Your 2025 Guide to Chinese Shows on Netflix

It still amazes me that what used to be “niche” Chinese shows are now global streaming hits. Empresses in the Palace (甄嬛传) with its endless palace intrigue, When I Fly Towards You (难哄) capturing the sweetness (and messiness) of teenage life, or Day and Night (白夜追凶) with its dark twin-brother mystery—these are not just popular Chinese shows on Netflix.

For language learners, they’re like living classrooms. Every whispered line, every honorific title, every joke between friends is authentic material. And the best part? You don’t have to dig through obscure DVD sets—Chinese shows on Netflix are right there, neatly categorized. Historical sagas like The Princess Weiyoung or Eternal Love, modern youth romances like Hidden Love, and even slice-of-life comedies like Take My Brother Away. All just a click away, with subtitles to lean on when you need them.

Types of Chinese Shows on Netflix

Not all learners need the same kind of input. Some thrive on poetic dialogue, others want the slang of campus chatter. Here’s how the main genres can serve you differently:

Historical Dramas (古装剧)

Think flowing robes, palace corridors, and speeches heavy with formality.

• Nirvana in Fire (琅琊榜), Empresses in the Palace (甄嬛传), Story of Yanxi Palace (延禧攻略).
• Why watch: You’ll hear literary expressions, idioms, and a lot of cultural codes about loyalty and honor.
• For learners: Best if you’re ready to wrestle with complex vocabulary. It is very challenging, yes, but also rewarding if you love the sound of “classic” Chinese.

Nirvana in Fire (琅琊榜)

• A very smart man named Mei Changsu helps his friend become a good king. He uses his wisdom to fix past mistakes and make the kingdom fair for everyone.

Empresses in the Palace (甄嬛传)

• A young woman named Zhen Huan enters the royal palace and learns to be clever and strong to protect herself and her friends. It shows her journey from a nice girl to a powerful empress.

Story of Yanxi Palace (延禧攻略)

A determined girl named Wei Yingluo enters the palace to find out the truth about her sister. She bravely faces many challenges to seek justice.

Modern Youth Dramas (现代偶像剧)

Classrooms, bubble tea shops, part-time jobs, awkward confessions.

• When I Fly Towards You (难哄), Hidden Love (偷偷藏不住).
• Why watch: The Mandarin here feels like eavesdropping on real high schoolers or college students: slang, nicknames, inside jokes.
• For learners: If you want to sound more natural when chatting with Chinese friends, this is gold.

When I Fly Towards You (难哄)

• This is a story about two people who liked each other in high school but went separate ways. Years later, they meet again and get a second chance to be together.

Hidden Love (偷偷藏不住).

• A girl keeps a big secret: she has a crush on her older brother’s best friend. The story shows how she grows up and finally tells him how she feels.

Suspense and Crime Dramas (悬疑剧)

Dark alleys, interrogations, secrets unraveling one clue at a time.

• Day and Night (白夜追凶), The Bad Kids (隐秘的角落).
• Why watch: Vocabulary around law, justice, morality, but also everyday modern speech.
• For learners: Great for listening practice. Fast-paced, yes, but the gripping stories keep you hooked.

Day and Night (白夜追凶)

Twin brothers work together to solve tricky crime cases. One of them is a former detective trying to clear his name for a crime he didn’t commit.

The Bad Kids (隐秘的角落).

Three kids accidentally film a bad event and get caught in a web of secrets with some adults. It’s a suspenseful story about the choices they make.

Cultural Insights Through Chinese Shows on Netflix

Visual Aesthetics

Costumes aren’t just costumes. In dramas like Pearl Curtain (珠帘玉幕), Tang-era gowns and hairpins quietly teach you about ritual, hierarchy, and beauty standards. And then you get Till the End of the Moon (长月烬明), where Dunhuang-inspired sets and Buddhist motifs remind you that Chinese storytelling is deeply connected to history and religion. You can “read” the visuals as much as the dialogue.

Values and Worldviews

This is where things get interesting—and sometimes uncomfortable.

• In Empresses in the Palace, loyalty to the emperor and group survival come before personal happiness. Contrast that with a show like Game of Thrones, where self-interest often rules the day. Which one feels more “real” to you?
• In The Untamed (陈情令), characters are torn between love and duty. That tension isn’t unique to China—it echoes Romeo and Juliet. But the way it’s framed (family honor vs. personal choice) teaches learners about values deeply embedded in language itself.

Learning Resources and Strategies for Chinese Shows on Netflix

Watching passively is fine, but if you’re serious about learning, try these:

• Subtitles wisely: Use Netflix with a plugin like Language Reactor so you can see both English and Chinese at once. Don’t be afraid to pause, rewind, or slow down.
• Mix platforms: Viki gives you subtitles with pinyin, while YouTube channels are great for shorter clips—perfect for a 15-minute study break.
• Make it active: Keep a vocabulary journal, or better yet, roleplay scenes with classmates. Imagine reenacting a palace argument in Chinese: It is awkward at first, but unforgettable.
• Wukong Chinese Programs: Wukong Chinese offers a large number of Chinese learning resources, here you can not only learn how to speak Chinese, but also better fit the culture, understand Chinese.

Conclusion

So yes, Chinese shows on Netflix are entertainment. But they’re also tools—sometimes messy, sometimes imperfect—for stepping into a different cultural rhythm. Will subtitles always capture the nuance? Not really. Will you sometimes feel lost in a swirl of idioms and cultural references? Absolutely.

But maybe that’s the point. Language learning isn’t supposed to feel perfectly packaged. It’s about getting drawn into a story, stumbling a bit, and coming back the next day curious enough to try again. Join Wukong Education, and let’s delve into the world of interesting knowledge!

Q&A

Q: Are English subtitles accurate for learners? Not 100%. They simplify or smooth over idioms. But that’s not a bad thing, which forces you to notice gaps and ask questions.

Q: How to avoid shallow or stereotypical impressions? Pair dramas with “real” texts. Read a Tang poem after watching a Tang-era costume drama. Compare a news article to the way crime is portrayed in a thriller. The friction between fiction and reality is where the best learning happens.

Mao Ying | WuKong Chinese Teacher

Master’s degree in International Chinese Education from Peking University. Dedicated to the field of Chinese language education, with 7 years of experience as an international Chinese language teacher.