Chinese dramas on YouTube

YouTube is a legitimate free option for some Chinese dramas, as long as you watch on an official channel. Several Chinese streaming platforms, TV networks and production companies run their own YouTube channels and upload episodes, often with English subtitles, free with ads.

Official channels follow their own patterns. Some upload a whole series, and others post only the first few episodes as a sampler. So far, YouTube has only been a sampler for the dramas we track. The YOUKU English channel has episode 1 of Hidden Love, and Tencent's official channel has episode 1 of The Dream Maker. Both point viewers to the platform's own service for the rest. Our Where to Watch panel says which episodes are on YouTube for each drama.

Because anyone can upload to YouTube, unofficial copies of popular dramas appear there too. We only link to channels run by the rights holder, such as the platform or studio that produced or licensed the show. If a video isn't from an official channel, we don't list it.

Subtitles on official channels are official, and both samplers we list have English. Video quality and ad frequency vary by channel.