With so many fantastic dramas released this year, it’s hard to know which were the best. That’s why we’ve put together this collection, highlighting the best Chinese dramas of 2021. Check it out!

BEST CHINESE DRAMAS of 2021

Tencent

Cong Rong (Xing Fei) dreams of becoming a lawyer. Defying her mother's wishes, she secretly rents a place near home to start a legal internship. Her first case reunites her with childhood friend Wen Shao Qing (Tang Xiao Tian), who is also her new neighbor and landlord. As they spend more time together, tensions rise, blending professional challenges with personal emotions. Will this unexpected reunion jeopardize her legal ambitions, or could it help fulfill them? And might their rekindled connection ignite a lasting romance? This 2021 Chinese drama series was based on a novel by Dong Ben Xi Gu and was directed by Yang Long.

My Little Happiness

👩‍❤️‍👨 Happily Ever After 🩺

Born a concubine’s daughter, Shi Yi Niang (Tan Song Yun) was very well aware of her low status and lack of social connections. However, her low rank never once stopped her from speaking her mind or pursuing her dreams. Believing women should be free to pursue a life outside the home, Yi Niang hoped to someday use her embroidery skills to secure her freedom. But destiny had something else in store for her.&nbsp;

With the once esteemed Luo family now in a shocking state of decline, the only hope for salvation must come through an advantageous marriage alliance. Selected to be her family’s savior, Yi Niang is promised to a great general, the Yongping Duke, Xu Ling Yi (Wallace Chung). Now the wife of a man she hardly knows, Yi Niang finds herself entering an unfamiliar and unfriendly world. Scorned by the Xu family, Yi Niang must use every ounce of her strength to win their trust without betraying her own dreams.&nbsp;

Facing challenges on every side, Yi Niang and Ling Yi come to realize they have an ally in each other. Learning to depend on each other, an unexpected love begins to bloom, their strengthening relationship giving each a renewed strength to face the challenges ahead. But will their combined strength be enough to save the Xu family from impending ruin?

Adapted from the novel, “The Concubine-born Daughter’s Strategies” by Zhi Zhi, “The Sword and the Brocade” is a 2021 historical romance drama directed by Wen De Guang.

The Sword and the Brocade

⚔ Jin Xin Si Yu ✾ Team

Jiangsu TV, iQiyi

Ai Qing (Li Yi Tong) – also known by her gaming handle Appledog – is one of the top robot combat players in the land. A model professional, smart, and friendly, she has no shortage of fans. And chief among them is Wu Bai (Hu Yi Tian) – also known as DT.

Under Ai Qing’s tutelage, Wu Bai developed a keen passion for robot war contests and gaming, eventually becoming a star performer in his own right.

Now he has risen to become the robot combat scene’s biggest rising star, captaining a promising team new team named Pirate, which threatens to outshine even Ai Qing’s powerful Appledog team.

Despite their professional rivalry, the duo has remained close – and their feelings for one another keep growing, with romance also possibly in the cards.

But the ultimate challenge will come at the annual Robot Combat Competition, where teams Pirate, Appledog, and more duke it out for a much-prized trophy!

This drama was based on a novel by Mo Bao Fei Bao, and sees the two main characters reprise roles they played in the drama series “Go Go Squid!”

“Go Go Squid 2: Dt, Appledog's Time” is a 2021 drama series that was directed by Yu Zhong Zhong.

Go Go Squid 2: Dt, Appledog's Time

The Puppy Love Team

A new resident at the bustling metropolitan hospital, Mi Ka’s (Sandra Ma) life is far from boring. With a steady stream of patients to see and a variety of training exercises to complete, Mi Ka has little time for anything other than work, but she doesn’t mind. The chance to help people and save lives is all she has ever wanted and she’s happy she has finally found a way to make that dream come true. Ever one to volunteer when a new opportunity to help others arises, Mi Ka joins in a joint emergency rescue training exercise between the hospital and the police SWAT team, a decision that will change her life forever.

When a deadly earthquake shakes the very foundations of the world, Mi Ka is part of the team ordered to the epicenter of the quake to help with rescue operations. Joined by a team of military personnel, including Xing Ke Lei (Bai Jing Ting), a special ops agent who first met Mi Ka through a series of misunderstandings that left them both with a less-than-favorable impression of each other, Mi Ka and her medical team set out on a mission fraught with danger. Despite their initial misgivings, Xing Ke Lei and Mi Ka have no choice but to put aside their differences to help those hit hardest by the recent earthquake. Working side-by-side, their feelings towards each other gradually begin to soften as they observe how tirelessly each works to save lives.

When the nation in which they’re working is thrown into turmoil, Mi Ka and the rest of the medical team find themselves in very real danger. Putting his life on the line, Xing Ke Lei is determined to come to their rescue, but will he be able to get to them in time?

Based on the novel of the same name by Mu Qing Yu, “You Are My Hero” is a 2021 romantic medical military drama directed by Zhang Tong.

You Are My Hero

Youku

In the ultra-competitive world of e-sports, the all-male team, ZGDX, is second to none. But when their star player suffers a career-halting injury, team captain Lu Si Cheng (Xu Kai) is forced to search for a replacement. Si Cheng’s quest to find the best ultimately leads him to Tong Yao (Cheng Xiao) an amateur gamer with exceptional skills. Convinced that adding the first female player to his team would boost their PR, Si Cheng makes Tong Yao the team’s trainee. While fans of the team aren’t sure how they feel about the new addition, the members of ZGDX slowly warm up to her, though none quite as much as Si Cheng. Will sparks of romance ignite in their future? Based on a novel by Qing Mei, This 2021 Chinese drama series was directed by Qiu Zhong Wei.

Falling Into Your Smile

🎮 League of Love Team ❤️

iQIYI

Fu Rong (Ju Jing Yi) is the second daughter of the powerful Fu family. But after a terrible mishap and a painful illness, she is granted the gift of foresight.

Able to look into her own future, she can see great wonders – an unspeakable sadness.

She sees herself marrying a dashing duke named Su Xu Jin (Zhang Zhe Han). But she can also see that a tragic and untimely destiny also awaits her.

She begins to think that her untimely end may be linked to her relationship with the duke, so decides to avoid him at all costs. However, destiny will not be so easily dissuaded: A number of dastardly plots threaten to dethrone the royal family and cast the realm into chaos.

Eventually, Su Xu Jin realizes that the only way she can help bring peace to the land is to join forces with the duke – and attempt to do whatever it takes to change her fortunes!

This series was based on a novel of the same name penned by author Xiao Jia Ren.

“The Blooms at Ruyi Pavilion” is a 2020 Chinese drama series that was directed by Kin Lung Lam and Tony.

The Blooms at Ruyi Pavilion

💞 Blooming Love Team 🌼

When wealthy business group heir Ling Yue (Liu Te) collides with deliveryperson Gu An Xin (Zhao Lu Si), the former ends up in hospital with injuries and amnesia. Terrified, An Xin takes Yue back to her house to care for him. The pair ends up living together, despite their differences – and both start to feel the pull of attraction. But what will happen to their romance when Yue’s memories start to return? This 2021 Chinese romantic comedy drama was based on a novel by Chun Feng Yi Du and directed by Zhong Qing.

Please Feel At Ease Mr. Ling

The Rabbit and Wolf Team

As leader of an elite unit, tasked with protecting the imperial family, Zhou Zi Shu (Zhang Zhe Han) was not a man to be taken lightly. A man of great honor, who commanded much respect, he served the royal family with the utmost loyalty and was rewarded accordingly. However charmed his life may have seemed on the outside, in reality, it was not the life Zi Shu desired. Unsettled within himself, Zi Shu ultimately decides to leave his position in order to pursue his own dreams.&nbsp;

Putting the past behind him, Zi Shu is determined to start anew but even the best laid plans can be waylaid by fate. Not long after setting off to see the world, Zi Shu finds himself embroiled in a conspiracy that rocks the martial arts world. At the same time, he meets Wen Ke Xing (Gong Jun), a mysterious martial artist from the Ghost Valley, who is on a quest to avenge his parents’ death. Brought together by fate, the two become fast friends as they share a series of adventures that leads them ever closer to a legendary treasure that is rumored to give its owner ultimate power over the martial arts world.

Entangled in conspiracies and hunting treasure, Zi Shu and Ke Xing find themselves caught up in an adventure so epic, it could alter the course of history forever.

Adapted from the novel, “Faraway Wanders” by Priest, “Word of Honor” is a 2021 adventure fantasy drama directed by Gary Sing and Jones Ma.

Word of Honor

⚔ Honorable Team ⚔

For Mu Wan Qing (Zhang Jing Yi), 1926 would always be remembered as the year that changed her life forever. After the death of her mother, Wang Qing knew the time to return to China had finally come. Bringing her mother’s ashes home to be buried, Wan Qing returned to the land of her birth, with no idea of what awaited her once she arrived.

Growing up without a father, Wan Qing returned to China determined to reconnect with the man she barely remembered, in the hopes that while she did so, she might be able to discover the real reason why her parents separated all those years ago. But even more pressing than the mystery surrounding her parents' separation was the unspoken story of how the siblings she never really knew, had lost their lives. As Wan Qing begins to uncover the secrets of the past, she finds her path often crossing with those of Tan Xuan Lin (Chen Xing Xu) and Xu Guang Yao (Lin Yan Jun). One the newly appointed leader of insurgent troops and the other the son of a powerful military commander, they stand on opposite sides of the unrest in Shanghai, but they each take a liking to Wan Qing and agree to use their power and influence to help her on her quest. As they do so, the three begin to develop a strong and lasting friendship; a friendship that is soon put to the ultimate test.

Digging deeper into the past, the three friends soon discover that the story of Wan Qing’s family is much more complicated than they could have ever imagined. Working to unravel the mysteries of the past, Wan Qing finds her heart leading her down an unexpected road. Will her journey bring her the answers she seeks or will she find that what she’s been searching for the most has been beside her all along?

A story of family, friendship, and fealty, “Fall in Love” is a 2021 historical romance drama directed by Lin Jian Long and Chen Guo Hua.

Fall in Love

♡ Once Upon in Love ♡

Deep in the heart of Lingnan City, hidden from the eyes of the blissfully unaware, lies a dark and dangerous world, run by powerful drug lords whose insatiable thirst for money and power has destroyed an unfathomable number of lives. Among those consumed by the drug lords’ power was Captain Cheng Ji, a member of the city’s hard-working Anti-Drug Brigade. Desperate to bring down those who would hurt one of her own, Officer Lin Qiang (Lin Peng) agrees to go undercover to infiltrate one of the city’s most powerful drug organizations.

Now successfully hidden deep within the ranks of the Qiu Hu Group, Li Qiang wastes no time in collecting the evidence and information needed to bring the organization down. As part of her mission, she befriends Zhang Xian He (Zheng Ye Cheng), the adopted son of the powerful drug lord and Qiu Hu Group rival, Ma Hong Tao. Working side-by-side, Li Qiang has no trouble using her relationship with Xian He to glean information. But the more they’re together, the more complicated her feelings become. Unfortunately, Li Qiang’s conflicting feelings are the least of her problems once Xian He uncovers her true identity.

With a deadly war between drug lords looming, her cover compromised, and her heart in shambles, Li Qiang’s life hangs by a thread. Poised to take down multiple organizations, Li Qiang willingly risks it all, but will her efforts prove fruitful or futile?

Brimming with danger and suspense, “Stealth Walker” is a 2021 crime drama directed by Hong Ling.

Stealth Walker

🖤 Undercover Love 🤍

Bitten by a wolf while searching for her father, Ling Long (Connie Kang) lives her life as a woman split in two. Constantly switching between her gentle human side and the savage wolf that has awakened within, Ling Long can’t seem to control either side of herself. With both personalities dueling for control, she often comes off as manipulative and subversive, though in reality, she is exactly the opposite. Even so, her warring personalities don’t do her any favors, especially not when an arrogant young aristocrat by the name of Yan Qing (Gu Jia Cheng) catches her in an awkward situation and mistakes her for a thief.

Able to escape Yan Qin’s accusations once, Ling Long finds it much more difficult to do so a second time. Which is why, when a cruel twist of irony brings them together once more, Ling Long takes it upon herself to prove her innocence. Determined to find those responsible for the theft at the Yan manor, in which she now resides, Ling Long begins her own investigation. As she searches, she begins to notice her senses are becoming incredibly keen. But she’s not the only one noticing these changes. With the blood of the wolf clan coursing through his veins, Yan Qing is drawn to Ling Long’s increasingly wolfish tendencies, his curiosity piqued. Unable to resist the urge to get to know this strange girl, Yang Qing offers to help her with the investigation. Despite their rocky start, Ling Long accepts his offer and together they begin their search in earnest. But the deeper they dig, the more they find, eventually uncovering a plot that could shake the very foundations of their world.&nbsp;

Side-by-side, Ling Long and Yan Qing set out to right a multitude of wrongs but uncovered conspiracies aren’t their only problems. With Ling Long’s dangerous wolf side taking over more often Yan Qing must find a way to help before her humanity is lost forever. Can this unlikely pair find a way to stop both the evil running rampant in the world and the darkness that resides within?

Based on the web comic of the same name by Cheng Du Yuan Meng, “The Wolf Princes” is a 2021 fantasy romance drama directed by Danny Ko.

The Wolf Princess

🐺 The Howling Dynasty Team 👑

Zhou Jian Qing (Yan Zhi Chao) was raised like a princess, but when her wealthy family falls on hard times, her fairy tale life collapses. Unsure of her next move, Jian Qing follows fate and crosses path with Gu Nan Zhou (Chen Jing Ke), a successful CEO with a debilitating fear of crowds. Forced into a scandalous situation, Jiang Qing and Nan Zhou agree that a contract marriage is their only way out. Despite their initial animosity, they begin to find comfort in their married life. As they navigate their unconventional relationship, Jian Qing and Nan Zhou wonder if real love might be on the horizon. Tian Shao Bo directed this lighthearted 2021 Chinese romance series.

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