Three Lives Three Worlds, Ten Miles of Peach Blossom

Frankly yet another great epic from Chinese Theater. Without giving the game away, it involves essentially two lovers who live three lives in different stages/ages. I simply adore these legends and plays from many centuries ago, wonderful acting, script and sets, clothing and mythological creatures.

If you have also seen 'Legend of White Snake', the storyline is (too me) along the same type of line. Boy meets girl, falls in love; much hardship occurs - and all's well at the very end.

I watch these great stories on Netflix, with subtitles, but like to turn the sound up so I can hear the Mandarin (I presume) speech. Without understanding, I can detect the variations of happy/sad tomes and so forth.

Watching novella's from different countries (China, Spain, Mexico, Colombia, etc) gives me an in-look to the soul and culture of them.

One thing I've noticed in many China based tales, is that there is usually a 'spoiler' - a female who falls for the same guy as the main actress, then will literally, lie, cheat, steal, connive, frame and harm her - all out of jealousy. Don't know if that is the norm, or just for the sake of a story.

Anyway, I'll leave it up to native Chinese speakers and so forth to fill in the blanks, but will just conclude by saying that I heartily recommend it.

'So glad I persevered with this series as the story started to get specially interesting for me in Episode 11. This is not to say that I found the first 10 episodes boring because they're not - they set the stage for the rest of the series. I just got initially overwhelmed at having to watch 58 episodes. But in Episode 11, when Ye Hua (Mark Chao) and Su Su (Yang Mi) first meet, the magic hit home for me. Their every interaction is precious. Even their exchanges when he is in dragon form are endearingly hilarious, like when he thinks, "How dare you!" when she kisses him and he forces himself to swallow the raw meat she is feeding him so she would not kiss him again.

Ye Hua is simply beautiful. Sure, the actor is handsome, but it is his manliness, depth, intelligence, wisdom, elegance, sincerity, strong sense of justice and most of all, love for and faithfulness to one woman that captivates. Another enchanting quality is his sense of humor that seems to be triggered only when he is with her like at the end when he is reminiscing their times together. Mark Chao did an exceptional job perfectly portraying such a compelling character. Yang Mi also did a great job as Bai Qian/Si Yin/Su Su. Who wouldn't find the beautiful goddess Bai Qian endearing when she gets dismayed at being labeled old by a clueless princess who has a huge crush on Ye Hua? However, I'm not too impressed with Bai Qian's fondness for wine to the point of severely affecting her emotions and decisions. Gosh, I'm sounding too attached to the characters. This is how powerful the hold this series has on its admirers. This is why I gave it a 10/10 even though the CGI is not perfect - the emotional attachment is off the charts.

The love story is indeed beautiful but it is the top-notch acting that raised this drama to a level of quality befitting its exalted position as the most watched Chinese TV series of all time, with over 50 billion views as of August 2018, just over a year after its release in January 2017.

Update: Watching the series a second time was an even more satisfying experience. I felt the magic from the first episode. Every scene between Mo Yuan and Bai Qian/Si Yin simmers with affection, with the mystery of "does he love her as a disciple or a woman" adding to the enchantment, if not poignancy, of the story. And now that I'm well aware of the significance of Jin Lian, the golden lotus, Ye Hua's attachment to Si Yin/Su Su/Bai Qian takes an even deeper meaning. A truly remarkable, beautiful, wonderful, mesmerizing series.

ETERNAL LOVE (San Sheng San Shi Shi Li Tao Hua / Three Lives, Three Worlds, Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms) (2017) was an unexpectedly wonderful show, super entertaining plot and lovable characters. I was skeptical going into this one, fearing it to be another "too cheesy to believe" romance. However, it completely pulled me in. Everything was really well done. <3 Although this definitely gets categorized as a guilty pleasure drama.

The character of Bai Quan played by the wonderful Yang Mi was perhaps one of the best female leads I have seen in a C-Drama yet. She is very loveable, feisty, witty and completely unique. I loved her character so much. Mark Chao was great in this series as well, but especially as the stoic, yet warm-hearted Ye Hua. I loved Bai Qian and Ye Hua and adored watching their love grow and their lives intertwine. They had such palpable chemistry. So adorable.

The whole cast was great, honestly. Bai Fengjiu and Dong Hua were also very enjoyable. Li Jing, although broody and tormented, was also a very interesting character. I honestly wish there were more episodes, even a second season. The costumes were dazzling, the setting breathtaking and the mythology was captivating. I fell in love with the world of Eternal Love, along with the majority of the cast.

And the music! Fantastic. My only complaint, and it's a pretty small one, was at some points the drama became almost melodrama, as if the emotions overshadowed the plot, slightly detracting from the suspense of impending doom. (Usually the melodrama had to do with Su Jin or Li Jing.)

This show made me cry, and I don't cry easily. But the ending was very satisfying, complete with HEA. Anyway, this was a very enjoyable, creative and dazzling show. If you're into fantasy romance, and xianxia, give it a chance. Unforgettable.

Having watched this drama for the third time now, I can say it is a drama worth watching again and again because at the core of it is a beautiful story of love. A love that spans many lifetimes and thousands of year. This is an epic love story of gods and goddess, placed in a mystical world where there are mythical creatures and the world is divided into many different worlds, being the celestial heaven, a place called Qing Chiu which is kingdom ruled by the Nine-tailed fox family, the mortal world where the mortals live, the underworld ruled by another royal family. There are also four rivers ruled by different rulers and a place called ten miles peach blossom where there lives an ancient phoenix who plays a crucial part in the story.

The drama is based on a famous novel which there is word that the story is very similar to another previous novel. But I believe that the novel this drama is faithfully adapted from, is in many ways different from the previous novel. Different enough to not be called a plagiarised novel. The acting is top notch and the costumes are very pretty. Although this is a very long drama spanning more than 50 episodes, it is worth watching for. Because the slow burn of the episodes build the story slowly. And makes the audiences understand why things happen the way they do and nothing is rushed. I think this drama is one of a kind drama in a Chinese dramascape where palace dramas, war dramas and rom com dramas are common. The genre is Xian Xia which means Gods chivalry ( I think) basically its about celestial beings and about heroic acts. I might not be fully correct but thats the gist.

If you ever feel like you want to try something new, I recommend watching the trailer and then deciding if you actually went to start watching it or not. The story starts slowly but it definitely pays off later on when you are much more invested in the characters lives and what happens to them. If you are thinking about something that it resembles, think of Lord of the Ring and Harry Potter which shows a world that is outside of mortal realms, mythical creatures and magic but with a Chinese background and more focused on the love lives. I highly recommend watching this drama to everyone.

This is the most intensely romantic TV series I have ever watched. I love a drama where the chemistry works between the leads making it a joy to watch them. Mark Chao and Yang Mi were amazing. Two beautiful people who got lost in their characters and made them come alive was a true joy to watch, The performances are first rate, the sets are gorgeous and the costumes breathtaking, with an equally beautiful soundtrack. Because I love epic love stories between people who experience love and loss, I knew this would be something I would enjoy. The fact that it spans lifetimes makes it all the more intriguing. I bought into the drama and have now watched it twice. It's hard to let go.

Though many people want to pan the series because it comes from plagiarized works, I don't think that is fair to the production. The script writers made something wonderful out of a mediocre novel, and that should be appreciated for its own merits. This was a beautiful piece of work and I appreciate the time, talents, and hard work of the production team.