User Reviews

Beautifully outline the story, details are excellent and how different and smartly each cases the female lead came up with unique and brilliant idea of solving them. Love the series and all the across actress in there.

I've seen this story twice, but finally I'm able to understand all story arcs, and boy, there are many.

For starters there's the intriguing story about a girl who plays detective in the palace in order to revenge the murder on her sister. She happens to sustain the weak and fight the bullies in the long run, and she gets help from a royal palace guard, the younger brother of the empress. This gentle, well behaved lady admires and loves the headstrong, self made girl, improving her status wherever she can, much to the annoyance of her own husband.

The emperor himself is frequently irritated by this unruly palace maid. Of course there's more than meets the eye and their developing relationship is the best story arc in my opinion, giving some comic relief as well.

Since this is a story about the palace there are the usual vicious schemes of the women in the harem, their characters are really fleshed out, and there's also the harem-in-reverse theme: our heroine is loved by several men. Not that typical is the sound and fulfilling ending of the series, which is great. Highly recommended!

Yet another Chinese costume drama with strong female lead which is thoroughly entertaining. The acting as usual is first rate and the plot which unsurprisingly sometimes sags over the 70 episodes is overall gripping. The story centres on a young girl entering the forbidden city as a seamstress to seek revenge for her murdered sister. To achieve her aims she must use all her wits to progress and find out the truth. Along the way with each step up she meets countless new enemies and challenges.

I've never finished a China-production drama before, especially not one which runs to 70 episodes. But this was my first time ever. It got me and my ENTIRE family fighting over the remote to catch up on the episodes we missed. We weren't even bored to rewatch any episodes with each other. The storyline is gripping, many sad stories and past hidden behind the villains. Almost every single cast member had such a deep plot behind them, and such fluidity to the story, that I was most impressed by the script itself. You felt the pain of even the maids surrounding the main casts. This does not fall into the cliches of period drama at all. The lead is way too witty (honestly ridiculous at some points), but her wittiness gives the show a really new atmosphere. Often times it really annoys me when i see the 'victim' script go by and the *lead is stuck in a predicament unable to explain her way out of it*, but not this one! Every single main cast and sub-storyline casts were all very well detailed and contrived. Villains boasted considerable intelligence and craftiness, and you often sat at the edge of your seat waiting to find out how the lead would get out of the mess this time round.

This is not one to be missed. The story really gets going a few episodes in, but you don't want to miss anything, because that's how detailed this story is.

STORY OF YANXI PALACE (Yan Xi Gong Lüe) There are no words for how beautiful this series was, especially regarding the gorgeously realistic sets, the breath-taking music (the song/visuals for Opening Credits, in particular, were mesmerizing. I couldn't bear to skip them!) and the entire cast was fantastic.

The heroine Wei Yingluo (Jinyan Wu) is a stellar actress, and she plays her part excellently. Wei Yingluo is very cunning and loyal servant and hell-bent on revenge for the murder of her sister. She starts off in the Embroidery House and it was amazing to watch her journey from there. I love how this show focused on the lives of the servants, maids, guards and eunuchs as well as the nobles.

There were mainly likable and interesting characters such as kind and frugal Empress Fuca Rongyin (Lan Qin), the loyal and aloof guard Fuca Funeng (Kai Yu), the hot-headed and willful Mingyu (Zixun Jiang), the kind and thoughtful guard Hailanca (Lawrence Wong), the intelligent and patient Empress Hoifa Nara Shushen (Chamaine Sheh), the proud Emperor Qianlong / Hong Li (Yuan Nie), the sly and crafty eunuch Yuan Chunwang (Maolei Wang), the devious and scheming Gao Ningxin (ZhuoTan), and the adorable and cautious eunuch Li Yu (Enshang Lui).

There was so much to enjoy about this series such as the fascinating story, the historical details, interesting characters, intriguing plots, realistic settings, immersive atmosphere, beautiful music, artistic design and cinematography. Even though the romance between Wei Lingluo and Emperor Qianlong was not as convincing as far as chemistry (especially compared to romance with Fuca Funeng) the series was still utterly amazing and spell-binding. One of my all time favorites. Love this series. Absolutely stunning.

Loooveeeee it. Bear with the many episodes but trust me it's all worth it!!!

I saw it as an elegant embroidery. Full of beautiful colors, seductive for wise performances and delicacy and generous story and locations and costumes. A historical serie like fresh air. Different, special, seductive, dramatic, beautiful in profound sense.

First, this is not a historical documentary. It's a drama. For pure entertainment purposes. So just watch and go on with your life, if you are not a historian.

The acting skill showed by the whole list of main actors and actress are superb. At first glance, it does seem to be a low budget production, however, this view is proven ridiculously wrong as I watch. With seventy episodes, it doesn't feel lengthy nor does the plot feel draggy. On contrast, it has sufficient time to show the development of a character in detail. It shines a different kind of light than other Ancient-themed Chinese dramas. This definitely stand out among all. Highly recommended. It is worth the time to watch.

This is hands down my favourite Chinese drama. I love all the characters, the story, the costumes, the music-everything. It has no right being this good, this compelling. Wei Yingluo snatches your heart from the start so everything she experiences hits you where it hurts. She's clever, resourceful and knows well enough to keep her true intentions so close to her vest. Her relationship with Empress Xiao is just... beautiful. And the "villains" of the story are just as compelling too. It's a must watch.

As a person who struggles to stay focused on a show, I've never binged anything like I've binged this drama. It sucks you in from the very start. No one is who they seem-my opinions of certain characters swung like a pendulum with each episode. Character writing, costuming, set design and cinematography are top notch. The ending is bittersweet and satisfying as much as it can be given all the craziness that went down.

If you never watched a drama series from China this is the one to start with! From the beginning there were lost of shocking twists and turns with beautiful art and costumes. Each one of the actors played the characters very well and you don't know who the true villain is till the end! I wish they would have continued the series in a different network but I know how one little article published can cause negativity. Don't let them censor china history and continue making great stories like this! I'm glad I was able to see this in English subtitles and got to learn a few new words too! Great job to everyone who had a part in this production!

This dramatic depiction of Wei Yinglou's rise to prominence in the imperial court is a captivating exercise in cinema. The spell of the drama falls apart at many of its edges if interrogated too deeply, but under a proper suspension of disbelief, the series is very fun.

It is very important to memorize the differences between the courtesans and servants early on. It can take a while for their character traits to distinguish them from one another.I particularly recommend rewatching the second episode a few times before moving on, especially if you're a non-native speaker of Chinese.

If you particularly care for palace intrigue or exceedingly vicious machinations of jealous wives, you will certainly enjoy the film. It is incredibly easy to love and to hate these characters. You can find far better plot synopses elsewhere, but I am here to encourage you to give it a shot based on fun alone. Go for it!

I haven't seen such a wonderful TV play for a long time The heroine is really too clever

This drama was gripping from start to finish. All of the characters are fully fleshed out, and it's very easy to root for the protagonist. While attempting to avenge her sister, she encounters many, many enemies; however, she is able to thwart them every time.

Additionally, I would watch it simply for the amazing costumes and setting. The Qing Dynasty era clothing and hair is worth it.

Outstanding casting, beautifully crafted storylines; exquisite costume and set design and cinematography; and a captivating soundtrack - Story of Yanxi Palace has it all! This show was my introduction to Chinese Drama (CDrama) and I cannot stop watching this series! I find myself now following the actors in their other works as well, but honestly, I come back to Story of Yanxi Palace again and again. And the song, "The Sound of Snow Falling" - I have no idea what the words mean, but the music and singing touches my heart and I see the movie scenes in my mind when I listen to the music. Love this show!!!

One of the best I have seen in a while. You get hooked to the story.

Love the story. Love the character of lord fu heng. I was hoping they are together lol. Every episode is exciting. worth to watch it.

Although I'm sure this program is taking tremendous liberties with history, it truly is excellent drama. The sets and costumes are gorgeous. The acting is extraordinary! The actress playing Yingluo is equal parts charming, loyal & ruthless. The actor playing the emperor dominates every scene he's in. The supporting actors playing palace maid, Mingyu & the Emperor's Major Domo, Yu Li are delightful. I'm watching this in the USA with subtitles, but it detracts nothing from the experience. I'm completely absorbed. The sad parts bring tears to my eyes. I'm streaming this on The Roku Channel, but I think it's also available on other services. If you like period dramas, this is definitely worth your time.

Normally I don't watch dramas with so many episodes (I leave that for the anime series ha ha) but this one wasn't tiring to watch, fortunately. The leading lady was really good, clever, funny, and overall a delight to watch. The drama was centered around her and her life in the palace, reminding me of scarlet heart. However, the addition of so many characters got me confused more than once. It was difficult to keep track of all of them and who was who. Also, the romance with the prince was nice, but the other love story wasn't that good. Finally, the drama got a bit boring halfway through. But, overall, it was entertaining, so 7 out of 10.

This drama about a witty and gritty girl who rises from the lowest servant position to being the most powerful female in the Forbidden City is a delight. It is well-written, well-acted and based on real-life figures during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor in the 18th century. As with most historical dramas, there are departures from real-life events. However, this is still a great introduction to Chinese history and culture during this era.

Wu Jinyan superbly stars as Wei Yingluo who becomes a servant in the Forbidden City to investigate and avenge the death of her beloved sister. Nie Yuan brings the right amount of majesty, severity and vulnerability to the role of the Qianlong Emperor. Qin Lan as Fuca Rongyin, the emperor's first Empress, is the epitome of grace and elegance. Xu Kai as Lord Fuca Fuheng, the emperor's brother-in-law, steals every scene he's in just by being his gorgeous self. Other cast members are no less stellar.

People are tired of formulaic characters and plots, and this not-so-great show stands out. The logic of the show is terrible, so don't get your hopes up, then you can enjoy it.

I really wanted to appreciate this drama, which I really looked forward the stunning visuals, costume and props design, as well as complex storylines.

However, the viewing experience was so bad that I couldn't stand even 5 minutes.

Especially listening experience. It was so obvious that the dialogues were not recorded on set, but instead later recorded and mixed, it sounded really strange, and the background ambience sounded fake. The echo was off, and sometimes between different characters, there was suddenly bigger noise than other tracks.

The way they speak are so pretentious, why couldn't they speak like normal humans do in daily conversations? And the music does little to help audience immerse in the mood and get into the context.

I understand the need for foley, but in some parts the sound and speed differentiates with the scene noticeably, which again contradicts the goal of dramas to create a believable cinematic world.

Basics really do matter.

This drama has had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. It's been so good. If you enjoy loads of drama, conniving, love, fighting, beautiful costumes, Chinese period dramas, etc... then this is for you. The lead woman in this drama is amazing. I don't want to spoil anything for you but I will say she is brilliant. She's strong-willed, desperate but not so much so that she looses her mind or integrity, loyal, determined and very smart. I think it would be fair to even say she's street-smart. She reads people so well and she's very quick on her feet. So many people try to mess with her but she usually sees through their bull crap and can turn the tides on them. This is such a wonderful drama. Some people maybe frightened by the fact that's is a 70 episode drama but I tell you, it's been worth it!