Xianxia is a fantasy genre that grew out of Chinese web fiction. Xian means an immortal and xia a chivalrous fighter, so the literal reading is 'immortal heroes'. Its heroes train in cultivation, the pursuit of power and long life, in sects and heavens ruled by spirits, demons and gods, and the plots often turn on love across those tiers. It differs from wuxia, which has no magic. Dramas such as The Untamed, Ashes of Love and Till the End of the Moon are filed under it, and the genre's biggest hits are usually adaptations of web novels.
Dramas
Shadow Punisher
魅影神捕
2026 · 30 episodes · iQIYI
3 articles
Love in the Clouds
入青云
2025 · 36 episodes · Youku
1 article
When Destiny Brings the Demon
献鱼
2025 · 33 episodes · Youku
1 article
FEUD
临江仙
2025 · 32 episodes · iQIYI
1 article
Till the End of the Moon
长月烬明
2023 · 40 episodes · Youku
2 articles
Love Between Fairy and Devil
苍兰诀
2022 · 36 episodes · iQIYI
1 article
Immortal Samsara
沉香如屑
2022 · 59 episodes · Youku
1 article
The Untamed
陈情令
2019 · 50 episodes · Tencent Video
7 articles
Ashes of Love
香蜜沉沉烬如霜
2018 · 63 episodes
1 article
Eternal Love
三生三世十里桃花
2017 · 58 episodes
1 article
The Legend of the Condor Heroes
射雕英雄传
2017 · 52 episodes
2 articles
Nirvana in Fire
琅琊榜
2015 · 104 episodes · iQIYI
1 article
The Journey of Flower
花千骨
2015 · 58 episodes · Hunan TV
2 articles
Chinese Paladin
仙剑奇侠传
2005 · 34 episodes
1 article
Sword Dynasty
剑王朝
2 articles
Where it comes up
Shadow Punisher: The Costume Detective Drama With No Romance and a Team Worth Watching
A guide to the iQIYI costume mystery Shadow Punisher as it airs: an imperial detective bureau, Luo Yunxi's hidden-identity lead, a buddy-comedy trio and a case-of-the-week format with a folk-horror streak.
Till the End of the Moon: a time-travel rescue mission aimed at the man who becomes the Devil God
She travels five hundred years back to stop a prince from becoming the Devil God, and falls for him instead — the 2023 Youku hit that reportedly became the most-watched period drama since 2020.
Sword Dynasty: The Sword-Realm Revenge Drama That First Paired Li Xian and Li Yitong
A guide to the 2019 iQIYI wuxia series Sword Dynasty: a chronically ill wine-shop youth who sets himself against a royal house, a world organised around the sword and levels of cultivation, Li Xian and Li Yitong's first pairing, and a divided reception.
Ashes of Love: the grape sprite, the loveless elixir, and 15 billion views
A carefree grape sprite is secretly the daughter of two deities, and has been fed an elixir so she can't fall in love. Jiangsu TV's 2018 hit turned that premise into a love triangle among brothers and a court conspiracy.
The Legend of the Condor Heroes (2017): An Easy First Door into Jin Yong's Wuxia
The 2017 series of Jin Yong's much-adapted novel: a slow, honest boy and a quick-witted girl in a country at war, how this version compares with the classics, and why it reads differently at home and abroad.
Noble Aspirations: How a Famous Web Novel Became a Two-Part Xianxia Drama in 2016
A guide to the 2016 xianxia drama Noble Aspirations: the web novel Zhu Xian behind it, a cast led by Li Yifeng, Zhao Liying and Yang Zi, a release split between Hunan TV and Tencent Video, and the argument over its special effects.
The Journey of Flower: the 2015 hit that turned a xianxia novel into a 20-billion-view franchise
Master-disciple forbidden love, a demon god, and a heroine who ends up carrying the world's power in her own body — the 2015 Hunan TV drama that became the first Chinese series past 20 billion online views.
