

10 years ago

February 10, 2017

China has one of the most booming TV drama industries in the world. As millions of drama fans tune into their favorite show, What’s on Weibo has compiled a list of China’s top TV dramas of 2017.

Note: Also see China’s top tv dramas to watch winter 2017/2018

Nothing is trending more often on Chinese social media than TV drama. What is the best drama, who is the hottest star, how will that nerve-wracking…

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Manya Koetse

Manya Koetse is a sinologist, writer, and public speaker specializing in China’s social trends, digital culture, and online media ecosystems. She founded What’s on Weibo in 2013 and now runs the Eye on Digital China newsletter. Learn more at manyakoetse.com or follow her on X, Instagram, or LinkedIn.

13 Comments

Bernice Ponce

February 27, 2017 at 1:17 pm

Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms Cdrama -MOST watched drama online 2017..here in the Philippines..BRAVO! YANG MI and MARK CHAO…BEST MUSICAL THEME..LOVE IT..

Reply
mingirim

April 15, 2017 at 10:39 pm

It’s great! Eternal love and Rush to the dead summer being at the top of the list! My fave actors and actresses now becoming more popular internationally. If only there could be Eternal love season 2, or a new drama where Yang Mi and Mark can be the lead again! Their chemistry is one of a kind. ????
– Fan from PH

Reply
Christina

April 18, 2017 at 12:31 am

Eternal Love (Three Lives, Three Worlds, Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms) is absolutely the best historical drama ever made with good casts, sound tracks and scenaries. After watching 3 years of Korean dramas, I have decided to watch a few Chinese and Taiwanese dramas. This particular blew my mind and the OTP is tops! Mark Zhao’s acting really nailed the emotional parts and I cry each time I come to the same scene. I completed the drama within 3-4 days and I am rewatching it again. Highly recommend it to any one who wants a beautiful romance though there are some heartbreaks in between the 3 live times.

Reply
Alejandra

April 27, 2017 at 4:49 am

Les faltó poner “General and I” que super buen drama y del año pasado The princess Weiyoung como mención honorífica. <3
absolutely Eternal Love is the best of all the chinese dramas , we can not forget every character 'cause presents some unique every time . I normally see k dramas and the first c drama that I saw was The Princess Weiyoung , so I wanted more about this new experience and "surprise" … this year I fall in love Eternal Love . My number two in the c drama by this year is General and I .

Reply
kfan

May 14, 2017 at 1:48 pm

who is left in the poster? nice plastic surgery nose.

Reply
Lea Granada

May 23, 2017 at 10:00 am

I love the Drama Eternal Love (Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms) It was worth watching and the acting was great with the actor and actress. I been watching K-drama but this Chinese Drama caught my attention and I was engrossed and instantly loved it from the first episode. Hope that they could have season 2 or another Romance fantasy drama with Yang Mi and Mark. They had a good screen chemistry.

Reply
Lea Granada

May 23, 2017 at 10:03 am

I love the Drama Eternal Love (Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms) It was worth watching and the acting was great with the actor and actress. I been watching K-drama but this Chinese Drama caught my attention and I was engrossed and instantly loved it from the first episode. Hope that they could have season 2 or another Romance fantasy drama with Yang Mi and Mark. They had an excellent screen chemistry.

Reply
Joyann

May 31, 2017 at 7:01 pm

Haven’t watched any Chinese serial dramas for a long time and finally decided to watch Eternal Love. Couldn’t stop watching and completed the series without 3-4 days! Mark Chao and Yang Mi were fantastic and I was totally mesmerised by Yue Hwa (Mark Chao). Have to re-watch now because it feels so strange not to see Mark Chao’s character anymore. Love his acting and every aspect of him ????.

Reply
Iriaka Maraea

June 3, 2017 at 10:47 am

Ten miles of Peach Blossoms is the best drama I have ever watched, and I have watched hundreds. It is one that will forever remain at the top of my list. Mark Chao and Yang Mi were absolutely amazing in this, I can see their careers sky rocketing and they have at least one fan here in New Zealand. I also have to mention the music score…. absolutely fabulous! As for the script, I do wish a wedding had been included. I also hope a second series is made for Shifu and Dijun. It is incomplete.

Reply
TinHie

June 5, 2017 at 11:35 am

I wasn’t going to watch eternal love at first because the trailer looked a little boring but I gave it a try and I’m so glad I did. The plot and actors were amazing. Definitely give it a try because it was ranked #1 for a reason.

Reply
Ludovina Rosado

June 10, 2017 at 5:17 am

Yang Min and Mark Chao great couple on screen. Eternal Love serie is my first Chinese drama. I could not stop watching. I saw the video where Mark Chao says he was not confortable with the long hair. But, he looked gorgeous with it. The setting of the drama, specially the peach tree blossom setting was fantastic. And, what can I say about the love scene? OMG awesome. Mr. Chao, keep it up as a good actor and also try to give us good dramas as this one (Eternal Love), which I just finished.

Reply
Emma Parker

July 16, 2018 at 7:00 pm

Its quite difficult to watch china shows globally as they also banning different VPN IPs. I’ve tried 4 brands and out of 2 brands were able to connect with China servers and one of them was unable to connect after 4-5 days. Recently, I connected via purevpn and its working find till now, not sure till when it will work for me.

Reply
Wizarion

May 7, 2019 at 10:24 am

I’m a huge fan of Chinese TV, it’s just so bizarre sometimes. Anyway, I always use Surfshark which is actually one of the cheapest services but it consistently works in China. Here’s more details: https://medium.com/@evanlovel/top-vpns-still-working-in-china-test-results-updated-every-week-f009e83949d

Reply

Chapter Dive

The Power of Ugly: Why Niu Lai Became China’s Unlikeliest Box-Office Hit

How the two-person animated film Niu Lai turned its “ugly” visuals, dreamcore nostalgia, and remarkable cinema journey into a nationwide participatory meme.

Published

2 weeks ago

August 22, 2026

Manya Koetse

A mother-and-son duo’s animated 3D film earned just 342 yuan ($US50) on opening day. Then its crude visuals turned it into a viral success, propelling it into the top ten of the year’s domestic animated releases. A meaningless ‘miracle’ or sign of shifting cultural sentiments? An explainer.

Something extraordinary has happened in Chinese cinemas this month. A tiny animated film about a yellow cow on a dreamlike adventure opened in a few hundred Chinese theaters on August 5, 2026, with zero promotion and no trailer. On its first day, the movie’s box office revenue totaled just 342 yuan (US$50).

Nobody could have expected that this microbudget indie movie, initially playing to empty seats, would become a nationwide viral hit—not because people thought it was good, but because they found it so aesthetically ugly.

The 86-minute 3D animation is titled Niu Lai (牛来, literally “Here Comes the Cow/The Cow Comes”). It was produced by just two people from Dalian: 34-year-old Xin Yumeng (信雨萌) and his mother, Sun Lifang (孙丽芳). The pair spent five years making it.

The plot follows a young calf named Niu Lai, who is too afraid to stand. In his dreams, he befriends a skylark and a young leopard on a sometimes-scary adventure, during which he grows up, loses his mother in a wolf attack, and eventually wakes up with new life lessons.

Despite being complete newcomers to the film industry, Xin and his mother handled everything themselves, from directing and writing to animation, voice acting, and music—theirs were the only two names in the end credits.

They registered the script in 2021 and, after passing the content review, received a public-screening permit in 2024. The narrative contained no apparent sensitivities, and all the paperwork was in order. A film distributor they knew reportedly helped them secure screenings at a few hundred cinemas (even though, after seeing the film’s quality, he had advised them against a theatrical release).

Around August 13-14, the movie went viral when a few netizens who saw it shared their disbelief at the primitive visuals, which contrasted sharply with the…

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Manya

Welcome to China Trend Watch (Week 32–33 | 2026), where I bring you the latest trends, memes, and debates driving conversation across Chinese social media. I’m Manya Koetse, a sinologist specializing in Chinese digital culture.

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