Road Home is a beautiful Chinese drama that can be boring for some due to the slow-paced stories of everyday life. However, it will appeal to many for its quiet romance and second-chance love story. Check out the full review of the Chinese drama Road Home below!
Drama Details
Title: Road Home ( 归路 )
Episodes: 30
Release Date: March 14, 2023
Genres: Romance, Life, Drama, Melodrama
Country: China
Original Network: Hunan TV, iQiyi, Mango TV
Available On: Viki and iQIYI
Synopsis and Plot Summary
The storyline of the drama China Road Home follows the love story of Gui Xiao and Lu Yan Chen who meet at school and fall in love at first sight.
As they got older with many things they went through together, their feelings for each other grew stronger. They become inseparable and hope to spend the rest of their lives together.
But fate has other plans for them. The relationship between the two broke down when Lu Yan Chen left to join the police academy while he was in college. Meanwhile, Gui Xiao must deal with the changing economic circumstances of his family.
Time passes and 10 years later, Gui Xiao decides to join a friend on a trip to Qining where Lu Chen lives.
He still loves her and wants to satisfy her curiosity and longing. When they meet again, they are like strangers with the awkwardness between them. But Gui Xiao and Lu Chen still had the same feelings, which were hard to put into words because of the years apart.
Even so, there are also unspoken issues between them that hinder reconciliation including Lu Chen’s complicated family background. But is their love strong enough to solve all the problems between them including the reason why they broke up?
Road Home Chinese Drama Ending Explained (Spoiler!!!)
The Chinese drama Road Home has a happy ending. In Episode 27 Gui Xiao gives birth to a baby girl and at almost the same time Lu Chen is seriously injured while working away from home.
Gui Xiao then rushed there to meet her and delivered the baby at the same hospital where Lu Chen was being treated. After that, Lu Chen awakens from his coma and soon reunites with Gui Xiao.
In Episode 29, Gui Xiao and Lu Chen hold their wedding ceremony after he clears all his debts with the Zhao family with the remaining savings to give Gui Xiao a proper marriage.
Their wedding ceremony went happily, and the couple then returned to their old school, where they met and reminisced about their past.
Episode 30 is basically a flashback to when they first met as schoolmates and how Lu Chen fell in love at first sight with Gui Xiao. Flashbacks are mostly told from Lu Chen’s perspective.
Road Home ends with Lu Chen deciding it’s time to go home in 2020 when Gui Xiao shows up in Qining. He was actually going to be transferred from Qining back to a city near Beijing but was reluctant to go.
However, Gui Xiao’s reappearance in his life made him feel that it was time to return to Beijing because, to him, the home was where Gui Xiao belonged.
Road Home Review
It is a beautiful Chinese drama but it can be boring for some due to its slow daily life story. That said, it’s great for a lot of people for its quiet romance, one that many people can relate to – no fanfare, just love and devotion.
The story plot is created from the two main characters’ names with a second chance. This is a story with beautiful canyon views and touching moments, from high school in 2008 to today in 2020.
This romantic story follows a special forces police officer working under an explosives unit. He is in love with Gui Xiao
in high school but they drifted apart as the two sought different career paths.
Years later they meet and fall in love again, this time for real. Knowing how dangerous Lu Chen’s job is, Gui Xiao embraces him with all his heart because he loves him.
For once in a Chinese drama, Lu Chen wasn’t the type to say, “I left you for your own good because I love you so much.” Lu Chen was happy that Gui Xiao wanted to marry him, knowing that there might not be a tomorrow.
Lu Chen’s character is a very serious person. He is firm, doesn’t joke, doesn’t laugh, and doesn’t talk much (quiet). Most of the sentences he spoke were one-word sentences and were straightforward.
For him, actions speak louder than words. He also has a complicated family story that tormented him since childhood and here actor Jing Bo Ran can perfect his role as Lu Chen.
With a handsome face beyond words and the perfect physique for a formidable law enforcement officer, Jing Bo Ran tells the story through the expression on his face that says a thousand words that can’t be said.
In fact, Jing Bo Ran has a family story that is somewhat similar to the one in the drama. Perhaps he can feel the character’s pain better than others.
I love seeing how Lu Chen used his coat to wrap Gui Xiao from behind and gently hugged her, it was so cute.
This type of hug is the most relaxing, sensual, and romantic; Warmth radiates through the screen, immersing the viewer in peace, love, and safety. This was Jing Bo Ran’s extraordinary strength and charisma; sinking into his arms was so comforting and warm.
Whereas Gui Xiao’s character comes from a rich family but after he almost finishes middle school, his family is destroyed like Lu Chen’s.
She was independent but when in front of Lu Chen, she became a little girl, totally dependent on him. With a face that easily looked like a teenager, Tan Song Yun perfectly suited the character of Gui Xiao as a teenager and as an adult. Her character matures and continues to grow to be more understanding and compassionate.
All the supporting characters are also well-defined. Everyone behaves predictably without any surprising personality disorders. There are plenty of supporting characters who are flawed but predictable and a little corny.
As for the acting, it’s solid if not inspired. There are a lot of young male actors involved and they definitely do their best with the physical challenges.
Prospects are in their element, and they deliver. This was especially true for the female lead who really shined whenever she was with the male lead. The chemistry between Jin Bo Ran and Tan Song Yun is also very good here, very extraordinary.
Even so, there are some things that I don’t like here like the last 1/3 of the show feels voyeuristic to me. Many of their interactions are quite casual.
They always whisper sweet things to each other while in bed, on the phone or just doing homework. As if we eavesdropped on them. It’s very lovey-dovey but repetitive. There isn’t much depth to their conversation to take us to the next point.
Also, most of the subplots are very deep and only take up screen time. It’s great that 2CP’s “romance” is cute and inconspicuous, but its development is opaque and stilted.
I’m not sure if this was a direction or writer issue, but it was clear to me to see that The show was turbulent and lost narrative focus towards the end. Some plots are disjoint, others stretch, and loose ends are awkwardly handled.
On top of that, the 2.5-year time jump felt sudden and the whole marriage felt undercooked. You just don’t feel that much time has passed. Everyone looks (except the daughter) and behaves exactly the same and you can almost feel the plot fraying.
One more thing, the end of episode 30 wasted time by replaying their first meeting, which was repeated in the previous episode. I hope the conclusion points to their marriage.
Even so, this drama has a lot of potential and good things. What’s again the first batch of episodes touched me so I don’t regret starting it.
Then is Road Home worth watching? This is suitable for those of you who like romance without much incident, or for anyone who just wants to see the chemistry between Jing Bo Ran and Tan Song Yun.
Road Home Chinese Drama Cast
Main Role
Jing Bo Ran as Lu Yan Chen/ “Lu Chen”
Tan Song Yun as Gui Xiao
Support Role
Baby Zhang as Meng Xiao Shan
Li Min Cheng as Qin Ming Yu
Zhang Qiao Er as Duan Rou
Zhang En Shuo as Qin Xiao Nan
Wang Hao as Hai Dong
Liang Tian as Lu Zheng
Sha Bao Liang as Gui Yan Shan
Hai Ling as Cai Ya Ya
Nate Gong as Lin Nan
Lu Yu Peng as Gao Hai
Fenny Wu as Gong Lin
Xu Rong Zhen as Shen Jin
Song Ning as Qin Feng
Guo Xiao Tian as Hai Jian Feng
My Verdict
Road Home is a great Chinese drama for viewers who prefer slow stories without much incident and for fans of mature and calm romance melodramas. I recommend this for you to watch because it is a kind of down-to-earth everyday life romance story. My rating for the China Road Home drama review is 7.8/10.
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