Can These Dramas Just Release Already

The minute I heard that this is one of Ma Bo Yong's novel adaptations, I was in. Then I got to know that Cao Dun is directing this. He had amazingly adapted 'TLDIC' by the same author before. The cinematography is top notch, and the drama is tightly paced. A highly appreciated drama on douban. 

The plot is the most unique I have heard of. A slice of life show about transporting litchees as fresh as ever within given time, aka before noble consorts birthday to Chang'an. Set in Tang dynasty, and a slice of life on hard work, perseverance and harsh reality?  Only expected from China. Also we will get to see their entire journey and them encountering several problems along the way, including the major one of keeping them fresh.

The plot and the director WOW! Novel is 8.2 on douban. I have way high hopes from this.

Edit: Woah I just got to know the painting is real and the plot of the novel and I have way too high hopes now. Highly expect this to hold up. So the painting is set in the Northern Song dynasty, and is considered to be the most renowned amongst all Chinese paintings called 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival'. It is an handscroll painting and is indeed very long! It showcases a wide panorama of the capital of Northern Song, Bianjing (present-day Kaifeng) and captures the daily life of people at that time. Scenes reveal the lifestyle of all levels of the society from rich to poor as well as economic activities in rural areas and the city, and offer glimpses of period clothing and architecture. The scroll is 25.5 centimetres (10.0 inches) in height and 5.25 meters (5.74 yards) long. In its length there are 814 humans, 28 boats, 60 animals, 30 buildings, 20 vehicles, 8 sedan chairs, and 170 trees!

The painting is highly impressive! As an artist and an animator, I am in awe with the precision and details put in the painting. The old masters never fail to impress me! 

Now, the author of the novel was himself highly impressed by the painting. He had a copy of the painting hanged in his room. When he closely examined it, he was able to notice some things were off in this otherwise slice of life painting. Slowly, he connected all things that seemed off and came up with a mystery-thriller plot. Using this, he wrote his novel called 'Qing Ming Shang He Tu Mi Ma'. Please visit this link for more information regarding the plot: https://u.osu.edu/mclc/2015/04/02/historical-thriller-based-on-famous-painting/ 

The trailer tugged at my heart badly. The friendship between those 2 elder women is definitely going to make us cry. I almost cried watching the trailer itself, without any subtitles. It also highlights the fact that the acting and direction is going to be top notch. 

Also, this is a Daylight Entertainment production so I can safely have high hopes from this. Need this like now! One of the major reasons why I love Chinese (and Japanese, Taiwanese, & Korean) shows is because of such kinds of realism heavy slice of life dramas. They are the food my soul needs.  

Edit: I just saw the trailer, and I am speechless. This is going to be one of those super well produced modern Chinese dramas with serious approach. The cinematography is mind-blowing and Liu Yi Fei looks like she is a human version of an rose. She looks so stunning, graceful, and elegant. You can see why the guys fall for her. I can't describe how much I love Liu Yi Fei. 

Our queen of elegance Liu Yi Fei is back with another project. This is so not going to be a typical romance show. It will be a very realistic show about a woman and the many love relationships she had at different stages in her life. It turns off a lot of silly romcom watchers, but this dose of reality is all we need in a sea of 'I am in my late 30s and still have 0 dating experience' FLs in dramaland. I highly await for the queen's return. 

The plot is so unique and different for an E.Asian drama! Usually I expect Japan & Taiwan to deal with these kinds of plots. China is getting better and better in my eyes. The FL is a woman nearing her 30s and is in not good luck with her career. Her mother, who is around 50 meets a man, falls in love, marries him, and gets pregnant. All of this happens too quickly for the FL. It will be so interesting to see how this drama will handle the issues faced by her mother for getting pregnant at that age, how FL will come to accept that she will soon be meeting a sister(heard it will be a sister) that is 30 years younger than her, and how she accepts her new family.

I have no worries about this not being realistic as it is directed by Li Mo, the one who also directed top shows like 'Remembrance of Things Past', 'Fake it Till You Make it', & the highly underrated 'Song of Life(San Yue You Le Xin). 

Also, the lead actress is my bb Zhou Yu Tong! I love her acting and her charming smile so very much and I am so happy she is getting so many good lead roles. First 'There is A Lover in My Hometown', and now this. 

I highly anticipate this drama from Bai Lu out of all her popular upcoming ones. This is the least popular at the moment, since it is not an idol drama, but a mainstream slice of life one. But this is the most promising of all her upcoming shows (Ning An Ru Meng as well)

Screenwriter is the same as 'Ordinary Greatness' and the plot is so unique: it revolves around a canal and the generations of people who are connected with it, and have memories attached with it. A slice of life show centered around a canal, its history and its present. These kinds of unique dramas are all I need in my life.

Liu Ci Xin, the author behind '3 Body' is behind this drama's novel too. And he is the screenwriter for the show as well! And the director can be trusted as he had directed 'Tientsin Mystic' before. 

The plot has my full interest: a situation where the entire surface water of earth, including oceans of course; rose into space to form a ring around the earth. I just want to see this asap.

They need to start filming this ASAP! God the interesting historicals we get from China. First 'Lychee of Chang'an' and now this. Love a show which shows struggle of women in ancient times. This sounds like 'A Dream Of Splendour' to me. 

I heard that director of 'Meet Yourself' will be directing this.

New Note: Just saw the newly released trailer and WOAH! It would be the first Chinese show that I have seen which is so white in terms of cinematography and very melancholic. I think that snow is a very good tool to depict sadness and this seems to use it to the maximum. There have been shows like this earlier from China where there were lot of snow scenes and the theme was melancholic, but they had other colors included too. Here it seems to me that it would snow the whole show (since their entire story takes place from start to the end of winter) and white color theme will be strictly followed. 

Old  Note: Another wuxia drama! This looks like it will be a sad romance story. Hoping it's an excellent one, given that one director had co-directed dramas like 'Chinese Paladin', 'The Vigilantes In Masks', & 'Love & Destiny'; the other director had co-directed 'Mysterious Lotus Casebook', & 'Love & Destiny'. Also, I looooveeee Li Qin. It's been a while since she starred in a good period drama. Zheng Shun XI is also a favourite. 

Seeing the 'making' video, her character looks serious, mature, capable and strong. I love such FL's in Wuxia dramas. I am waiting for this one!

I just read the plot and instantly added it to my list. I got wayyy too many reasons why I am mad excited to see this show. I am overwhelmed by all those reasons as I am typing this. Let me use points to explain my excitement.

• The FL is Lu Yu Xiao, who I absolutely adore. She is a beauty that exudes elegance and grace. I first paid attention to her through her role in 'MJTY' where she was styled too good. I loved her character there and found out that apart from the youth drama 'TAHAJR', she has mostly done support or SFL roles. Now she is finally getting lead roles in all these good dramas. I am very happy for her. 
• The character of FL is cold, lethal, and strong. I always love such kinds of female leads. 
• Also, it seems like the character of ML will be less serious. I hope so, because I love it when cold and strong FL is paired with playful and humorous ML. Banter between such personalities are the most interesting for me.
• The screenwriters of 'New Life Begins' will be writing this. Also, I heard it will have themes of feminism. That being the case, these 2 screenwriters are the best choice.
• The production shared it's concept for the kind of sets and CGI it will have, and it looks like this will have a completely different CGI & sets than other Chinese period fantasy shows. They have a mix of Chinese mythological & cyberpunk elements in the concept, and I hope that they stick to it. Because I really have not seen anything like this from a Chinese drama before. Chinese dramas are always full of surprises and innovations these days. 
• The director has already directed 'FSM:RMP' which looks like an insane high quality xianxia. I am hoping the same for this project.

I just hope this starts shooting soon, because I might die of curiosity for this.  

Edit: just saw the trailer and Cao Dun lives up to expectations. Seems like this will include people from other than Han ethnicity. I am very excited to see this!

Cao Dun directs this and all I know is that this is set in Ming dynasty and is about mystery, historical  and dark elements. Also, I got to know that it is the same team as 'Longest Day in Chang'an'. I cannot wait for this to air man! I love these kinds of historicals and the director is top notch. I already have very high expectations.

The Fox Spirit collection has set it's teeth to make every popular Chinese actor & actress ever star in their show. The styling is so good and they are using some advanced technology to shoot this one. I have high expectations with the CGI as well. Story also looks different from the usual xianxias. The trailer had not disappointed. Yang Mi is owning the reds as a fox spirit.

I just saw the trailer and have gotten high hopes from yet another GJM drama. Initially I wasn't highly interested because the leading actors were not exactly a favorite of mine, but I'll have to say that CDL did improve. 

The cinematography looks very much in line with GJM's style and I love it that his shows are so dark. Also, the CGI looks good in this. The plot is interesting as well, going a bit into horror territory. I highly await this one after seeing the trailer! 

This is very different from other xianxias. I think it is going to be the first xianxia to be this dark.

This looks sooo interesting. I am always looking forward to dramas like KMHM which properly tackle the subects as tough as multiple personality disorders. This drama seems like it would do very well on these aspects, because I trust Zhao Li Ying. She is an amazing actress and I love her a lot. Also, this is not listed as a romance drama, but as a mystery & sci-fi show. I wonder what kind of a story this would be.

The director also wrote the script of and directed 'Fearless Blood', a republican era show set in a train. He has also written the script of 'The Youth Memories'. I feel like the director is very trustworthy due to the deserved success of his above mentioned 2 projects. 

Directed by Cao Dun, and it is evident from the trailers. The story is also a unique one: on the trade of opium and how Britishers ruined yet another country. They really had the mission to ruin the entire world in the name of 'civilizing' people. I will never forgive them for the damage they had inflicted on my country, no matter what.

Found out about this one through it's trailer. The trailer and l was impressed. Heard from Chinese netizens that the costumes are well done. Adding to that, the cinematography and production quality is also great. The story is also the type I love, one following the journey of a female during a historic period with many restrictions imposed on women. 

My bb YSX is back with yet another interesting plot! I had checked the manhua out when this started to film, and I was highly entertained. It had lots of comedy that was actually funny. The concept of a main character entering a game/book/manhua/script is nothing new, but if executed well these turn out to be such a treat. And here FL enters a xianxia novel. New. 

The costumes and styling for this look fab too. One of the directors was assistant director for the top notch and highly acclaimed 'NiF', and the other had directed the highly rated 'Palace of Desire' in which Zhou Xun had played younger version of FL. The screenwriter had also written 'LBFAD' & 'Destined'. I fully approve of the crew. This will so be a unique xianxia plot, I cannot wait for its release

Ok the trailer was so cool! Highly comedic, just like how I love it. Seems like He Di's character would be laidback, humorous and fun loving. I love ML's like that and it would suit WHD a lot. Would help him do away with his bad reputation of a 'bad actor' and showcase his acting capabilities. I love TXW a lot as well. Hoping that she is a strong, smart and capable character that shines. 

Production quality-wise it looks good. It is the same director who directed 'Prisoner of Beauty' which also looked so good in the trailers(sad that it might never release). 

Story-wise it looks like a fun adventurous wuxia. I love the likes of these the most. 'Blood of Youth' & 'Joy of Life' immediately came to my mind while watching the trailer. Have too high of hopes from this now. 

I love the director Yang Yang so much! Ma'am gave us dramas like ADOS & Ever Night. The story here is also my type. The direction looks top notch according to the trailer (exceeded the expectations). I loved it so much! Heard that they actually travel to all these locations to shoot instead of making do with what they have or using CGI instead. Love the director and the entire production team for this effort. I may not like the actor Yang Yang much, but the story and the production appears to be worth waiting for. 

Ko Jia Yen the GOAT is in this plus the plot of this sounds like it will be a realistic slice of life drama. This is so my type of a drama. I hope this releases asap. 

An interesting looking Taiwanese Sci-Fi. Cinematography looks amazing. Looks top notch from the trailer itself. The director of my absolute favourite show 'Mars' is directing this! Another co-director also directed 'The Victim's Game'. Seems like the next top rated on douban Taiwanese drama. 

A Sci-fi based on Liu Ci Xin's novel who also wrote the well loved 'Three Body'. The director Pan An Zi seems promising having directed many amazing dramas like 'Under The Microscope' & 'R:TSOP'. I am highly hoping for this drama to serve. 

This drama is an adaptation of Wei Yu's novel, whose novels have been previously adapted into dramas like 'Rattan' & 'Parallel World'. One thing I absolutely love about her works is that the FL is usually very strong, even more than the ML. Jing Tian & Ni Ni did terrific job in portraying their characters, and I believe that Dilraba can also pull this kind of a character well, given that her face is very suitable for a feisty and dangerous woman kind of characters (hoping that this drama also follows the pattern of FL being this strong). Also, CXX is an amazing actor as well. 

Director Tian Li has good experience with stories like this, having previously directed 'Tientsin Mystic', 'Disappearing Child' & the upcoming 'Sea of Dreams'. Can't wait to see this drama!

Season 2 of a well loved drama, both domestically and internationally. Heard that the production quality got an upgrade. Await this highly so that I can binge both seasons together. 

A prequel to the hit 'TBOY'. Hopefully this one is also as well made as TBOY, because I loved TBOY a lot. 

Season 2 of TBOY, with almost all of the team returning back. Same director, screenwriter, production team and actors. I already have high expectations from this.

I LOVE LIU SHI SHI! I'm so glad she made a comeback in dramaland because not only did she age like fine wine, but she also got excellent acting skills. Also, the drama is produced my the same team that worked on the domestically highly rated and beloved 'Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty', which gives me high confidence of this being an intriguing drama.  

Also, I am loving the plot. AvenueX described her as the female version of Mei Chang Su from 'NiF'. Scheming and smart female lead is amongst my favourite kinds of FL personalities in dramas. I just so know that LSS is the perfect FL for this role. I can already imagine her in this. I'm so highly anticipating this. 

Similar feelings like the other Fox Spirit Matchmaker with Yang Mi. The costumes look so amazing, especially with Liu Shi Shi. Just like Yang Mi is owning the reds as a fox spirit, she is owning the greens as a bamboo spirit. So many known faces here as well. Hoping for a trailer soon.

Probably the last installment of the 'FSMM' series. I adore LYT lots. She is an amazing actress. Previously, she had many average dramas mixed with a few amazing ones, but 2023 and the coming years are hers. She had more than 2 successful and well rated (on douban) dramas this year, and her upcoming projects are promising too. I highly await all her projects. 

We can also expect amazing styling and high quality production since the other 2 FSMM dramas have this quality as well. Hoping for the best!

I knew nothing about this project when I added it, I only came to know that this is a project by IQIYI during their major conference. They had announced so many unique shows, that I had high hopes with a lot of them. Most of the hopes got fulfilled. Then I got to know it stars TJC &ZYR. I have come to know them as underrated actors who act well. After that, I saw that FL's costume, makeup, & hairstyle in the stills released was way too amazing, different from the ones I had seen before. It intrigued me further. The plot involves mystery and investigation, my favourite historical genres. I am very interested in following this project. 

Also, I should mention that the director also directed 'New Life Begins'

This drama is based on the works of the novel writer 'Qian Shan Cha Ke', who wrote many well loved web novels. A lot of her work is about to be adapted and I am well seated for all of them. This might be the 1st to release amongst all of them, and I cannot wait for it! 

The FL is described as a strong general and I hope they do justice to her character. Also, Zhou Ye plays the FL & given her recent back to back successful shows, I know I can keep my expectations high. The styling is also well done given that Yi Xiao Ya is the costume designer here.

At first I had no idea what this was about and added it seeing that Li Yitong & Zeng Shunxi are in this. Then I looked at the stills released. The styling of FL mesmerized me. Whoever was responsible for LYT's hairstyle, makeup and costumes should get a raise. She looks so amazing here that I fell for her again. The plot can be very interesting when executed well. I hope this turns out to be excellent, I have high hopes.

This drama is directed by Zeng Qing Jie who is known to create short & low budget dramas that outdo many long & high budget shows. He directed shows like 'The Killer is Also Romantic', 'A Familiar Stranger', 'Butterflied Lover', & 'Provoke'. His visuals and styling are really good, and now that I have seen the trailer, I can confirm this will have good styling too. Highly await his first long drama!

Damn Ren Min is so well styled in this show! She looks absolutely gorgeous. Now I can finally say that it is not that RM is not suitable for historical/period/wuxia/xianxia/xuanhuan shows as 'The Longest Promise' had initially impressed upon the audience. It is just that the overall styling and aesthetic of that show was bad(terrible in fact) and the stylists of that show should never be picked again for another show. They did Ren Min dirty. 

Just saw the trailer and it looks amazing! I expect this to be better than The Beauty Inside (drama adaptation) which of course was a unique show, but followed many common tropes like CEO romance. Hopefully, it will live up to my expectations.

Another drama based on the works of the novel writer 'Qian Shan Cha Ke', who wrote many well loved web novels. Seems like Li Yi Tong and Liu Yu Ning are going to lead this. If so, I am wayyy too happy for LYT. She is a favourite of mine who is finally getting tons of amazing projects to lead. 

Although Yu Zheng is trash, but I love dramas produced by his company. This looks like a female centric comedy historicals and I loveeee such dramas. China does such dramas best. I am hoping for it to be a good feminist show. I love LYX a lot and she is finally leading a drama. Costumes look better than expected from a YZ show, and the director has co-directed 'Lost You Forever' & directed 'The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty' before and both shows have incredible cinematography. 

Based on behind the scene photos, TXW looks gorgeous and elegant! Styling looks well done here. I've got no idea about the director or screenwriter or the production team, but it looks like it will be a very interesting drama. I love both TXW & XK. 

The way FL's character is being discussed in the comments make it seem like she is a smart & strong character and also a bit unique. The plot of arranged marriage has been done a lot in dramas, but it becomes enjoyable when done right. Hoping for the very best for this show and will await this one highly!

Glad that Yang Mi is now going for more realistic and serious dramas. She is finally breaking from her type casted roles. This is a slice of life and realism heavy show which focuses of farming and women empowerment and I am all seated for it!

A drama that focuses on the relationship of 2 sisters is definitely a drama I would love to watch. I hope I can see this soon!

The trailer was like going down the nostalgic memory lane. I am always in for retro era(90s, 80s, 70s) dramas as I might have mentioned many times in this list. I just love the nostalgia! This looks well produced and I am very much looking forward to it. Thankful that there is no popular idol actor in this. Their fans spoil all the fun.

The plot is so rare in dramaland. The only show that I remember being about old people's life is the masterpiece that is 'Dear My Friends' and some other mainstream Chinese dramas that received no international popularity. I hope that this show does justice to its plot. 

It is about siblings, an old man and an old woman both in their 60s. They both rarely communicate, but they reunite with their family in Beijing. Suddenly, their mother(in her 80s) who had been missing some time ago returns. The mother does not mention why she went missing, but the siblings knew why. The siblings now in addition to dealing with their own life problems, will also have to take care of their mother. 

It is fully a story of older people and I know a lot of people would refuse to watch this because of lack of an oppa and romance and beautiful faces (typical international E.Asian drama fans). But this is fully my type of story. I have my hopes high.   

Mainstream slice of life family drama focusing on the lives of 5 sisters featuring some of the most talented actresses. I always look forward to such stories from China.

Another show with a unique concept! A different kind of a tomb related Chinese show which is not about tomb raiding, but protection of cultural relics.

Tong Hua is the screenwriter for this and her novels have been adapted into successful and high quality shows like 'Scarlet Heart', 'Sound of the Desert', 'Lost You Forever', & 'Stand by Me'. It is led by 2 of my favourite actors LLD & TJC. The plot sounds very interesting. I love it when China attempts contemporary fantasy, supernatural, or sci-fi shows. They make few modern dramas like these due to restrictions, but when they do make them, they outdo a lot of average but overrated Korean ones. 

This drama is going to be hilarious! The theme of the story is manhua making, and ML is a shoujo manga artist. FL likes the ML & confesses to him, but he gets impressed by this and hires her in his team instead. ML is not like a typical lead. Trailer showcased so many funny moments of ML trying to enact romantic cliche tropes, but failing hilariously. The storytelling seems to be like that of an anime/manga, which I love since 'Devil Besides You' had similar style. 

Yu Shu Xin & Lin Yi. These 2 have not been paired before this, but I somehow always use to think that in this vast sea of c-dramas there is one where they have been paired. Only to find out they haven't yet. This was a meant to be on-screen pair. Glad that they are finally getting paired in a sweet contemporary rom-com story! That to about an winter sport!

This time they are going with snowboarding. Also expecting depiction of the Manhua industry since FL is a Manhua artist. Hopefully both professions will be well depicted, although it is too much to ask from a fluffy rom-com.  

Also, the director of 'Hidden Love' yaaayyyyy!! The novel writer from whose novel this work is being adapted also wrote novel behind successful modern rom-coms like 'Falling Into Your Smile', & 'Moonlight'. I feel like this project will be a successful one scoring high ratings. Hoping for the best!

Yet another drama promising a badass female assassin. The time travel from modern times to Song dynasty looks interesting for this kind of plot with her being assassin in modern times transmigrating to body of a woman who is an assassin in training during those times. Hopefully it is well done. I await a good WCR drama. Also GJM aesthetics are love <3 

The novel behind this show is written by the same author who wrote the novel behind 'Destined'. Moreover, Zhao Jin Mai & Zhang Ling He are the leads. I love them both. Furthermore, the plot is interesting as well. It isn't a unique or innovative plot, the kind of plot it has is very famous in Chinese web novel land. However, apart from the upcoming 'Kunning Palace' by Bai Lu & Zhang Ling He, no other successful drama has worked this 'rebirth' or 'going back in time' plot in historical shows(as in short period time travel, not modern world to historical time travel; and rebirth within the historical timeline only, not modern). And this time we have both of them going back in time. I have high expectations.

Finally we have Liu Yu Ning & Zhao Lu Si paired as the main couple in a historical show! I loved their chemistry wayyy too much in TLB. The plot sounds interesting as well. Both of them would be involved in the business of jewelry. If done well, this could be on the same level as 'A Dream Of Splendor'. 

Edit: Saw the wrap up video, Lu Si looks extremely pretty in Tang dynasty clothing. I am starting to have hopes from the production. Hopefully her character here is a serious one. I love humorous Lu Si, but yearn to see her play more serious characters (especially after WRTW)

Another slice of life drama based on the ancient city of Kashgar! The architecture and cityscape of Kashgar is very different from what we would expect in Eastern China. Lots of dramas being made on this region I see. I hope that most of them receive positive remarks as I want to badly see good dramas set in Xingjian. This one is confirmed by CCTV & IQIYI, so I hope we get the trailers soon.

A drama adapted by the work of 'Ma Bo Yong'. The same author whose works are well loved and well adapted into so many dramas like: 'The Longest Day in Chang'an', 'Luoyang', 'The Wind Blows From Longxi', 'Under The Microscope', & the upcoming 'The Litchi Road'. Also, if the director is confirmed to be Ding Hei, he has directed the well loved 'Ordinary Greatness' and can be well trusted. This project was confirmed by IQIYI, as in they have not decided the cast and when it will be shot, but it is sure that this drama will be made. So as always, I have high hopes.

It is based on the work of the novel writer Zi Jin Chen, who wrote the 3 hit mystery thrillers: 'The Long Night', 'The Bad Kids', & 'Burning Ice'. These 3 were brilliantly adapted on screen and scoring top douban ratings. I wish the same fate for this adaptation as well.

Based on the novel of Ding Mo & directed by 'Tsai Yueh Hsun ' who also directed my favourite drama 'Mars' & a number of well recieved Taiwanese dramas. Starring 'Jing Tian' & 'Zhang Xin Cheng', my absolute favorite actors. The 2 actors look well styled. ZXC looks awesome & JT looks SOOOO GOOD. I am loving her look here.  

The plot seems really interesting, and I love ZXC. I hope this will be great because most ZXC dramas are, and also because although she is a good actress, WYW's previous shows never interested me that much. The wrap up video gives soothing, nostalgic, slice of life, & healthy romance vibes. Hoping for the best!

I love Qin Lan! She plays a dancer this time. I am hoping for this one to be a mature romance drama since QL always take up mature dramas only. The director also directed 'Lighter & Princess' & the screenwriter has a good portfolio as well having recently written the domestically well loved 'The Hope', a remake of Japanese hit 'Dragon Zakura'. 

Finally a promising PXR historical drama! Her styling looks amazing too! 

Styling won me over! I did not hope for much when this was announced, but now I have high hopes. Hopefully this will serve as I looooovvvveeee Bai Lu. 

faraway project

faraway project

cast not decided/ faraway project

cast not decided/ faraway project

cast not decided/ faraway project

Another MBFB's work is being adapted, hopefully. Looking forward to cast confirmations. A faraway project for now

cast not decided/ faraway project