First Chinese Historical Drama

Hi,

As you might have deduce from the title I'm looking for a chinese historical drama.

Although, I'm in dramaland for almost 2 years now, I've never watched any historical dramas, mainly because of the HUGE number of eps these kind of drama are made of.

I was afraid of getting bored after 20 or 30 eps and that would be a BIG waste of time...but now I'm ready to give a chance to one of these long dramas because it seems really interesting, and captivating, and besides the fact that they are super long I know I'm gonna like these, they're totally my type. 

Btw, First I'd like to say that I don't care anymore about the huge number of eps as long as the drama is great!

Then I'm looking for a chinese historical drama, with either epic battle, war strategy or Court intrigues kind of plot, (and if there both in it's better), but what I desire above all, it's a great female lead (like a warrior who can fight, or a specially smart, resourceful, independent kind of girl).

It can be with fantasy, romance or other I don't care, I just care about the fact that it's a chinese historical dramas with a great female lead.

"Nirvana in Fire" is indeed awesome. But as a first time viewer, she might get bored (maybe not) . 
It took me 15 odd episodes and a few months to really get into it. But sooo worth it. 

I suggest to start with "Legend of Concubine Zhen Huan", this drama was my first Cdrama historical and it was sooooo good. 
Because of it, I craved for more and more C-historicals to the point of no return. 
Deals with the intrigues in the palace. Concubine vs. Concubine. 

A war drama that can shake you to the core is "Battle of Changsha". It's a character driven drama with Sino-Jap war as the backdrop. 

For Xianxia ( about Immortals/gods), I strongly recommend "3 Lives 3 Worlds, Ten Miles of Peach Blossom"
This is the most romantic drama I've ever watched. 

"Princess Weiyoung" for strong, smart heroine. 

For epic battle, I reckon you have to wait for "Tribes vs. Empires: A Storm of Prophecy". The trailer alone left me speechless. 
If you don't mind oldish ( year 2010) series then, "Three Kingdoms" has that. You can catch it on youtube. 

A note: Please be patient with historical Cdramas since it has a slow plot buildup.
Thus the longish series. But you'll be rewarded for your patience, for sure. 

Hope I answered your query.

Thank you all for your answer dears! I indeed heard about Nirvana In Fire and put in my ptw's list, but the high rating and praising review afraid me a little (as in the past I already dropped several dramas wth high ratings on mdl)...and I already watched Battle Of Chansgha and found it great! 

Thx again for all your recommendations, I take note of all of them!

I'd like to suggest Empress Ki. It's not a Chinese drama though, it's a Korean one. But it perfectly checks all of your requirements. And the female protagonist is too badass to put in words.

Novoland : Castle in sky is ALSO amazing one with H-H-HOT lead man

Sad endings are almost unavoidable. 

Some that I recommend:
Scarlet Heart - there's political scheming on the background, and mostly focus on the female lead relationships (friendship and romance) with the princes.

Nirvana in Fire - Your description of a drama all points to this drama although the female lead is more of a supporting role, but she's still awesome in a way. 

Chinese Paladin 1, 3, 5 - no reason, except that if you're bored and want something Chinese and entertaining you could watch these franchise. It has tons of flaws (characters, CGI, costumes, story plot), but it's still entertaining. The first one was probably the best, but you'll have second female lead syndrome instead. 

Legend of the Condor Heroes - There's so many remakes for this one. 2003 for a solid interpretation and not so old one. 2008 for romance-centered and faster pace. The female lead is cunning and capable, not always kind. It's based on a novel by the famous wuxia (genre: martial arts and chivalry) writer, Jin Young. You may get confuse if you don't know much about the background, but just so you know it's a classic story. 

Legend of Zhen Huan - Truthfully, I have never watched this.. But it got good reviews. It heavily focuses on the palace harem with schemes and tragedy I think. 76 episodes! you'll probably have to watch it like you drink tea.