Pursuit of Jade leads iQIYI charts as platform reports record global audience rise

Zhang Linghe and Tian Xiwei's recent Chinese drama Pursuit of Jade has taken the top spot on iQIYI's charts, becoming the most-watched drama on the platform.

Released earlier this year in March, the drama consisted of forty episodes in total, starring Zhang Linghe (famous for Our Generation and The Best Thing), Tian Xiwei (famous for Moonlit Reunion and First Love), Snow Kong (famous for Blood River and Serendipity), and Deng Kai (famous for The Maid and Accidental Firing).

Thanks to its cast and their strong performance, the drama earned an 8.7 rating on IMDb and 9.1 on MyDramaList. The drama shows no signs of slowing down, as it continues to attract new viewers.

More on the story below.

These Chinese dramas join Pursuit of Jade in growing iQIYI's global popularity

iQIYI's global audience saw a record 130% year-on-year increase in the first half of 2026, with Pursuit of Jade taking the top spot on its charts. Along with dominating iQIYI's rankings, Pursuit of Jade also remained the world's most searched Chinese historical drama on Google over the past year.

The historical drama, famous for its visuals, performance, detailed costumes, and engaging story, follows Fan Changyu, a daughter of a butcher who married Xie Zheng, and together they go against the odds for love and virtue to find their happy ending.

The other dramas on the chart include How You Dare!?, Love Between Lines, Fate Chooses You, The Unclouded Soul, The Heir, and The Epoch of Miyu. Microdrama Midnight Temptation earned the number one title globally on iQIYI's rankings.

Other cdramas showing up once again on the chart included Fated Hearts starring Li Qin and Chen Zheyuan, Speed and Love starring Esther Yu and He Yu, and The Best Thing starring Zhang Linghe and Xu Ruohan.

Clearly, the list includes different genres, with The Best Thing falling into the medical and romance genres, Speed and Love falling into the action and romance genres, and Fated Hearts and Pursuit of Jade falling into the historical genre.

Why are iQIYI dramas gaining global attention?

Over the years, the platform has attracted a bigger audience by producing both microdramas and long dramas, catering to all kinds of audiences. Additionally, rather than limiting itself, the platform has applied strategies to reach a wider audience by adding subtitles in different languages and audio options, removing barriers.

Taking Pursuit of Jade as an example, the platform gives viewers two free episodes to introduce the story before asking them to subscribe for more. Additionally, viewers get multiple subtitle options to choose from, which include Chinese, English, Korean, Japanese, French, Thai, Malaysian, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, and German.

As for the audio, there are three options to choose from, which include Portuguese, Mandarin, and Vietnamese. The platform also offers Spanish, Thai, Arabic, Vietnamese, and Portuguese versions.

These features have over time helped iQIYI make its dramas more accessible. Additionally, by making selected dramas available on other streaming platforms like Netflix and Prime Video, the platform reaches viewers who might not use iQIYI directly.

Where to watch Pursuit of Jade?

With Pursuit of Jade continuing to attract more viewers, many fans might be wondering where they can watch this popular Chinese drama. The drama is available to stream on Netflix, WeTV, iQIYI, and iflix. Viewers will need a subscription to these platforms to watch the complete drama.

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