Edit on October 22: It has now surpassed 9,000 on iQiyi!
Xiao Zhan's new medical Cdrama Small Town Remedy has climbed to a heat index of 7,500 on iQIYI, just a few hours after its October 21 premiere.
The heat index is iQIYI's real-time popularity score. It tracks how much buzz a show is getting on the platform, including views, searches, and fan activity, and it's one of the first numbers Chinese drama fans check when a big title premieres. Small Town Remedy passed 6,000 after just four episodes, and it's kept climbing since.
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How big is 7,500?
If you don't follow Chinese dramas closely, here's some context. The heat index isn't a view count. It's a score iQIYI updates in real time based on views, comments, bullet comments, likes, shares, searches, and how many people keep watching from one episode to the next. A drama's score usually builds over days or weeks as word of mouth spreads.
The biggest benchmark is 10,000. Fans call it the "10K Club," and only a small group of dramas ever get there. Hits like Love Between Fairy and Devil, Story of Kunning Palace, and The Knockout all made it, and The Knockout set the bar at 11,800.
It still has a long way to go to reach 10,000, and a strong start doesn't guarantee it'll get there. But with 26 episodes left to air, it's off to the kind of start that gets a drama into that conversation.
A fast start on two platforms
Small Town Remedy premiered on October 21 on CCTV-8, where it airs two episodes every night in prime time. It also streams exclusively on iQIYI, where VIP members got four episodes on day one. The drama has 30 episodes in total.
The quick rise isn't a total surprise. Xiao Zhan has one of the biggest fanbases in China, and the drama was one of iQIYI's most talked-about releases of the year before it even aired.
What is Small Town Remedy about?
Xiao Zhan plays Liu Zheng Liang, a gifted neurosurgeon at a top-tier hospital. After an unexpected incident costs him his job, he moves back to his small hometown and starts working in the emergency room of a local community hospital.
What starts as a step down turns into a fresh start. As he treats the town's patients, their resilience and kindness help him heal too, and the doctor and the people he cares for grow together. The story also shines a light on everyday healthcare in China's small towns.
The drama is based on the novel Fei Dao by Liu San Shu.
The cast and crew
Xiao Zhan leads a strong cast that includes:
- Ni Da Hong as Long Dong Dong
- Jiang Yan as Ai Chen
- Shi Peng Yuan as Liu Zheng Guang
- Jian R en Zi as Che Ming Ming
- Zhang Guo Qiang as Huang Dong Sheng
Small Town Remedy is directed by Zhang Xiao Bo and written by Nie Cheng Shuai. It was produced by Ningmeng Pictures together with iQIYI, and filmed mostly in Jinzhou, Liaoning, starting in October 2025.
Where to watch
Small Town Remedy airs nightly on CCTV-8 and streams on iQIYI, which offers it with English subtitles on its international site.
Are you watching Small Town Remedy? Add it to your list!
