Thank you Cho Na for the recaps, which provide a pleasant synopsis for those who will be re-watching or starting ! I also liked your aside warnings when you reacted to some scenes !

Your synopsis may help clarify some questions in this drama. ;)

It was a drama that made me dig a bit, since I have visited the real Lishan near Xi'an, with the Guifei baths, and remember enough from this place to feel that it had no connection whatsoever with the story in the drama. I went hunting for other mountain models.

I also was looking into the connection with ghost stories and the monkeys or apparently supernatural elements in the drama, and into the flower symbolism beyond the jasmine one which was not depicted in the series . I have written more about that in my (probably overlong) review on MDL.

I differ about the notion of "happy ending" since the last picture show the couple facing each other but not touching . Still this series was gripping enough, and knowing the conditions under which it was filmed from May 31 to October 11 (a very long shooting, partly because of Bai Lu's health trouble, of the need to rewrite the script on the go, and partly because of the near unbearable heat wave in the months June to September) despite some plot holes and because of the way the leads managed to bridge those, I have given it top score. :)

Sending an award to you for your gift to us of access to your writing !

Cho Na:

I envied you being able to visit the real Lishan near Xi'an, or any place in China. After watching so many C-dramas, I wish I could go to China, lol.

Ah that's life: I've "been around", and for me C-dramas are the reverse from you: a way to continue exploring or revisiting. I lived in China or was in and out for trips for several decades... Since I now sit in deep space, I am slowly drifting away from the Blue planet, but keep an eye on the places I had ties to...

Now that there is the visa free entry for many foreign tourists, why don't you go check out places that you noticed? Although a lifetime probably is not enough to see all there is to see, experience all there is to experience, take in all the savors, fragrances and sights (which furthermore often require advance electronic reservation on Wechat, now!) But straying away from some tourist traps, if you master a smattering of putonghua, or know your way with automatic interpreting tools, avoid acting as a BBC reporter looking for trouble, you could get around too.

Only avoid to travel in the heatwaves of summer, or in peak "herd migration" times (CNY and to a lesser extent Mid-Autumn Festival or "Golden Week" National Day holidays). Autumn, winter and early spring are best. Suggestion: visit Xiangshan Film and Television City in Ningbo where The First Jasmine was shot.... If you are adventurous, fit, young, and backpacker style, there are lots of inexpensive places to stay in, or, and high speed trains can get you to places sometimes faster and more cheaply than flying. Or, if you possess the fabled black card : hire a driver and personal guide, stay in high end hotels, experience fine dining clubs, if not go gambling in Macao!

I was blessed to experience roaming through the provinces before the tourism industry seriously started drawing hordes to beauty spots. But there are still wonderful travel experiences to try, as shown by young Katherine Olson or Yan (also check out her "how to travel in China in 2026" guide) who I follow on YouTube. Other young people have joined the traveling trend now. Instead of just snapping pics with their multipurpose smartphones, they often record their discoveries with a go-pro camera, or with drones, which can be purchased easily in China.