Pursuit of Jade

逐玉 ‧ Drama ‧ 2026

"Pursuit of Jade" is touted as a "great frenzy," and a "pre-made blockbuster"

Mar 10, 2026 09:41 pm

This has been on almost every online portals & news of china,just sharing the Articles for those who might be interested about what's actually going on. & I'm not a hater,neither a fan.

The platforms desperately inflated datas,but that has nothing to do With Actors or actresses, rather backfired at them which is very disappointing, their efforts & the drama would still probably get popular without these inflated datas. CVB ratings which is a official govt Rating further proves that It's just obvious that Tencent & IQIYI made it a pre-made hit by manipulation.

Main Articles- https://m.163.com/dy/article/KNM6MBUM05179RJN.html?spss=adap_pc

https://news.17173.com/content/03102026/001747927.shtml

https://m.163.com/dy/article/KNISD8J10556IDKW.html

https://m.163.com/dy/article/KNLDLETI05528K16.html

https://www.21jingji.com/article/20260310/herald/c9a2eeedfd93620cfc93f52c451f2ff5.html

The TV drama market this year has been incredibly sluggish, as anyone who knows knows. Since the beginning of the year, historical dramas have been released one after another, contemporary romance dramas have been released in droves, and suspense dramas haven't been idle either, but there have been almost none that have truly captivated audiences, generated collective discussion, or left them completely engrossed.

The platform is more panicked than anyone else. No hit products = no membership growth; no buzz = no advertisers; no trending topics = dismal year-end performance.As a result, all eyes turned to "Chasing Jade". With good looks, a strong IP, a solid production team, and a stable position in the ancient costume drama genre, it was practically a "chosen drama to save the market".The platform took one look and said: "Okay, you're the one." And then—the most extravagant "star-making style" promotion in history officially began

How exaggerated is it? The trending topics aren't just the previous one, they're the entire previous group. The promotion isn't just a push, it's full coverage. You want to avoid seeing it? The platform won't allow it.On the day of its premiere, the number of trending topics was overwhelming. The lead actor's gaze, actions, costumes, hairstyles, props, background music, and even a single glance could each trend on their own. Some counted nearly a hundred in total. Netizens were in stitches: "Has Weibo been taken over by 'Chasing Jade'?" "I didn't even watch the show, but I watched the whole thing through the trending topics." "I suggest renaming it 'Trending Jade'."

What's even more impressive is the platform-wide bombardment. You see it on every app you open. It's on the splash screen, the banner, the push notifications, and the recommendation feed. The platform's attitude is incredibly obvious: I don't care if you like it or not, I want you to see it.The data is frighteningly impressive. Record-breaking popularity, soaring viewership, number one market share, and a flood of advertising deals. At first glance, it seems destined to be the drama of the year.Tencent Video's offering of 99,999 one-day exclusive drama-watching cards was a real financial incentive, sparking considerable controversy in the long-running drama market.

Netizens summarized it as: "The trending topics are hot, but nobody's around." "The data is exploding, but the feeling is lukewarm." "The show hasn't even gone viral yet, but the marketing has."This creates an annual spectacle in the Chinese entertainment industry: the drama itself isn't a hit, but the marketing is; the drama isn't trending, but the hot searches are.Some people joked that the most exciting part of "Chasing Jade" is not in the actual drama, but outside the drama.

Regarding the "abnormal viewing history" situation, many netizens shared their backend viewing records and found that the data from both platforms was excessively inflated. Not only were there records of "viewers being forced to watch," but there were also strange phenomena, such as the show showing that the series had only been updated to episode 7, while the backend data showed that 14 episodes had been watched.One platform (Tencent) explained that it was a "page display error" and would not affect actual data on or off the site, promising to fix it as soon as possible. However, users were not convinced and brought up past instances of paying for "cloud subscriptions" or other paid services, demanding refunds and equal treatment from the platform. The other platform (IQIYI), on the other hand, remained silent throughout.

With the March 15th Consumer Rights Day approaching, Weibo, in conjunction with procuratorates in multiple regions, launched an online consumer protection education campaign. The comment section was immediately flooded with posts about the controversy surrounding the platform's alleged data manipulation.Many netizens have called on the relevant authorities to thoroughly investigate the suspected fraudulent activities of the two online video streaming platforms. They pointed out that the show "Chasing Jade" had inflated viewership and a surge in popularity, creating the illusion that the platforms were exploiting loopholes to confuse the concept of "complete broadcast" and create a hit, misleading users to watch and click, and disrupting market order. This is a typical case of viewership fraud and is suspected of violating the "Regulations on the Administration of Statistics in the Broadcasting and Television Industry." They hope that such phenomena will be rectified.

The backend data from a certain short video platform also revealed the discrepancy. The front-end displayed 4 billion, 5 billion, and 5.9 billion views over three days, while the backend views were 2 billion, 2.9 billion, and 3.4 billion respectively. The highest conversion rate was 63% (for the premiere), and the lowest was 55%, completely different from other film and television dramas. Some netizens pointed out that most film and television dramas have a conversion rate exceeding 80%, criticizing "Chasing Jade" for its extremely low conversion rate.

The biggest controversy facing "Chasing Jade" right now is that the content discussion does not match the popularity trend, which has led netizens to nickname it "boiled fish" to mock the data for being "too watery".If it had followed the normal broadcast schedule, "Chasing Jade" might have become a hit drama. With its combination of a big IP, popular actors, and a rising director, it garnered a lot of attention from the early stages of filming and was even bet on to be a "blockbuster" before its premiere. However, it has now fallen into a situation where it is ridiculed by the entire internet, and the platform's "guarantee" of its broadcast bears the greatest responsibility.

The most awkward situation right now is for Zhang Linghe and Tian Xiwei's fans. Their artists put on a great show, but now they've ended up in this mess. Even if the fans want to say the data is real, they have no confidence anymore, because it has nothing to do with the data created by the fans, but rather with the platform's manipulation. That's the crux of the problem. It can only be said that these two artists with good images have suffered an undeserved disaster. Such a good show, and they had to use it to their detriment.

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lilili

Mar 11, 2026 01:30 am

Thanks for sharing. This is an ongoing problem as you said and it's not going to get better anytime soon because every television and film industry worldwide is getting hit with the same slump. Another issue is that streaming companies do not make money directly from subscriptions. They make money on stock market valuations. So they have even more incentive to inflate the popularity indexes as a way to prop up their stock prices.

Knoob

Mar 11, 2026 02:07 am

wow, based on this, tho implied, CHina is still very much "conservative". the INTERNATIONAL market is a HUGE market, but they still view the domestic market as the king and the only standard for success esp in the entertainment industry. i mean, a billion market alone is not bad, if you ask me. so, if a project doesn't do well domestically, even if it's making waves outside the mainland, it still is not a hit. and we can't do anything about it. they can inflate / reduce numbers if only it will serve their primary market. aside from that, c-ent has the same toxicity as k-ent when it comes to fandoms. so controversies like this are common esp when a big project comes out w/ high expectations. so what can i do about it? im from the international tribe. i love the drama. most viewers from outside mainland just don't care about numbers and statistics. so im sticking around and will enjoy the ride just like Changyun.

this is my 2cents. you're welcome. ^^

lilili

Mar 11, 2026 02:22 am

Knoob:
the INTERNATIONAL market is a HUGE market, but they still view the domestic market as the king

Yes because they don't make nearly as much money on the international market as they do on the domestic market. They aren't like Korea where a big chunk of profits comes from overseas sales. China's overseas sales are much smaller than Korea's and they don't make as much from things like PPL because the censorship and uncertainty about release dates makes brands more reluctant to invest in a project.

TinLou

Mar 11, 2026 02:49 am

All stemmed from a bunch of antifans, haters and bullies 😂.

You know when you open the Pandora box, and expect it to just affect your neighbor. It doesn't work like that😂.

You know some of those claiming to never watched the show, they did watch and then claimed they never did 😂. Autoplay exists since long long on all platforms as long as your app is opened. As for the 'short views', well for your info this bug has been identified since early 2024. In an attempt to throw hatred on a show, these netizens have just contradicted and raised serious thoughts on all successful shows on tencent since 2024. You know the phrase that when you dig a hole for your neighbor, ultimately you may also end up falling in it. This is happening right now.

For my part, this show is very good, better than many shows which garnered high ratings in past too. My likes or dislikes will never depend on hateful netizens. I never follow the herd, definitely not such a disgusting herd!

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EramHasan

Mar 11, 2026 04:23 am

Thanks for sharing. i watched the premier episodes & kept on hold bcz it didn't interest me,but i saw the explosive datas on X yesterday & when i came here to see how's the reaction of other audiences,i happened to read peachblossomgoddess's comment & left https://kisskh.at/760409-zhu-yu#comment-25353394

She's one of the major cdrama watcher & reviewer in this site for many years & one of the unbiased ones that I've been following for long.She's also Chinese to make the judgement more clear to me.when i read she said "Right now this drama is like a bucolic Disney/Bollywood movie - two infatuated people eyeballing each other and chasing each other around the village and singing songs and dancing... Its very cute and pretty . But up to ep 7 nothing happens plot wise. Kind of boring in a mesmerizing way. So far the story reminds me of Lady in the Butcher's Shop but the comedy in that one lands a lot better".. now The linked article's news really aligns with her pov It's even more interesting.

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Knoob

Mar 11, 2026 09:52 am

"She's also Chinese to make the judgement more clear to me"..

hmmm. That's a very, very interesting take because i do follow her as well and always look and read her reviews, but i never got to the point of making my choices solely from her point of view, or any other reviews for that matter.

what i found ironic is that despite reading a lot of these reviews, i always find that i don't have the same perspective as them. so i always know that as a viewer (or as a consumer in general), our biases toward a certain product or in this case an aspect of a drama, basically stem from our personal experiences, circumstances, and maybe a little technical knowledge in the art of filming if we do have one. from games, to books, to movies, to fashion, and food, anything, i always make decisions based on what inspires me at the moment, not from what other people say.... now, i realized something.....

your perspective helped me deduce one very important thing today and that's.....

influencers are making so much money in this day and age because of such particular behavior.

EramHasan

Mar 11, 2026 12:49 pm

"Make my judgment clear" = "i wanted to know the audience's reaction", as i have already mentioned, okay? i did mention i watched first & came here later.Don't twist people's word and lecture them as you please. i make judgement of the actual popularity based on unbiased people's opinions,& that came from my own experience after i started watching cdramas. there's multiple things like "Influencers" that you mentioned, multiple fandoms & haters who controls the social medias & this small space of mdl too that makes anything look more famous & hyped than that actually is. & I'm not Chinese so i have no way to know what's actually well received in there. When i watch a certain industry's entertainment, i want to know what really reached the audiences in a good way,in their country & internationally too.there were multiple times when i was new in mdl that i asked here these questions & what i came across was none other than some actor actress stans & how everything their favourite is in was called a masterpiece,i was often attacked personally for commenting some drama is boring or not interesting and so on. I'd watch a drama based on my opinion & what i want to watch and end up enjoying & that has nothing to do with my Interest to know the real popularity of a drama or people's opinion.

Nightingale009 Author

Mar 11, 2026 01:15 pm

@EramHasan i do understand you lol, just look at the above comment of @Tinlou...she just made everyone haters,anti & bullies, Tencent apologized but She's saying users were lying instead.

i just saw PBG's comment & some replies said the beginning was changed from the novel & disappointed them as the story was more solid in novel beginning. Maybe the production team was determined to make it romantic from the get go as Idol dramas depend on chemistry & looks & how pretty & beautifully it could be Shown bcz idol drama watchers in General tend to focus on that, they are well fed now 🤷‍♀️ if we watch further, story will develop as It's a 40 episode drama.

Nightingale009 Author

Mar 11, 2026 01:20 pm

lilili:
Yes because they don't make nearly as much money on the international market as they do on the domestic market. They aren't like Korea where a big chunk of profits comes from overseas sales. China's overseas sales are much smaller than Korea's and they don't make as much from things like PPL because the censorship and uncertainty about release dates makes brands more reluctant to invest in a project.

Exactly. Domestic audience is still the main target of Cdrama industry, they almost never make anything Targeting international viewers, unlike South Korea. Most of everything is still made for domestic consumption. & their domestic market is too big to pay attention to overseas reception.

Nightingale009 Author

Mar 11, 2026 01:24 pm

Knoob:
wow, based on this, tho implied, CHina is still very much "conservative". the INTERNATIONAL market is a HUGE market, but they still view the domestic market as the king and the only standard for success esp in the entertainment industry. i mean, a billion market alone is not bad, if you ask me. so, if a project doesn't do well domestically, even if it's making waves outside the mainland, it still is not a hit. and we can't do anything about it. they can inflate / reduce numbers if only it will serve their primary market. aside from that, c-ent has the same toxicity as k-ent when it comes to fandoms. so controversies like this are common esp when a big project comes out w/ high expectations. so what can i do about it? im from the international tribe. i love the drama. most viewers from outside mainland just don't care about numbers and statistics. so im sticking around and will enjoy the ride just like Changyun.
this is my 2cents. you're welcome. ^^

You're welcome ❤️ It's always a pleasure to Know overseas viewers are Loving & swooning over Chinese dramas ^ ^

lilili

Mar 11, 2026 03:02 pm

Nobody should care about popularity in choosing what they want to watch. I am really enjoying About Love even though not many people are watching. But as someone who isn't loving PoJ and feeling very out of step with the international fans, it's kind of nice to know this isn't as popular in China 😂 it's ridiculous but I guess pretty human to want some company with your opinions.

Sushi88

Mar 12, 2026 04:03 am

If only some of ya'll would put this much effort into world affairs and things that matter instead of nonsensical issue like a dramas ranking. Seriously get a life, its entertainment, its show biz, not goodwill. You actually think there's no monetary strategy and corporate backing behind every single drama? 🙄

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Dreamoverdosed

Mar 14, 2026 09:28 am

lilili:
Nobody should care about popularity in choosing what they want to watch. I am really enjoying About Love even though not many people are watching. But as someone who isn't loving PoJ and feeling very out of step with the international fans, it's kind of nice to know this isn't as popular in China 😂 it's ridiculous but I guess pretty human to want some company with your opinions.

hey, that discussion post is now deleted, where that group exposed themselves inflating MDL rating? The user last night said it'll get 9.2 soon and now i see exactly 9.2!?! But i Can't find the whole thread anymore! She/He cursed me saying half of us wouldn’t know about this drama if they didn’t make it 9

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