The City of Passing Time (2022)

A story full of love-hate and a never ending mess

I love Republican Era settings and this even has Jing Tian, only the sight of Jing Tian dressed up in that style was enough to get me on for this.

Talking about the plot, the overall conspiracy stuff is a mixture. Their is a revenge story going on but they also want to show the viewers about Opium consumption and it's ill effects on health and life… All the ways to trick each other are mainly related to Business stuff. So maybe some people could get bored of it, though that's a genre I enjoy… Their are many complicated family feuds (trust me MANY)… they show us struggles for freedom and dreams too. The plot twists are really strange but unpredictable too. It's quite fun to watch but not too much intriguing for your brain either.

The deeds of the main villain is a total MESS. Once I got attached to the characters and started understanding the story… what was waiting for me next door was hate, anger and frustration. Many things annoy you to death here but the story will be left with nothing without them. Anyone looking for light weight fluffy stuff, just run away. This ain't for you.

I realized the cinematography is good and those Qipao dresses, the wavy silky hairstyles keeps us reminding of that era. The visuals are definitely a very big advantage here especially because it's a long 40 episode drama so there has to be something on screen that people can focus on. Of course, in addition to this setting, Jing Tian and Xu Weizhou are the best eye candies to stare at.

Jing Tian ( as Feng Shizhen ) — Feng Shizhen is strong and smart and she knows what she's doing. Jing Tian carries out this role very gracefully. From spying secretly with the gentle look of a governess (teacher) to expressing her emotions at the right moment. I was so hooked up to her character and totally rooting for her from the beginning.

Xu Weizhou ( as Rong Jiashang ) — he is the young master of the Rong family. Jiashang is an arrogant boy and was trained in the military academy from a small age. He is capable but pretty reckless too. He seemed like a puppy in love who wants to do so much but he needs to grow big first xD. I really pitied him all the way.

It's kinda funny how Jiashang's favorite sentence in the whole drama was "please give me some more time". He said this so many times that I couldn't even count it now. He reminds me that most of the scenes between him and Shizhen were repetitive. Though I agree they had their chemistry to carry it on.

Jing Chao ( as Meng Xu An ) — he is super cunning. In the beginning he maintained a cool gesture and a strong aura around him. But his character changes a lot throughout the drama.

{ My issues with the drama…}
—•• The biggest problem here is its pacing. The drama just gets super slow that you feel like the energy is missing. No matter how the plot goes, I literally felt the urge to speed it up like 2x or 3x many times… and every incident is so connected to each other that you can't even skip anything.
—•• I have another problem with the plot which is a spoiler so in the comments section.

The songs were fit for the occasion but didn't sound so special to go to my OST playlist.

✧ Favorite dialogue — "You have to live on, to see hope and a favourable turn" ✧

As to conclude, I am quite satisfied with this drama as all I was expecting here was a good revenge story and a strong female lead, which I got… So this turned out to be a good one time watch.

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Passionate, slow-burn romance for the win!!

There’s something about the Chinese Republican era that’s so captivating, it has the ability to draw you in, and the settings and costumes also make it very spectacular to watch. This is the type of drama while you’re watching you’ll want to bang your head against the wall if you’re single, and will be definitely yearning for a man like Jiashang to pop up in your life, at least that’s how it made me feel. Although the main protagonist is an arrogant 20 yo in the beginning, as the storyline progresses he’s getting his character development by being more mature and responsible which I liked very much, not to mention he’s manly and extremely handsome. Shizhen is the epitome of elegance and beauty, impeccably well-mannered, sophisticated, and confident in any situation, the actress’s delicate features make her perfect for this role, and this era suits her so well.

The main leads' chemistry is no joke.. literally out of this world, whoever made this pairing and cast them together in this type of drama, I can’t thank you enough! They don’t have that much skinship, but their every scene was on fire, the crazy sexual tension, the ml’s yearning for fl, those deep long stares, lustful glances and passionate kisses, I wish I could erase all of it from my memory so I can watch it again for the first time *sigh*. I replayed their scenes again and again. Kudos to the actors, their acting is top-notch, I could feel their every emotion. Sometimes I wonder how can they not fall in love with each other while shooting these intimate scenes, it’s a forever mystery to me.

The music matches well with the scenes, making the viewing experience even better, and creating the atmosphere it should.

Now I do think that this drama is more for a mature audience rather than the younger ones as the story gets heavier and complicated after around episode 27. The story is complex and I got so immersed in it, that I wanted to pay full attention to the details as well in every episode not to miss out on anything. I won’t go into details because those would be major spoilers, and I want my review to remain spoiler-free, but the drama portrays some serious issues. The first half is more focused on the blooming romance of the main leads, while the other half is about revenge and revelations, packed with more action.

I wouldn’t mind getting more episodes just to watch more of their extraordinary chemistry, it wasn’t enough at all. The drama may be slow-paced but I never once got bored, instead I got addicted to it. Despite that it had some flaws, I couldn’t care less, it was a fun ride for me. To my delight, I just found out that the novel is even better and hotter so I’m on my way to read it.

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Do not left this drama because of it poor ratings. IDK which idiots have given it poor rating.

story : If you love spy, drama, romance, revenge and kisses this drama is made for you. Although this drama focuses more on revenge but it also have cute chemistry and moments with couple leads. I really love this drama. FL is beauty with brain and ML is handsome with humour. In short you should definitely watch this.
Acting/cast : For me it is 1000000000/10. All cast members have done justice with their roles. From Rong house maids to female lead all have done their job correctly.
Music : If it is Timmy Xu drama then that drama can never have cheap songs.
Rewatch value : Actually I personally do not watch drama again because of my busy academic life . But if you want to you can rewatch it.
Overall : EXCELLENT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! * 0 *

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Jing Tian is a Star!

This was my first drama with Jing Tian and she is gorgeous!! I don't really watch republican era dramas but I ended up watching this one with my grandma and I fell in love. The outfits, the hair, the whole aesthetic really was so alluring. The first episode pulls you right into the scene and is truly a great first episode. The chemistry between Jing Tian and Timmy Xu is electrifying and beautiful. I truly enjoyed their romance and in a lot of ways the spy plot felt very secondary. A little cliche but I enjoyed the spying and political scheming. The only problem was the ending and it was quite disappointing. However I did have a wonderful time watching most of the show and I can't wait to see more of Jing Tian!

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Calm and mature FL was took her revenge

What I like:
1. Casting and acting
Jing Tian is perfect for her role that I can't imagine another actresses' version of FL. Timmy Xu was good but I think he could do better than this, he's still young and have time to improve. The supporting characters did great, they did justice to their role.

2. Republica era style
Jing Tian looks really great in republican era style, the make up, hair, and even the-not-so-glamor-clothes that she wear in earlier eps, everything look good on her! In general, all female's clothes in this drama were great, one look and you know they are republican style, but the men's style, especially ML, look modern to me, nevertheless they look good.

3. Heart-warming brother-sister relationships
FL and her brother really warm my heart that I wish I could have a caring brother or sister like them. ML and his siblings are nothing like FL and her brother, but they have a great bond.

4. OST
The ost were suitable for the drama, and they played it at the right time, so it helped the emotional delivery. However, it didn't leave deep impression on me, but i think i will remember it when i hear it, maybe.

5. Mature, smart and calm FL
In Chinese drama land where you can find loud, nonsense and spoiled FLs everywhere, a mature, calm and smart FL is a gem. So it's refreshing to watch, moreover Jing Tian rocks her role here.

What i don't like:
1. The pacing.
The drama has enough "drama" with good pacing from ep 1-30, but after that, the pacing just became weirdly fast, like they are trying to wrap it quickly while giving an ending story for each characters.

2. The story
Like i said, this drama has enough "drama", it has good storyline with layers and layers of mystery and revenge, but, sometimes it's just too repetitive, like 3 people threaten to shoot FL and all of them were shot by 2ML, not once not twice, but thrice!

3. The development of 2ML
What happened during the auction was not like 2ML way of doing things, he was a cruel man that have patiently waiting for revenge, but he suddenly wanted to kill ML and created such a mess? And later became so supportive of FL's and let her plan the revenge. Imo, this development's purpose are to make the FL shines brighter in the drama and to help the flow of story, while ignoring the 2ML character.

Overall, I will recommend you to watch this drama if you are into revenge and romance drama. The first 30eps will get you hooked!

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Improves With Rewatch

My first watch through I liked this drama a lot, but I didn't "appreciate" its qualities like I should have. On the second viewing this drama really improved on me. Things that bothered me about the plot, didn't bother me the second time around (except for three different events that still don't make sense).

Firstly, this drama does have some melodrama aspects to it, which might bother you if you need everything to be realistic. It's quite a huge coincidence that the FL ended up growing up and living in the same house where something happened involving her biological parents. Her adoptive parents just happened to get the same house as that event took place? Anyway, this was one of the plot quirks that bothered me.

The acting was amazing on all fronts here. I don't care that people criticize the ML for his lovesick attitude, because I also found it off-putting during the first viewing, but then, on the second viewing, it all made sense. He's a young man, immature, and deeply in love, but he is nobody's fool. He's still damn smart, just rather innocent, but in no way is he foolish. He shows good taste in pursuing the FL, who yes, life has formed her to be a very icy, closed person, but she still has a strong sense of justice and right and wrong, and it does the ML credit that he sees her goodness and is drawn to it. He could have easily been led astray by any of the beautiful women pursuing him, but he chose the most educated, cultured, and demure of all the female characters. He didn't choose the most bubbly, naive, and stupid woman he could find, like in most C dramas.

This ML acted like his age (20), instead of being a cold, aloof icicle, like most MLs. He pursued the FL by doing everything he could to help her. Others have said that he didn't have enough facial expressions, but that is nonsense, as every glance was emoted through his eyes. He was far from emotionless, or without range. He WAS the character he was acting, and I can't imagine anyone else who could have done a better job. This has to be one of the best MLs I've ever seen. I didn't think so on first viewing, but that's my failing, as his acting was very subtle. The FL was perfect in her role, even though her character was meant to be cold and aloof at all times, you couldn't help but like her intelligence and goodness. The chemistry between the ML and FL was fantastic (the actress playing the FL always has good chemistry with her acting partner in every drama I have seen her in so far).

Well, on first viewing, my favourite character was the SML, because he had more depth of character, and his character remained a mystery throughout the drama. The actor playing the SML is a personal favourite of mine because he is an amazing actor that never disappoints. I was pissed off at the coup that took place at episode 26-27, as it was such a clumsy event, and made the SML seem like he had lost his mind, and then we are meant to forget all about this coup only a couple episodes later, as if it never happened, which is just bizarre! There is no way that this genius of a SML would have arranged such a clumsy, useless event, after years of planning! And what the heck was the point of making him out to have gone mentally ill for two episodes??!! After which, he went back to being the character we knew and loved again (or thought we knew). This was an asinine scripting decision! And there was sexual assault written into the plot at this point for NO REASON!! This makes me so mad, that they changed the character for two episode, and included a devastating plot point, for apparently no reason other than raising the drama. Pitiful scriptwriting!

There are two characters that look exactly the same. One is the ML's fiancé, Lang Xi, the other works as a nightclub entertainer/ actress and is an associate of the SML. Even their actor headshots look almost the same. Maybe they are related in real life, as the resemblance is downright uncanny. Just something I found interesting. This is a drama with a few big plot holes (the two I mentioned above are the largest), but overall, the acting was perfect, the sets, costumes, cinematography were of high quality, and the story was intriguing and captivating throughout. There were some rather odd music choices, when there was a high action scene, they played some sort of modern heavy rock music that was so distracting and unnecessary. Just a very bad choice for OST.

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What a rare gem!

Let me start off by saying that I typically dislike and stay away from all Republican dramas (blame it on the previous tragic ones I've seen). However, I decided to start this because of accidentally bumping into a short clip on IG - even from a 10 second clip of the leads kissing, I could feel the sizzling chemistry between them and it led me to this drama (and what perfect timing!).

I didn't have high hopes going in and I was expecting to drop it after a few episodes but boy, was I wrong.

The story and both leads captivated me immediately and I ended up binging 9 episodes the same day. Honestly, I'm a longtime fan of historical romance novels, so this genre has always been my cup of tea - a mixture of suspense, action, revenge, long intertwined family histories, and most of all slow-burn romance at the heart of it all.

I always love a strong female lead and while I am seeing many reviews saying they dislike her, I absolutely ADORE her - she won my heart from the first few scenes. And can we talk about how handsome the ML is? He looks so good in his large selection of suits that are perfectly tailored. This is the first drama I've seen with either Jing Tian or Timmy Xu and I ended up loving both of them - they were both perfect for their roles. I also really enjoyed their character development throughout the drama. She went from solely focusing on revenge to slowly dropping her guard and allowing herself to love. He went from the arrogant, rich son of the enemy to being mature and selfless.

The costumes were beautiful and the soundtrack was very fitting. CGI wasn't the best but let's be honest - C-dramas aren't known for their CGI, but I've seen worse so it didn't bother me at all (there were really only about 3 episodes with CGI that lasted like 2 mins each anyway). While there were some flaws, all the important characters were pretty fleshed out, and we received closure for them, which I always appreciate. While there were some scenes that seemed injected last minute to extend runtime towards the end (you'll know when you see it), I'm overall very satisfied with the ending and left with fuzzy feels.

I'd say parts of the plot can be heavy and is definitely for more mature audiences. There are some lighthearted scenes as well, to offset this, but just don't expect any teenybopper stuff here. The drama may be slow paced in some areas but I was never bored and was at the edge of my seat most times. Overall, this is one of the best executed stories from a drama I’ve seen.

Don't let the rating and negative comments deter you. I haven't been this enamored by a drama for a while and I'd highly recommend this. I almost never rewatch dramas but I'll be rewatching this one as it's definitely become one of favorites.

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Too many thing happen

I don't know exactly what happen, but this drama leaving me at the edge of bad rating. I think maybe the storyline quite busy with everything happen until don't know what to make of the focus of the one big plot. If you want to say this about warlords begin to seize their powers or about Feng Shi Zhen try to just seek revenge or her family history or just about Rong Family at the end that's not really the case...

What make me hang on till the end is Timmy Xu as Rong Jia Shang (JS). Really like him to act as the boy whose at the age to reach adulthood. The way he act when he tries to find his place in this world. How he handle the love he has toward Feng Shi Zhen (SZ) who is older than him. And how he handle his family problem. Really catch my attention.

The plot overall just messy all over the place.
> Meng Xu An feud with Rong Ding Kun & his sister's kids
> The history of Rong Family
> The Revolution party act at the end of the drama

Don't know but for me this overall just another drama to watch.

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Independent Female Lead, Crackling Romance, Gorgeous Clothing - So Glad I Gave This a Shot!!

I found out about this drama though an internet review. I was hesitant to watch because of the borderline rating (I almost never watch dramas rated lower than an 8) and comments about the pacing but I'm so very glad I did - I really enjoyed this one! To be fair, I believe it has a lot of elements I favor which might have played a huge factor like such independent and calm female lead, devoted male lead, amazing romance, ROC clothing and vibe and well-written characters.

I think the biggest reason why I loved this drama is the female lead and her narrative. The character herself is cool, calm, elegant, intelligent and somewhat morally gray, which are all traits I especially love seeing in a female lead and the actress pulled it off really well. She looks gorgeous too! But more than that, our FL is an active character in that her decisions influence the plot and her influences and is influenced by many characters throughout the show, which to me is the hallmark of a well-written character. You may not always like the things she does, but 1. she is the one doing things rather than passively reacting to them and 2. her emotional reasoning is pretty sound.

I ended up loving the male lead to bits too. It was really interesting because at first I the actor himself did the boyish and arrogant-young-master aura really well but was struggling when trying to portray the charisma and authority of a more mature adult. But later in the drama he pulled off those scenes amazing well too and it makes it wonder if the earlier awkward acting was almost deliberately so reflex the character's ability as that time and later development. If so, well done! I really loved our main lead's romance as well and the chemistry was on fire.

I really appreciated that the other characters - especially a lot of other other females roles like the sisters, the concubines, the finance - had their own back story and motivations too, even if the drama itself did not spend too much time on it. Everyone had their own reasons for doing things and very few characters existed solely to create obstacles for our main leads. Acting of the supporting cast was excellent as well. And yes, the plot did have some various sized holes pacing did suffer a little in the last 25% but overall it was not bad - I liked the overall drama enough that it did not detract from the viewing experience.

The setting/production/clothing was all gorgeous. Although some of the sets did look a little constructed, it did not take away from the aesthetic. I like the ROC time period for as a drama watcher because the whole era has this theme of the war and corruption and tragedy underneath all the dazzling glitz and glamour, which can make for great drama. This drama fits into this theme very well. Plus, all the pretty clothes an d its always fascinating watching a changing era where you can see how the past becomes the present.

This would be a decent re-watch, especially the cute couple moments. Overall, especially if you like the tags of this drama. I would definitely recommend.

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Good drama but unsatisfying ending

I'm always excited about a drama set in a time period other than the dynasties, and this drama delivered with beautiful costumes, atmosphere and suspense. My only complaint is the ending. For me, it ruined the entire series. I'm just not a fan of open endings, and honestly, why end it with the viewer not knowing whether ML is dreaming or if it's real? Such a disappointment and letdown. And I really hate the 'I can't be with you because your (fill in the blank) killed/maimed/cheated my (fill in the blank)' trope for separating a couple. Children should not have to pay the price for their parents sins, and has anyone in China/Korea ever heard of the word 'forgiveness'? I've never met a people so bent on exacting revenge...at least that's how these dramas portray the Asian culture. Because of this crappy ending, I subtracted 1 star from my overall rating.

I liked FL's mature, cool-headiness. None of that cute crap that Chinese dramas love in their leading ladies. She was smart and capable. Once again, I just didn't like her role/attitude in the ending.

I first watched Jing Chao in 'Princess Silver' and fell in love with his acting. He can go from cold and calculating to passionate and intense at the snap of your fingers. Unfortunately, once again, he didn't get the girl...but neither did ML depending on how you want to interpret the ending. SIGH.

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Really Nice, worth one time watch

I just finished watching this show and it is really good. Very disappointed with the rating as it keeps dropping. Due to this low rating I feel many would not start this show and miss out on it. Please don't miss out on this based on the negative reviews, rather give it a chance.
Show started on very high notes and Overall it was really good.
Its Pros would be:
1. Strong acting from FL, ML and 2ML. They looked and acted to their character really well and you would enjoy every minute they were in the frame. ML timmy Xu is not a very good actor and you could see that from his past works. But here it was covered by the way he understood the character. His overall persona was in the role and you would not complain. FL and 2ML are experienced actors and you could see in their portrayal.
2. Many have complained about the characters. But I liked the growth shown by ML and maturity of FL in the show. ML started as inexperienced rich brat but slowly he became obedient student to keen business man. His way of handling his business was also good, where he dumped his family dirty money and escaped the plans of his rivals smartly. I wonder why everyone is saying he was dumb, when he balanced his family and all the past mistakes from his father well and came out winner. Halfway through the series he was bound by his family and had to marry as per their will. But by the end of this show, he arranged for each and every member in just manner and fulfilled his life dream along with his family business. Thats commendable. FL is a spy trained by ML's rival and she wants to avenge for his family misfortunes. However later she comes across deeper secrets regarding her family. How do you expect her to drop all that for her love. Despite of all this, she has soft corner for ML and continues her love.
3. There are 40 episodes and too many characters who all have their story. Initially it felt long with many new characters getting added. However they all had their ending which was just.
Cons:
1. Few CGI scenes with Airplanes and Port and train station were really bad. I wish they had not included those.
2. Needed more romantic scenes for the lead, especially towards the end. they waited so long to come to this same as we viewers.
Overall, I really liked the show and feel everyone should give it a chance. This is one of the few Cdrama I did not fast forward for any scenes which is quite telling.

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City of Streamer - a review

Pure rating/review on the drama itself and not the adaptation vs novel.
City of Streamer is a good Republic drama. Drama pacing fluctuates and sometimes gives viewers a breathing room to digest heavy contents. City of Streamer can be label as a whole a love, family, suspense and revenge drama. The premise begs the question, can love surpass hate.
The leads have sizzling chemistry although it is mainly Rong Jiashang chasing Feng Shizhen. Acting was superb across the board from leads to supports. Each character is perfect in portraying their role in both looks and manners. The storytelling of the females are very rich and very three dimensional, with their struggles and role in society at that time. Supporting roles have highlights and each have their own ambition and desire, which is different from many drama where they are there to serve the leads.
The plot could have been better toward the end but overall it's a good drama. First 30 were logical and touching while the last ten episodes were rushed and very packed with a lot events happening that sometimes logic is thrown out the door. FYI, five episodes were deleted from the originally 45 episodes before the license review.
I can see myself watching it for a second or third time. However, I can also say I will skip some parts in the process. What is engaging in the first watch will stay a favorite. Basically almost all scenes of the first 30 episodes and Rong Jiashang's parts after episode 31.
I am partial to Jiashang. He is not a typical male lead. Instead he is an arrogant, chip on his shoulder and stoic young adult of 19 that will turn most drama viewers off on the first watch. However, as one keeps watching you'll get more information about his background and understand why he is the way he is. His growth process from boy to man is a joy, albeit bittersweet, to watch. Towards the end of the drama, I wish to see the boy at the beginning again.

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