Cover These viral C-drama scenes understand the assignment. They create the kind of television moment that survives long after the episode ends (Photo: IMDB)
These viral C-drama scenes understand the assignment. They create the kind of television moment that survives long after the episode ends (Photo: IMDB)
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From spectacular entrances to devastating goodbyes, these viral C-drama scenes became the moments viewers simply couldn’t stop talking about
Some television scenes are good. Others become the scene—the one clipped into edits, replayed out of context, turned into memes and inevitably referenced whenever the drama comes up.
Chinese dramas have produced their fair share of these moments, whether through a perfectly timed romantic entrance, an operatic death scene or a heroine finally reaching the end of her emotional tether. Some became iconic because they were genuinely devastating. Others were so visually spectacular that the internet practically did the marketing for them.
Here are some of the most memorable viral C-drama scenes, from classic xianxia heartbreak to the moments that turned newer dramas into overnight conversation pieces.
In case you missed it: Read or watch? 9 C-drama adaptations that did justice to their novels
1. Susu’s jump from the Zhu Xian Terrace, ‘Eternal Love’ / ‘Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms’ (2017)
Above After being betrayed, humiliated and pushed to the brink, Susu makes one final choice that changes the story forever
Shortly after giving birth to her son A-Li and having her eyes stolen through cruel court intrigue, Susu (Yang Mi) is led to the Zhu Xian Terrace after a relentless barrage of betrayals in the Heavenly Realm. Convinced that Ye Hua (Mark Chao) no longer loves her and that her presence brings only misery, she chooses to leap into the mortal-obliterating abyss rather than remain trapped in a life that has become unbearable.
Her fall shatters the mortal trial, destroying Susu’s mortal shell and triggering the awakening of her true identity: Bai Qian, the formidable High Goddess and Queen of Qing Qiu.
Why it became iconic: Eternal Love had spent dozens of episodes piling misery onto Susu, making the jump feel like both tragedy and release. The image of Yang Mi in white against the celestial landscape became one of the defining visuals of the drama—and one of xianxia’s great exercises in beautiful suffering.
2. Wei Wuxian’s cliff fall, ‘The Untamed’ (2019)
Above Wei Wuxian’s final moments with Lan Wangji turned one tragic fall into one of C-drama’s most enduring images
Following the disastrous events surrounding the Nightless City battle, Wei Wuxian (Xiao Zhan) finds himself surrounded by cultivation clans that have turned against him. Lan Wangji (Wang Yibo) reaches him at the edge of a cliff and desperately tries to hold on, but Wei Wuxian ultimately falls into the abyss.
The moment becomes the apparent end of his first life before the story jumps sixteen years forward.
Why it became iconic: the scene works because the audience doesn’t yet know the full story behind the fall. It turns The Untamed’s opening into a mystery as much as a tragedy. Xiao Zhan’s devastated expression and Wang Yibo’s desperate attempt to save him also became irresistible material for fan edits, establishing the emotional vocabulary of a series built around loyalty, sacrifice and impossible choices.
3. Dongfang Qingcang comes for Orchid, ‘Love Between Fairy and Devil’ (2022)
Above The feared Moon Supreme discovers that there is one person in the universe he is willing to burn everything down for
When Xiao Lanhua (Esther Yu) is placed in mortal danger, Dongfang Qingcang (Dylan Wang) arrives with precisely the kind of theatrical entrance a demon lord deserves. The man who has spent much of the drama treating emotion as weakness suddenly makes his priorities very clear: nobody is going to hurt her.
Why it became iconic: Love Between Fairy and Devil understood that a romantic hero’s entrance can be an event in itself. The armour, special effects and sudden shift from terrifying warlord to fiercely protective lover made Dongfang Qingcang’s rescues perfect edit material.
More importantly, the scene crystallises the drama’s central trick: taking a supposedly ruthless fantasy villain and making his greatest acts of intimidation expressions of love.
4. Shiyi’s final journey in red, ‘One and Only’ (2021)
Above In a red bridal gown against the snow, Cui Shiyi chooses to follow the man she was never allowed to marry
Devastated by the gruesome political execution of Junior Prince of Nanchan Zhou Sheng Chen (Ren Jialun), mute noblewoman Cui Shiyi (Bai Lu) is forced into a political marriage with the deceitful Crown Prince. On the day of her imperial wedding, clad in a magnificent red bridal robe, she ascends the snow-covered palace ramparts, casts off her jewelled hairpins and steps off the wall to join her beloved in death.
Why it became iconic: the visual does almost all the talking. Red silk against white snow turns the traditional colour of celebration into an image of mourning, while the gown evokes the wedding that Shiyi and Zhou Sheng Chen were never permitted to have.
One and Only spends much of its romance on restraint, which makes the final image particularly devastating. It is the kind of scene that needs almost no context to communicate exactly what has been lost.
5. Yingluo’s kowtow through the snow, ‘Story of Yanxi Palace’ (2018)
Above Wei Yingluo would rather crawl through the snow than pretend she never loved him
To earn the Qianlong Emperor’s pardon and return to the Forbidden City after being sent to the harsh labour of the Imperial Workshop, Wei Yingluo (Wu Jinyan) must choose between two punishments: publicly declare that she never loved Fucha Fuheng (Xu Kai), or walk through the palace grounds during the year’s first heavy snowstorm, kowtowing every three steps across twelve palace sectors.
Proud and unyielding, Yingluo chooses the physical agony of the snow over a cowardly lie. The heartbreak peaks when Fuheng, having entered an arranged marriage with Erqing to save Yingluo’s life, walks past her in the corridor without stopping, bound by strict imperial decorum.
Why it became iconic: the sequence turns palace punishment into a masterclass in romantic devastation and unyielding pride. Yingluo’s physical exhaustion, the stark contrast of red palace walls against falling snow, and the sight of Fuheng walking past her created an image that captured everything Story of Yanxi Palace did best: high-stakes power games intertwined with raw heartbreak.
The drama’s unprecedented global popularity amplified the moment further—Google officially reported Story of Yanxi Palace as the most-searched TV show in the world in 2018, giving this sequence a massive international audience.
6. Zhen Huan’s final reckoning, ‘Empresses in the Palace’ (2011)
Above After years of surviving the emperor's palace, Zhen Huan finally gets the last word
By the end of Empresses in the Palace, Zhen Huan (Sun Li) has transformed from an innocent young woman into one of the most formidable figures in the imperial harem. Her final interactions with the dying Emperor Yongzheng are the culmination of years of betrayal, manipulation and survival.
Why it became iconic: Empresses in the Palace has achieved something unusual for a drama of its age: its scenes continue to be endlessly analysed, quoted, remixed and turned into memes. In 2025, China Daily reported that a livestream devoted to the drama attracted more than six million views while discussing the continuing popularity of its characters and memes.
Zhen Huan’s transformation is what makes the finale so satisfying. The woman who once entered the palace hoping simply to survive has learned to understand the machinery of power better than almost anyone around her.
7. Xie Zheng and Fan Changyu’s Reunion, ‘Pursuit of Jade’ (2026)
Above After war tears them apart, Xie Zheng and Fan Changyu finally find each other again—with an entire battlefield standing between them
Adapted from the hit novel, Pursuit of Jade flips traditional wuxia tropes on their head. Fan Changyu (Tian Xiwei), a sharp-witted, fiercely independent butcher's daughter, takes in the injured and undercover noble general Xie Zheng (Zhang Linghe).
While most historical heroines wait for rescue, Changyu’s defining moment arrives when the conflict reaches her doorstep. Rather than retreating, she charges into open combat wielding her family’s heavy, razor-sharp butcher’s cleaver alongside armoured soldiers.
Why it became iconic: the sheer visual contrast of Tian Xiwei’s sweet, doll-like features paired with ruthless, blood-splattered butchering techniques instantly went viral on Douyin, Xiaohongshu and TikTok.
The scene sparked thousands of ‘badass heroine’ edits, cementing Pursuit of Jade as one of iQIYI’s most-streamed blockbusters of 2026 and driving the series into Netflix's Top 5 non-English programs worldwide. It stands as the ultimate example of modern viral C-drama fandom celebrating female leads who take action into their own hands.
See more: 10 most-streamed C-dramas on Netflix
8. Xue Fangfei’s Return, ‘The Double’ (2024)
Above A woman buried by the man who betrayed her comes back wearing another woman's identity—and with revenge on her mind
Xue Fangfei (Wu Jinyan) is betrayed by her husband and left for dead. After surviving, she assumes the identity of Jiang Li and returns to elite society determined to expose those responsible for destroying her life.
Why it became iconic: The Double turns revenge into theatre. Fangfei’s greatest advantage is that the people around her don’t know who she really is, allowing the audience to watch every encounter with the delicious knowledge that she is several steps ahead.
The identity switch also gives the drama its most satisfying visual transformation: the wronged woman isn’t merely surviving. She has returned with a new face, a new social position and a plan.
9. Tantai Jin’s Demon God Arrival, ‘Till the End of the Moon’ (2023)
Above Before asking you to fall for Tantai Jin, the drama shows you exactly what happens if nobody stops him
Till the End of the Moon opens with Tantai Jin (Luo Yunxi) already transformed into the terrifying Demon God, laying waste to the cultivation world. In desperation, Li Susu (Bai Lu) travels 500 years into the past to prevent him from ever reaching that future.
Why it became iconic: most romances introduce their hero and let the audience gradually discover his darker side. Till the End of the Moon does the opposite.
It shows you the monster first.
That decision makes every subsequent interaction between Li Susu and the mortal Tantai Jin more interesting because the audience knows exactly what he might become. The romance therefore becomes a kind of countdown: can she change the future before the man she is beginning to understand becomes the person she was sent back to destroy?
10. Drunk Lan Wangji, ‘The Untamed’ (2019)
Above The famously restrained Hanguang-jun gets drunk and proves that dignity is apparently optional after enough wine
Lan Wangji (Wang Yibo) is normally the embodiment of cultivation-world discipline: quiet, controlled and almost comically serious. Then Wei Wuxian (Xiao Zhan) encounters him after he’s been drinking and discovers that the supposedly untouchable Hanguang-jun is considerably less composed than advertised.
Why it became iconic: set during the flashback arc prior to the tragic events at Nightless City, this scene offers a rare moment of levity. After hundreds of minutes of political intrigue, tragedy and emotional repression, watching Lan Wangji lose his composure was irresistible.
It also became a perfect example of The Untamed’s unusual ability to make small character moments as memorable as its enormous battles. The drunk Lan Wangji sequence gives viewers a glimpse behind the character’s carefully maintained façade—and lets the audience enjoy a rare moment when the famously stoic hero is simply having fun.
Sometimes the viral C-drama scenes that break the internet aren’t the ones involving armies, demons or tragic deaths. On some occasions, they’re just the ones where the most serious man in the room gets spectacularly drunk.
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Sasha Lim Uy Mariposa is a lifestyle journalist who is known for her food writing. Based in Manila and currently a marketing content specialist, she still dabbles in entertainment, beauty and dining coverage. She was the former managing editor of Esquire Philippines and was the food editor at SPOT.ph. She also edited several best-selling books about food.
She now writes for the different Tatler Asia markets as a contributing writer for T-Labs.
