If you are a fan of Chinese dramas and also a connoisseur of novels, web novels, or manhwa – you must already know that many Chinese dramas have been adapted or the storylines are based on novels and web novels.
Many C-drama adaptations of web novels have been very successful and have attracted many people to watch them. From ancient legends to modern love stories, everything is a feast for the eyes and imagination that makes audiences love it.
So for that, we here have collected several big dramas that have high ratings and are very popular. The following below is a list of the 10 best Chinese dramas adapted from novels.
Best Chinese Dramas Based on Novels List
1. When I Fly Towards You
When I Fly Towards You is the latest Chinese drama adapted from the novel “She’s a Little Crazy” by Zhu Yi. It is set in the early fall of 2012 when Yucai Middle School welcomed a cheerful transfer student named Su Zai Zai.
On the first day of school, Su Zai Zai meets Zhang Lu Rang, an aloof and cold guy, and falls in love with him at first sight.
Zhang Lu Rang also had outstanding academic achievements and privileged family background but constantly doubted himself on the inside.
Due to the presence of his genius younger brother, Zhang Lu Li, Zhang Lu Rang was always compared to him by his mother. For more than a decade, Zhang Lu Rang’s life was like living inside a thick shell.
He was introverted and spoke little. He looks calm and polite but keeps his distance from everyone. However, Zhang Lu Rang’s life changed when he met the cheerful and forward Su Zai Zai.
Su Zai Zai and his friends helped Zhang Lu Rang understand the meaning of self and slowly he began to understand how to plan his life. In the process, romance begins to develop across their group of friends.
This Chinese drama was released in 2023 with 24 episodes and you can watch it on Viki.
See Also: When I Fly Towards You Drama Review and Ending Explained
2. Reset
Li Shi Qing is a woman who is going to college but finds herself trapped in a never-ending time loop. Where he is always stuck in a public service bus that will explode and bring death.
Desperate to find no way to escape the time loop and his tragic fate, Shi Qing accidentally drags fellow bus passenger Xiao He Yun into the time loop as well.
Together they try to find a way to change their fate by ensuring the bus arrives safely at its destination, but trying to do so proves to be a difficult task.
This is one of the best Chinese dramas based on novels. It was released in 2022 with 15 episodes and you can watch it on Netflix. This tv show stars Bai Jingting and Zhao Jin Mai.
3. Hidden Love
It tells the story of Sang Zhi, a girl who falls in love with Duan Jia Xu, her older brother’s best friend who often comes to her house to play games. She is five years older than him.
Sang Zhi had a crush on Duan Jia Xu when he was young, but they lost touch with each other for some reason. After she graduates, he joins the university in the town she is in, and during their intimate and close daily interactions, they slowly fall in love.
This Chinese high school drama is adapted from the web novel “Secretly, Secretly; But Unable to Hide It” by Zhu Yi. It was released in 2023 with 25 episodes and is available on Netflix. This tv show stars Chen Zhe Yuan and Zhao Lusi.
See Also: Hidden Love Chinese Drama Review and Ending Explained
4. Nirvana in Fire
The story is set in sixth-century China when the Great Liang Emperor orders the unjust execution of his brother-in-law Marshal Lin Xie along with the Lin family, his 70,000 soldiers, and Crown Prince Qi.
Only one person survived the massacre, namely Lin Xie’s son, Lin Shu. He is currently undergoing medical treatment which completely changed his appearance and left him in a weakened state, unable to perform martial arts anymore.
Lin Shu then changed his name to Mei Chang Su and later became the head of the boxer world and founded the Jiangzuo Alliance. Twelve years later, Mei Chang Su returns to the capital with a secret plan.
It happened after being hunted down by Prince Yu and Prince Xian during their fight for the throne. She then decided to secretly help Prince Jing, the Emperor’s disliked son, and wisely get rid of all the cunning palace officials.
The series was released in 2015 with 54 episodes. You can watch one of the best Chinese historical dramas based on novels on Viki.
5. Joy of Life
Fan Xian is a man born in the ancient empire of Southern Qing with 21st-century memories. He lives in a rural town as the illegitimate son of the Minister of Finance, being raised by his grandmother.
His mother, Ye Qing Mei, was once a renowned inventor and founder of the Oversight Department, the nation’s spy ring, but was murdered shortly after her son was born.
Fan Xian has since been protected by a blind martial arts expert, Wu Zhu, his mother’s bodyguard. He studied martial arts and the art of poisoning from a young age, also aided by his knowledge from the 21st century.
After the assassination attempt, he decides to head to the capital to find out more about his mysterious mother and why anyone would want to kill her, as she considers herself an insignificant person.
He also wanted to know why he had memories of a completely different era. In the capital, he accidentally meets Lin Wan Er, the illegitimate daughter of the sickly Princess Royal, and falls in love with her.
Unbeknownst to him, she was the woman the emperor had chosen to marry so she would become the new overseer of the Royal Treasury, an institution set up by Fan Xian’s mother in the palace and currently handled by Princess Royal.
However, back in the capital, he becomes entangled in the intrigues of the Emperor and the two Princes, as well as the Surveillance Department, which makes him question his entire identity.
Joy of Life is a C-drama adapted from the web novel entitled “Qing Yu Nian” by Mao Ni. It was released in 2019 with 46 episodes and you can watch it on Amazon Prime Video.
6. Love Like the Galaxy
It tells the story of Ling Bu Yi, an adopted son of Emperor Wen and a talented and ruthless general of the Black Armored Army. He is currently on a personal mission to uncover hidden truths about the past, which has led to the massacre of the entire city and its clan.
Once she met Cheng Shao Shang during a mission to catch a fugitive in a rural village. Cheng Shao Shang is a young girl who has been abandoned because her parents went to war.
Neglected and uneducated, he had been a thorn in his side for his aunt and grandmother until the unexpected return of his parents after years on the front lines.
Always lacking a loving family, Shao Shang had been looking forward to being reunited with his parents, but the years of separation were bound to cause estrangement.
Shao Shang, however, is undeterred and determined to live for himself, and his unruly and daring nature, and his wits, begin to attract the attention of several people in the capital, including Ling Bu Yi.
This is one of the best Chinese dramas based on novels. It was released in 2022 and has 2 seasons with 56 episodes. You can watch it on Viki. This tv show stars Leo Wu and Zhao Lu Si.
See Also: Love Like The Galaxy Review and Ending Explained
7. The Untamed
Wei Wu Xian and Lan Wang Ji were two talented disciples from a respected clan. They met during cultivation training and accidentally discovered a secret that had been carefully hidden for years.
Taking the legacy of their ancestors, they decided to rid the world of an ominous threat. But in a dramatic turn of events, Wei Wu Xian dies.
Sixteen years later, Wei Wu Xian is brought back to life through a self-sacrifice ritual. He hid himself behind a mask and assumed his summoner identity.
Soon, Wei Wu Xian reunites with Lan Wang Ji and they start working together to solve the mystery of the present and uncover the truth behind the events of the past.
This Chinese Wuxia drama was adapted from a novel entitled “Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation” by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu. It was released in 2019 with 50 episodes and is available on Netflix. This tv show stars Sean Xiao and Wang Yibo.
8. The Blood of Youth
The storyline of this series follows the story of young people’s journey in the world of martial arts. The story begins with the Sixth Prince of Beili, Xiao Chuhe, who was exiled for defending his uncle, the King of Langya, who was suspected of rebellion. His status as a prince was reduced to that of a commoner.
Four years passed, and there was no news about Xiao Chuhe. He had already changed his identity to Xiao Se, the owner of Xueluo Inn. He lives his days in a dilapidated inn with two maids.
One day, a young man named Lei Wu Jie came and made a scene with a group of robbers at his inn. Using the excuse of asking for repairs to the inn, Xiao Se followed Lei Wu Jie to Xueyue City.
They had not yet reached Xueyue City, they had already gotten into a fight with assassins for helping Tang Lian, a Xueyue City disciple, who was delivering a chest of gold.
The golden casket contained a young monk called Wuxin. He was Abbot Wangyou’s disciple with extraordinary talent. Wuxin’s true identity was Ye Anshi, the son of the leader of the Tianwaitian Sect who was despised by many.
The Blood of Youth is one of the best Chinese dramas based on novels entitled “Shao Nian Ge Xing” by Zhou Mu Nan. It was released in 2022 with 40 episodes. You can watch this Li Hong Yi drama on Viki.
9. The Story of Ming Lan
It tells the story of Sheng Ming Lan, the 6th daughter of a disfavored concubine-born official. After losing her mother at a young age, Ming Lan was raised by her paternal grandmother.
Growing up, he learned to hide his true genius and used cunning methods to survive difficult conditions where family members schemed against each other.
She then meets Gu Ting Ye, the second son of a wealthy marquis household, who should have inherited wealth from both his parents and a peerage.
Unlike Ming Lan, Gu Ting Ye was forthright with his actions and never hid his true self, causing him to fall victim to all of his plotting and plotting against him, where he ended up losing everything.
Ming Lan and Ting Ye join forces, and through devious schemes and online efforts, they both rise up and work to get justice from those who have wronged them.
This Chinese tv show adapted from a novel with the same title is available on iQiyi. It was released in 2018 with 78 episodes. This tv show stars Zhao Liying and Feng Shao Feng.
10. Love Between Fairy and Devil
Dongfang Qing Cang was a Moon Tribe an emotionless monster. He killed his father, usurped the position of Moon Supreme, and led an army of 100,000 Moon Tribe soldiers on the path of destruction.
In order to save the world and stop Dongfang Qing Cang and his army, the first God of War Shuiyuntian destroyed his primordial spirit. Dongfang Qing Cang’s primordial army and spirit were sealed and his body was locked in the Haotian Tower under the immortal bonds of the Haotian Matrix.
But if his primordial spirit was restored, Dongfang Qing Cang would break free from his tower. Legend has it that only Goddess Xishan could avert this catastrophe, but she disappeared without a trace.
30,000 years after the War God’s first sacrifice, a disturbance occurred in the Haotian Matrix. While trying to help the new God of War strengthen the Matrix, Orchid, a weak and low-ranking flower fairy, accidentally finds herself inside Haotian Tower.
She was currently facing the Moon Supreme himself. Their meeting sets off a chain of events that threatens to change the fate of the world once again.
This is one of the best Chinese dramas whose storyline is based on Novels. It was released in 2022 with 36 episodes and is available on Netflix. This tv show stars Dylan Wang and Yu Shu Xin.
See Also: Love Between Fairy and Devil Review and Ending Explained
That was the list of the best Chinese dramas whose storylines are based on popular novels and web novels. Thanks for reading this article, have a nice day!
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