The best way to improve your Mandarin Chinese is by increasing your exposure to the language. This can be done in a lot of different ways such as learning with textbooks, following WeChat official accounts, signing up for classes, getting a language exchange partner, using fourthtone.com (thats us), or by watching Chinese TV shows which is the topic of this post.

It can be difficult to find the right Chinese TV shows due to a variety of reasons. Some shows use overly complex vocabulary or regional dialects, others are just unbearable to watch.

Below are some recommendations for shows that use language that is accessible to learners and have stories entertaining enough to keep you watching.

We plan on doing a few of these posts, each time introducing shows that we like. If you find this content interesting please leave a comment. Tell us if you like the shows or give us some recommendations of other shows that you have liked.

北京青年 - běijīng qīngnián - Beijing Youth

originally aired 2012/8/16

Beijing Youth is a story about a group of young Beijingers discovering what they want from life. The story starts with 何东 (hé dōng) and his girlfriend 权筝 (quán zhēng) preparing to get married. 何东 realises that he isn’t all too happy with his life and chooses to call off the marriage and quit his job. This sets up a series of events that lead 何东， 权筝， their family and friends on a journey of self discovery and growth.

大江大河 - dàjiāng dàhé - Like a Flowing River

originally aired 2018/12/10

This series is set during the Chinese economic reforms of the late 70s early 80s. It tells the story of 宋运辉 (sòngyùnhuī), 宋运萍 (sòngyùnpíng), and 雷东宝 (Léi dōng bǎo) and how they were able to make use of and benefit from the massive reforms going on in China during the time period. It also gives some perspective on how much and how quickly China has changed in the last few decades.

锦绣未央 - jǐnxiù wèiyāng - The Princess Weiyoung

originally aired 2016/10/11

While we generally aren’t the biggest fans of shows set in ancient times, we found this series quite enjoyable. The story follows 冯心儿 (féngxin’er) after she survives the massacre of her people and assumes the identity of 李未央 (lǐwèiyāng).

You can search for these shows on youku, iqiyi, youtube, or if all else fails google.

Fourth Tone Mandarin is a platform for learning Chinese. We provide interesting content and tools to help you accelerate your learning. You can learn more about us at fourthtone.com.