Eternal Love Ten Miles Of Peach Blossoms Review

Eternal Love Ten Miles Of Peach Blossoms (三生三世十里桃花) will probably end up as a classic in time to come just like The Legend Of The Condor Heroes which have been remade numerous times. It is known by several names but the direct translation of the Chinese title would be Three Lives Three Worlds Ten Miles Of Peach Blossoms. Just by the title alone, it is easy to guess the theme of this drama – a love that spans 3 lives and in 3 different worlds or realms. The story is based on a novel. However, I have not read it and as such, I can’t judge how closely the drama follows the original story in the book. All I can say is this drama is worth watching. My Eternal Love review below will tell you why.

My rating: 9/10
Episodes: 58
Type: Romance, Xianxia
Aired: January 2017
Images Credit: Croton

The Novel

Many Chinese dramas are based on novels. Unfortunately, these novels often don’t get translated into English versions. So, we are lucky to have an English paperback for Eternal Love Ten Miles Of Peach Blossoms. The English title is To The Sky Kingdom (Amazon affiliate link).

The Main Cast Of Ten Miles Of Peach Blossoms

Yang Mi as Bai Qian / Si Yin / Su Su

Bai Qian is the youngest child and only daughter of the Fox King Bai Zhu. She belongs to the Nine-Tailed White Fox Clan based in Qing Qiu. She is smart and forthright with a courage to speak her mind. Bai Qian will also not hesitate to right any wrongs done to her and is well-known for her beauty.

During her younger days, she was sent to Kunlun Mountain to train under Mo Yuan due to her mischiefs. However, Kunlun Mountain only accepts male disciples. Hence, she assumed a male persona with the name Si Yin and became Mo Yuan’s youngest and 17th disciple. She spent 20,000 years under Mo Yuan and became his favorite disciple. Si Yin was a carefree and cheerful lass.

Su Su is the name Ye Hua gives to Bai Qian when they meet in the mortal world with her memories lost. She has a more timid personality as a mortal but is kind and humble. Su Su has a son with Ye Hua called A Li.

Mark Chao You Ting as Ye Hua / Mo Yuan / Zhao Ge

Ye Hua is the designated Crown Prince of the Celestial Tribe in 9 Heavens. He is a calm and rational man with few emotions to show. Ye Hua is highly capable and has strong cultivation powers for someone his age. Brought up from a young age to be the Crown Prince, he has a strong sense of responsibility. His grandfather is the current Heavenly Lord and he reports to him.

Ye Hua also has a close resemblance to Mo Yuan. In fact, that is the first impression most people have of him. Mo Yuan is the powerful God Of War and master of Kunlun Mountain. He is a man of few words but wise and highly revered by all. Mo Yuan accepted Si Yin as his disciple despite seeing through her pretense as a male. He indulges her often and protects her as much as he can to the extent that they share a special bond. Mo Yuan is the son of the Heavenly Father.

Zhao Ge is Ye Hua’s identity when he is sent to experience his trials in the mortal world. Zhao Ge is a prodigy and exemplary scholar who becomes an official at a young age.

Vengo Gao Wei Guang as Dong Hua Dijun / Emperor Song Xuanren

Dijun is the former Heavenly Lord who has given up the throne a long time ago. He is one of the oldest High Gods who commands respect from everyone. Even the current ruler has to defer to him. Due to his status, experiences, and responsibilities, he is a calm and emotionless person who has long kept out of the affairs of others.

Emperor Song is Dijun’s mortal identity when he requested a heavenly trial to experience sufferings as a human.

Dilraba Dilmurat as Bai Feng Jiu / Consort Chen

Feng Jiu is Bai Qian’s niece. Her father is Bai Yi who is Bai Qian’s second brother. Feng Jiu is young and immature who likes to do as she wish. She is persistent in love and often confides in her aunt. While her father is strict with her, her fourth uncle and aunt will often cover for her when she gets into trouble.

Consort Chen is Feng Jiu’s identity in the mortal world. Her task on earth is to create heartaches for Dijun to enable him to undergo his heavenly trials. She is one of Emperor Song’s many concubines and eventually becomes his favorite.

Supporting Cast

Ghost Tribe

Lian Yi Ming as Ghost Lord Qing Cang

Qing Cang is an ambitious and cruel Ghost Lord who wants to wage war against the Celestial Tribe to rule over all the realms. But he ends up being sealed inside the Bell of East Emperor when he lost the war. Qing Cang has 2 sons and a daughter. He has a strained relationship with his second son.

Du Jun Ze as Li Yuan

Li Yuan is the eldest son of Qing Cang and has ambitions to succeed his father as the next Ghost Lord. He hates his half-brother, Li Jing, and killed the latter’s mother years ago.

Vin Zhang Bin Bin as Li Jing

Li Jing is the second son of the Ghost Lord. But he hates his father who had mistreated his mother as well as his elder half-brother. As such, he never bothered with his responsibilities but led a life of debauchery. He is attracted to Si Yin and one of the very few people who knows she is a woman.

Bambi Zhu Dan as Xuan Nu

Xuan Nu is Li Jing’s wife. She is also Bai Qian’s sister-in-law’s younger sister. Hence, Xuan Nu used to be close to the Bai family when she was young. But she was also envious of Bai Qian’s beauty. Thus, Bai Qian good-naturedly allowed her to learn face transformation skills from Zhe Yan to morph her appearance to resemble Bai Qian. But years later, the skills became handy when she needed to seduce Li Jing. Xuan Nu is a jealous and bitter person when it comes to love. She also has a child with Li Jing.

Dai Si as Yan Zhi

Yan Zhi is Qing Cang’s daughter. She shares the same mother as Li Yuan but loves both of her brothers just the same. As Li Yuan and Li Jing are always fighting one another, Yan Zhi gets caught in between and ends up in the mortal realm to escape all the unhappiness. But she has a kind personality despite all the evilness associated with the Ghost Tribe.

Nine-Tailed White Fox Clan

Ken Chang Zhi Yao as Zhe Yan

Zhe Yan is a phoenix immortal and High God with great medical knowledge. He has a close relationship with the Fox King’s family especially Bai Zhen and Bai Qian. Zhe Yan lives in Peach Tree Woods and likes to brew wine.

Alan Yu Meng Long as Bai Zhen

Bai Zhen is Bai Qian’s fourth brother. He is single and carefree. Bai Zhen often spends time with Zhe Yan to drink and play chess. He is a caring brother and uncle to Bai Qian and Feng Jiu respectively.

Marco Zhang You Hao as Mi Gu

Mi Gu is Bai Qian’s loyal servant and a friend to Feng Jiu.

An Yue Xi as Shao Xing

Shao Xing is a snake spirit saved by Bai Qian from bullies when she was still camouflaging as Si Yin. She was brought back to the Bai family to serve as a servant. But Shao Xing ends up falling in love with Sang Ji, the Celestial Tribe prince who has a marriage agreement with Bai Qian.

9 Heavens Tribe

Jiang Kai as Heavenly Lord

The Heavenly Lord is the ruler of the 9 Heavens. He is strict towards his grandson, Ye Hua, and has high hopes on him. The Heavenly Lord rules with the support of the different clans and hence, there are alliances that need to be maintained and powerful people whom he cannot offend.

Mou Feng Bin as Yang Cao

Yang Cao is the Heavenly Lord’s eldest son and Ye Hua’s father.

Liu Xiao Ye as Le Xu

Le Xu is Yang Cao’s wife and Ye Hua’s mother. She also brought up Su Jin as decreed by the Heavenly Lord.

Wang Ruo Lin as Sang Ji

Sang Ji is the Heavenly Lord’s second son and was his favorite to succeed the throne until he gives it all up when he falls in love with Shao Xing. He is then demoted to be the Water King of North Sea.

James Li Dong Heng as Lian Song

Lian Song is Ye Hua’s third uncle and the Heavenly Lord’s son. He cares about Ye Hua and would not hesitate to help him in his relationship problems.

Maggie Huang Meng Ying as Su Jin

Su Jin is the only survivor of her clan after the battle with the Ghost Lord. Due to her clan’s sacrifices, she was given to the Heavenly Lord’s eldest son and his wife to take care of as she was still a child then. She grew up with Ye Hua and loves him deeply. But her love is unrequited.

Lawrence Wang Xiao as Si Ming

Si Ming is responsible for the destiny of mortals. He is also Dijun’s subordinate. Si Ming has a close friendship with Feng Jiu and tends to share information with her about Dijun.

Hummer Zhang Yi Han as A Li

A Li is Ye Hua and Su Su’s son. He is a cute little boy who is always innocently trying to bring his parent together.

Liu Mei Lin as Zhi Yue

Zhi Yue is Ye Hua’s cousin on his mother’s side. She is young and immature. Zhi Yue likes to make things difficult for Feng Jiu as they share the same interest in Dijun.

Kunlun Mountain

Die Feng

Die Feng is Mo Yuan’s most senior disciple. He is also the second prince of West Sea. Die Feng has an elder brother, Die Yong, who is always sickly and no physician has been able to cure him until Zhe Yan helps out.

Wayne Liu Rui Lin as Zi Lan

Zi Lan is Mo Yuan’s 16th disciple and is close to Si Yin. He has never given up looking for her when Si Yin disappears with their master’s body. Zi Lan ends up being close to Yan Zhi in the mortal realm as he tries to track down Si Yin.

Synopsis

Bai Qian is a mischievous lass and princess of the Nine-Tailed White Fox Clan. The Fox King and Queen decide to send her off to Kunlun Mountain to train under the God Of War, Mo Yuan, through the help of a close family friend, Zhe Yan. Since Kunlun Mountain only accepts male disciples, Zhe Yan gives Bai Qian a new male identity, Si Yin. Mo Yuan can easily spot Si Yin as a female but keeps quiet and accepts her anyway. Moreover, she could wield the Jade Purity Fan, an ancient artifact of the tribe.

For 20,000 years, Si Yin stays at Kunlun Mountain and develops a special bond with her master. Mo Yuan treats her as his favorite as he pampers and lets her off easy for her mistakes. But the good times have to come to an end. The Ghost Lord is waging a war against the Celestial Tribe and he has the Bell Of East Emperor with him. The bell is a powerful weapon that could destroy everything in sight. It is created by Mo Yuan and only he knows how to seal it up. Before the war starts, Mo Yuan passes the knowledge to Si Yin.

When the Ghost Lord is about to lose the war, he uses the Bell Of East Emperor to destroy everything. Mo Yuan seals up the bell together with the Ghost Lord inside it. But the process results in his soul being scattered into pieces. Si Yin refuses to believe that her master has died. She secretly takes his body back to Qing Qiu and reverts to her real identity, Bai Qian.

70,000 years later, Ye Hua is now the designated Crown Prince of 9 Heavens and he bears a close resemblance to Mo Yuan. Due to political considerations and a twist of fate, Ye Hua also ends up being engaged to Bai Qian although they have never met.

Eternal Love Ten Miles Of Peach Blossoms Ending (Spoilers Alert!)

Does Eternal Love Ten Miles Of Peach Blossoms have a happy ending? Yes, for the main couple! Ye Hua didn’t die after all. He is merely in deep slumber and re-awakes after 3 years to reunite with Bai Qian. The last scene sees them in Peach Tree Woods talking about their relationship journey before sharing a kiss to end the drama. You can check out my Eternal Love episode summary if you want a full recap. While there is a happy ending for Ye Hua and Bai Qian, the same cannot be said for the side couples. So, if you are rooting for them, you will be in for a disappointment.

Relationship Between Ye Hua And Mo Yuan

Even early on in the drama, we are told that Ye Hua and Mo Yuan look alike. Well, they are played by the same actor after all! The reason why they bear a close resemblance to each other is because they are twin brothers. Their mother was pregnant with twin sons but almost suffered a miscarriage. Only the eldest twin, Mo Yuan, could be safely delivered. Their Heavenly Father used half of his immortal powers to create the Golden Lotus to house the second celestial fetus. Mo Yuan is instructed by their father to watch over the Golden Lotus and hopefully, one day, the fetus would come alive.

The Golden Lotus is placed in the Kunlun Mountain pond. Si Yin loves to look after it. That is why Mo Yuan feels that perhaps the romance between Ye Hua and Bai Qian is fated. It withered when Mo Yuan’s soul is scattered after sealing up the Ghost Lord inside the Bell Of East Emperor. But it comes back alive when Le Xu touches it. Not long after, Le Xu is pregnant and gives birth to Ye Hua.

Mo Yuan has confirmation about Ye Hua in Episode 49 when he awakes once his soul returns to his immortal body. Ye Hua finds out about his background when he returns from his heavenly trials in the mortal world in Episode 54. He wakes up in Kunlun Mountain and is told by Mo Yuan that they are twin brothers.

Did Ye Hua Die?

No, Ye Hua didn’t die. What happened is that Ye Hua already has half of his Heavenly Father’s powers in his primordial spirit when the Golden Lotus was created. Then, he defeated the 4 beasts in Yingzhou. These beasts were also created by the Heavenly Father with the other half of his powers which was then transferred to him. During the final battle with the Ghost Lord, Ye Hua uses the powers in his primordial spirit obtained from his Heavenly Father to stop the bell from destroying everything in sight.

But this damages his primordial spirit and hence, he falls into a deep slumber. It should have taken him decades to heal but his crystal coffin and the sacred burial ground hasten the healing process. Ye Hua re-awakes after 3 years of slumber. His body remains intact including his arm which he already regains after his trials in the mortal realm.

How Did Mo Yuan Wake Up?

Mo Yuan uses 70,000 years to piece back together his fragmented soul. While doing so, he chooses to reside in Die Yong, the eldest prince of West Sea. This is because Die Yong owes him a favor in the past and he is also his disciple’s brother. That is why Die Yong has been down with a mysterious illness for years. When Zhe Yan is requested to treat the prince, he finds out that Mo Yuan’s soul is present in the prince’s body. However, it will still take a few thousand years for Mo Yuan to re-awake.

To shorten the time to a few months, they will need the divine fungal grass that is guarded by the 4 beasts in Yingzhou. Ye Hua knows Bai Qian will sacrifice her life to get the grass. So, he risks his life to do it for her and uses all his cultivation powers to create the elixir. Once Die Yong has consumed the elixir, Mo Yuan’s soul returns to his body within a short time.

Is Mo Yuan In Love With Bai Qian?

There is no direct admission by Mo Yuan about his feelings for Bai Qian. But the clues are pretty clear that he does love her in some way. Mo Yuan is distracted and melancholic when he hears about her upcoming wedding with Ye Hua. But it is also clear towards the end that Bai Qian only sees him as her master and the feelings for him is one of disciple love and gratitude. She thinks that the reason Mo Yuan worked so hard for 70,000 years to piece together his soul is because he cares about all his disciples. But Mo Yuan is hinting at something else which Bai Qian is unable to see.

In the end, Mo Yuan’s feelings for Bai Qian remain buried in his heart. He smiles wistfully when his disciple happily mentions that Bai Qian will finally be able get married with Ye Hua’s return.

How Did Bai Qian Regain Her Memory?

Bai Qian regains her memory when she breaks the Soul Gathering Lamp while drunk. She is unhappy because Su Jin has been planting doubts in her mind that Ye Hua’s real love is Su Su and not her. There are remnants of Su Su in the lamp as Ye Hua has been using it to re-create her. When the remnants escape from the broken lamp, they immediately recognize their host and get absorbed back into Bai Qian. So, all of her memories as Su Su come flooding back.

Dijun And Feng Jiu

There are never meant to be together because Dijun has removed his name from the rock of destined marriages long ago. So, any romance that he has will be ill-fated. As such, he chooses to let go of Feng Jiu although he does love her and he admits it in a short exchange with her in Episode 57. His constant message to her is to move on as nothing will come out of their relationship. When Feng Jiu succeeds Bai Qian to be the Queen of Qing Qiu, Dijun’s coronation gift to her is a valuable old map with places that have ceased to exist. His hope is that they can continue to be allies.

Zi Lan And Yan Zhi

This is another couple with a sad ending. Zi Lan helped to save Li Jing’s child when Yan Zhi pleaded with him. He used the Kunlun Mountain elixir cauldron and part of his cultivation power to create the pill needed to give life to the child. But due to the past history between the Kunlun Mountain and Ghost Tribe, Zi Lan feels guilty for helping Yan Zhi. So, he vows that he will never see her again.

A few years have passed and the final battle with the Ghost Lord is over. Yan Zhi brings Li Jing’s daughter to thank Zi Lan for saving her life. After the girl has done so, Zi Lan tells Yan Zhi not to look for him again. This is in the last episode of the drama.

Li Jing And Xuan Nu

Li Jing is killed by his own father. He chooses not to inform the Celestial Tribe when he knows that Qing Cang is about to break out of the bell. He still cares for Si Yin and is afraid for her if she finds out about it. So, he keeps quiet and summons his father’s spirit out of the bell himself to try to kill him off. But he loses the duel with Qing Cang and is killed instead. This is in Episode 55 and 56.

As for Xuan Nu, she is killed by the beasts at Yingzhou in Episode 45. She is desperate for the divine fungal grass to save her baby and has become mentally unstable by then.

What Happened To Su Jin?

Su Jin’s persistence to kick Bai Qian out of Ye Hua’s life causes her own downfall. She indulges in witchcraft to create Su Su to make Bai Qian doubtful of Ye Hua’s love for her. But this also indirectly causes Bai Qian to regain her memory. As a result, Bai Qian demands Su Jin to return her eyes. Su Jin refuses and Bai Qian gouges them out. She complains to the Heavenly Lord but the hearing turns ugly for her when her past misdeeds on framing Yuan Zhen and indulgence in witchcraft are exposed. The whole sequence of events are in Episode 54 and 55.

Su Jin is then sent to guard the Bell Of East Emperor as punishment. But when Qing Cang breaks out of the bell, she turns tail and runs away. Her cowardly behavior causes the Heavenly Lord to banish her from 9 Heavens and strip her of her celestial status for eternity in Episode 56. In the mortal world, Bai Qian notices her having a hard life and quarreling with a man about divorce at the end of Episode 57.

Eternal Love Ten Miles Of Peach Blossoms Review – Does It Deserve The High Ratings?

To me, Eternal Love Ten Miles Of Peach Blossoms do deserve the high popularity and ratings. Not many long dramas can suck in viewers from beginning to end as we chase after the story. Yes, it defies logic at times and with plot holes here and there but by and large, it is still a nicely told story of love and sacrifice. The story of the main couple is not as predictable as it seems because you will be kept guessing how Mo Yuan is related to Ye Hua since they look so much alike.

The relationship between Mo Yuan and Si Yin is also ambiguous in the first third of the drama that when Ye Hua appears later on, there will be a mysterious feeling they are re-connecting as lovers. As a viewer, this will create excitement and curiosity which not many dramas can successfully do. Basically, the production team has managed to take a good story and create the right scenes, emotions, and pacing to draw viewers in as the plot unfolds.

Acting And Chemistry Between The Leads

One of the main positive reviews of Eternal Love is the great chemistry between Yang Mi and Mark Chao. There is nothing to complain about their acting as they are both able to bring their characters to life. You can witness the transformation of the characters played by Yang Mi which definitely makes the drama less monotonous. I think she played the different roles really well to give each of her life in different realms something different from a carefree innocent disciple to an upper class cocky High God.

Mark Chao’s characters as Mo Yuan and Ye Hua are more reserved and emotionless. But the moment Ye Hua meets Su Su, there is a distinguishable difference between Ye Hua as Crown Prince and lover. Mark Chao is able to portray this difference in expression and emotional intensity to make viewers more invested in the couple. So, we all end up chasing after the story of Ye Hua and Bai Qian. While their chemistry is good, I still prefer the Yang Mi and Ethan Juan pairing in Legend Of Fuyao. Perhaps it is due to Ethan Juan’s character which is way more flirty than Ye Hua and hence, the interactions of the 2 leads are more pleasurable to watch to me.

My Verdict – Watch It!

For this Ten Miles Of Peach Blossoms review, I would say just watch it. I know 58 episodes is quite daunting to give this a go but it is a love story beautifully told. Apart from the great story and chemistry, the set, costume, and cinematography are also highly captivating. Although they improve some aspects of these in the subsequent spin-off in Love And Destiny, I think Eternal Love Ten Miles Of Peach Blossoms will still be the favorite as being the first on air always has its advantages. Nevertheless, Love And Destiny is another compelling watch and I highly recommend it too. In some ways, I do prefer Love And Destiny compared to Eternal Love but that is a topic for another discussion.

Of course, you can’t please everybody and there will always be some people who find this drama less than enjoyable. For a 58-episode drama, some might indeed be tempted to skip certain parts too. For me, I feel the Dijun and Feng Jiu story to be a little forced. I know others might enjoy this pairing but I find Feng Jiu’s actions bordering on obsession.

Warning Before You Start

One word of warning before you start is that Eternal Love is a romance drama that is based on emotions. It has little action unlike wuxia dramas like Heaven Sword And Dragon Sabre. Neither does it have power tussles to give the drama more breadth such as in Legend Of Yun Xi. Hence, if you are looking for thrilling scenes or are used to rom-coms like The Romance Of Hua Rong, you will be in for a disappointment.

Basically, Eternal Love Ten Miles Of Peach Blossoms is pure serious romance. So, if you are not into long drawn out romance stories, this might well be one boring and draggy drama. But if you are open to sitting through a tale of love and sacrifice of 2 lovers that spans 3 lives and 3 worlds with a big chunk of the drama reserved for their story, then give it a go. You might just fall in love with this drama and even re-watch it numerous times!

For Fans Of Ten Miles Of Peach Blossoms

I think many people would see Eternal Love Ten Miles Of Peach Blossoms as a drama that is worth re-watching time and again. So, if you are a huge fan of this drama, the DVD is available on Amazon (affiliate link) at the time of writing: