Best Rated Chinese Language Dramas on Douban (Updating)

This list's main source is Douban, the largest and most used website for rating Movies and TV shows in mainland China.

You might wonder what the best Chinese language dramas are in the eyes of natives. Hopefully, this list will provide you with some hidden gems.

About this list:

• There are some basic qualification criteria for dramas to enter this list:
  • Dramas released in 1980~2020 must be rated by at least 100K Douban users
  • Dramas released in 2021~2025 must be rated by at least 50K Douban users
  • 7.5+ ratings
• The list order is based on the Douban Ratings. Dramas with the same Douban ratings are ordered based on the number of rated Douban users.
• For seasonal dramas, the weighted average ratings are calculated. Plus the following rules:
  • Better watch all seasons to understand the whole story:
    • Only one season needs to reach all basic qualification criteria, other seasons just need to have 7.5+ ratings to be qualified.
    • If all seasons are qualified, only the first season is listed. Other sequels are mentioned in the comments. 
    • If not all seasons are qualified, then the whole drama is disqualified.
  • Can watch without all seasons: 
    • Only the first qualified season is listed. If only one season is qualified, then it is listed as standalone. If several seasons are qualified, other seasons are mentioned in the comments.
    • Seasons need to reach all qualification criteria to be qualified.