Meet Yourself Review

Meet Yourself (去有风的地方) is a drama that has attracted pretty high ratings among both domestic and international audience. I started watching this with the expectation that this would be a pure romance drama. But I was wrong. It is more than that. It is hard to explain this production in a few words but suffice to say that it is not your typical Chinese drama. Hence, it is refreshing to watch something different from the usual. You can read the Meet Yourself review below for more on my thoughts on this title.

My rating: 8.5/10
Episodes: 40
Type: Wuxia
Aired: December 2022
Images Credit: Douban Movie

The Cast Of Meet Yourself

• Crystal Liu Yi Fei as Xu Hong Dou
• Li Xian as Xie Zhi Yao
• Janice Wu Qian as Chen Nan Xing
• Mark Ma Bai Quan as Xie Zhi Yuan
• Estelle Wu Yan Shu as Granny Xie
• Hu Bing Qing as Lin Na / Na Na
• Niu Jun Feng as Hu You Yu
• Dong Qing as Xie Xiao Chun
• Fan Shuai Qi as Huang Xin Xin / Xiao Huang
• Ma Meng Wei as Zhou Qing Tian / Da Mai
• Shi Peng Yuan as Xie Xiao Xia
• Tu Song Yan as Ma Qiu Shan / Mr. Ma
• Yang Kun as Aunt A Gui
• Ai Li Ya as Aunt Feng
• Fu Jia as Xie He Shun
• Zhao Zi Qi as Bai Man Jun

Main Characters

Xu Hong Dou

Hong Dou is a lobby manager in a 5-star hotel in Beijing. She is a workaholic who is constantly busy with happenings in the hotel. Hong Dou is resilient and appears as a tough and capable person. She has good experience in handling difficult clients and situations. She has an elder sister who is an executive in Shanghai and parents who love her.

Xie Zhi Yao

Zhi Yao is a friendly and kind man who is a start-up entrepreneur in a small village in Dali, Yunnan. He has a few ventures in the village including You Feng homestay, a cafe, stud farm, and a traditional fabric dyeing business. Zhi Yao is an idealistic guy with foresight and conviction. He is smart and the go-to person for the villagers.

Supporting Characters

Chen Nan Xing

Nan Xing is Hong Dou’s best friend from college days. They have a very close friendship and really care about each other.

Xie Zhi Yuan

Zhi Yuan is Zhi Yao’s step brother. They share the same father but different mother as their father remarried after Zhi Yao’s mother died 20 years ago. Zhi Yuan is a teenager who is going through a rebellious stage with no interest to continue studying.

Granny Xie

Granny Xie is Zhi Yao and Zhi Yuan’s paternal grandmother. She is a very sharp and fun old lady despite her age. She has a loving relationship with her grandsons.

Lin Na / Na Na

Na Na is one of the guests in Zhi Yao’s homestay. She also works in Zhi Yao’s cafe. Na Na is from Shanghai before arriving in Dali. She gets along well with others and has an amicable relationship with the other guests.

Hu You Yu

Hu You Yu is also a guest at Zhi Yao’s homestay. He is a musician and singer at the town’s pub. Hu You Yu is also a song writer who is hoping to find success. He is friendly and approachable.

Xie Xiao Chun

Xiao Chun is Zhi Yao’s relative and regards him as an elder brother. She helps Zhi Yao to manage his homestay and cafe. Xiao Chun is divorced and has a little girl named Hu Lu. She also has a mother Li Bao Ping and a younger brother, Xiao Xia.

Huang Xin Xin / Xiao Huang

Xin Xin is the Village Director’s assistant. She is an energetic lady with an aim to develop the village. Hence, she has a close working relationship with Zhi Yao as they share the same aim.

Zhou Qing Tian / Da Mai

Da Mai is a web novelist who is struggling for success. She is an introvert who lacks self-confidence in her own works. She goes to Dali to find quiet and inspiration but still couldn’t achieve a breakthrough. Da Mai tends to hide in her room at Zhi Yao’s homestay and is not particularly sociable due to her introvert personality.

Xie Xiao Xia

Xiao Xia is Xiao Chun’s younger brother. He is a woodcarver under the tutelage of the village’s woodcarving master. However, Xiao Xia can get easily distracted by online temptations and tends to quarrel with his master on his lack of discipline. He sees no future in the way his master does things and wants to get out to earn more money.

Ma Qiu Shan / Mr. Ma

Mr. Ma is a guest at Zhi Yao’s homestay. He spends his days meditating and is a deep thinker which makes others difficult to understand his thoughts at times.

Aunt A Gui

Aunt A Gui is part owner and cleaner at the homestay. She has a sharp tongue with her honest and straightforward personality. Aunt Gui has 2 kids whom she is very proud of due to their success in a big city. Hence, she can come across as a showoff.

Aunt Feng

Aunt Feng works in Zhi Yao’s warehouse. She has a hard life whereby every penny counts. She also has a son, Xie Jiang, who is in prison. Aunt Feng and Aunt A Gui are old acquaintances but she dislikes the latter due to her show-offish tendencies. Aunt Feng is married to Uncle A Chang.

Xie He Shun

Xie He Shun is an expert woodcarver in the village and Xiao Xia’s master. He is a hot-tempered man and frustrated by the lack of future in his field since hand woodcarving has been replaced by machines. Xie He Shun is also old-fashion and finds it hard to adapt to technological changes.

Bai Man Jun

Bai Man Jun is a new guest at the homestay after Da Mai checked out. She is a 40-year-old divorcee with a daughter who is a college student.

Synopsis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbpEiVq4urY&ab_channel=VikiGlobalTV

Hong Dou is a workaholic who has spent 10 years working in a 5-star hotel in Beijing. Just like most young people, she aims to earn enough to buy a house and car in the big city. Hong Dou is due for a promotion and has been putting off going on a holiday trip to Yunnan with her best friend, Nan Xing. However, Nan Xing is unexpectedly diagnosed with late stage cancer during a checkup. Not long after, she dies and Hong Dou finds herself losing direction in her life.

As Hong Dou tries to get over her best friend’s death and finds meaning in life again, she decides to quit her job and goes on a trip to Yunnan. She arrives at Yun Miao Village which is a small village with an intention to stay for 3 months before returning to her life in a big city. At the village, she meets Zhi Yao who is a local boy with an aim to develop the area to give the people a better life without needing to make a living far away from home.

Apart from Zhi Yao, Hong Dou also strikes up a friendship with a few others who have come to the village to get away from the stresses of life in the big cities. Each of them has their own heartaches and challenges to face. Will Hong Dou be tempted to remain in the village to help out Zhi Yao?

Meet Yourself Ending And Recap (Spoilers Alert!)

Meet Yourself has a happy ending. Hong Dou moved back to Yun Miao Village and bought over an abandoned guesthouse project with Na Na as her business partner. While Zhi Yao was a consideration, Hong Dou’s main motivation was to start her own business given her experience in the industry.

A year later, Hong Dou’s guesthouse was ready to open for business. Her parents came and met Zhi Yao and his family. Hong Dou also invited the friends she made while staying in You Feng homestay for the soft launch of her guesthouse. It was a reunion of sorts for the group of friends. Mr. Ma is now running a teahouse business. Hu You Yu is now working in Beijing and dating Bai Man Jun who had left earlier to take up a job in the same city. She was the catalyst that made Hu You Yu leave the village a year ago.

Xiao Xia will be leaving for Xiamen to expand his woodcarving knowledge with the intention to return. He has feelings for Na Na but the latter made it clear to him that she only sees him as a younger brother which he understood. Xiao Chun has no intention to get back together with her ex-husband. She told him to move on as they were both too young and immature when they got married.

The drama ends with Zhi Yao and Hong Dou sharing a kiss under the starry sky after the reunion dinner with their friends.

When Did They Get Together?

Zhi Yao has started to observe Hong Dou as early as Episode 11. However, he knew that she was only a tourist and would be gone after her holiday is over. Hence, he didn’t think too much about their relationship and kept denying that he is interested in her. Hong Dou also made clear that she was there for a holiday and not to look for a boyfriend as she will eventually leave to go back to her life in Beijing.

However, both of them started to get closer and closer after a few heart-to-heart conversations. Hong Dou finally opened up to Zhi Yao about Nan Xing’s death in Episode 21 after he revealed his fears and anxiety about the burden he is carrying for the whole village. They feel connected to each other in Episode 22 after Hong Dou shared further with him about Nan Xing. But both of them felt hesitant to start a relationship as she will be leaving soon.

Zhi Yao confessed to Hong Dou in Episode 26 just before she left for Beijing but gave her no pressure to start a relationship with him. They maintained contact while apart. Hong Dou returned to the village in Episode 30 after she decided to buy over an abandoned guesthouse project there to start her own business. The couple got together in Episode 31 after Zhi Yao confessed to her again.

Is There Any Breakup And Love Triangle?

No, there is no breakup after Hong Dou and Zhi Yao officially became a couple. There is only a quarrel in Episode 38 when Hong Dou was angry with Zhi Yao for hiding bad news and problems from her. She wanted him to share his burdens with her rather than over-protect her with sweet words and pampering. Zhi Yao subsequently apologized to Hong Dou in Episode 39.

There is also no love triangle in the drama. The couple has no interest in anyone else and there is no toxic third party of any kind to cause trouble to their relationship.

Mr. Ma’s Past

Mr. Ma’s past is revealed in Episode 11 and 13. In Episode 11, he tells Da Mai the story about his “friend” which is actually himself. In Episode 13, he chats with Zhi Yao and they talk about his past and current plans to start a business again. Mr. Ma and Zhi Yao are actually old business associates. At that time, Zhi Yao was an investment executive and Mr. Ma was a successful tech entrepreneur. Zhi Yao was responsible for handling some of Mr. Ma’s investment needs.

Mr. Ma was overconfident due to his business successes as he correctly invested in the right field during the tech boom. However, his arrogance and overconfidence led him to put all his money in a wrong project. Consequently, he went bankrupt. The failure was too much for him to take and he ended up in Zhi Yao’s homestay as a long-term guest.

Mr. Ma spent his time meditating before he got the inspiration to start a teahouse. He temporarily left the village in Episode 18 to check out his parents’ views on his plan to start a new business venture after hearing Aunt A Gui’s views. He was afraid they will object due to his past failure but they were more than happy that he has decided to do more than meditating.

Da Mai’s Story

Da Mai has been suffering from low confidence and lack of inspiration in her writing until Na Na and Hong Dou encouraged her to keep going with their positive comments. She wanted to give up at one point as her parents were not supportive of her work and she has yet to find success. Her father was also not happy that she always locks herself in her room to write which isn’t healthy.

Da Mai left the village to go back to her parents in Episode 22 after reaching a compromise. She decided to continue writing as it is what she wants to do but will make an effort to go out more often as agreed with her parents.

Aunt Feng’s Story

Aunt Feng’s past is revealed in Episode 19 through Zhi Yao’s conversation with Hong Dou and others. She and her husband have had a hard life. Their daughter died in her teens as she fell down a ravine while trying to collect some mushrooms to sell to help supplement the family’s meagre income. Their son, Xie Qiang, got involved with some bad company while working as a security guard at a warehouse. He colluded with them to steal goods from the warehouse to resell. Xie Qiang was subsequently arrested and jailed.

Aunt Feng and her husband had to borrow money to repay the warehouse owner so that Xie Qiang’s sentence could be reduced. Hence, they had to work hard and scrimp to repay the debts. Even after settling all the debts, the couple was still living frugally and working hard to save money for their son. Xie Qiang was released from prison in Episode 36. He became a responsible son after his experience.

Na Na’s Story

Na Na’s story is told in Episode 34. She was a popular livestream singer a year ago until she was accused of underreporting the proceeds from one of her livestreams which was done to raise funds for a sick fan. Despite her explanations, the issue became worse when netizens started questioning the costs of her apparels. Then, an ex-classmate claimed that Na Na used to date only rich guys. It got to the extent that her personal information was posted online.

To escape from the harassment and mental pressure, Na Na left Shanghai and travelled around until she arrived in Yun Miao Village. She met Xiao Xia and his sister and ended up staying there. However, as the village gained popularity, more and more tourists began arriving. Na Na was spotted working in a cafe and the harassment restarted. She wanted to leave again to escape from the mental anguish.

Through her friends’ encouragement, Na Na decided to face her fears and resume her livestream singing in Episode 35. She also saw it as an opportunity to promote the village. She courageously went live in Episode 37.

Meet Yourself Review – Taking Stock Of Life Story

Meet Yourself starts off on a sad note. You will be reaching for tissues for the very first episode itself. This made me hesitant initially as I was afraid it would be another tearjerker like Go Ahead. Thankfully, it is not although there are a few teary moments. This drama is different from the usual offerings with a slice of life feel that is very relatable to viewers just like in Delicious Romance. The locating setting of a picturesque little town also adds a layer of charm and insight into life in rural China.

I think the production team managed to strike a good balance among the 3 major topics featured in the drama. Firstly, there is a healing and personal growth story that will strike a chord with all of us. Secondly, there is a romance which is mature and incredibly sweet to give us some fluff amidst all of life’s problems and challenges.

Lastly, the drama also highlights the pain of separation as parents are forced to leave their children behind in search of jobs in the big cities due to lack of economic opportunities in the rural villages. While this topic has a local flavor to it, the whole story touches on human’s emotions which is universal. Hence, it doesn’t feel so China-centric like Wild Bloom which is partly why I think Meet Yourself has better acceptance internationally.

It’s Healing At Its Own Pace

Generally, I would describe Meet Yourself as a taking stock of life story. It is about healing and personal growth. You have a few people who ended up in a rural village in search of peace and direction away from the stresses of city life. The homestay they have checked themselves into is like a sanctuary for them as they grapple with disappointment, failure, loss, and regret. Each will have a story to tell including that of a few villagers.

Therefore, the drama will be immersive and healing for some. You will be able to feel for the characters involved especially the female lead. The gold nuggets are found in the dialogues with life lessons and wisdom imbued in them.

However, this could also end up being extremely slow-paced for others. There is neither action nor peaks to get you excited. It is monotonous in that way as the story mainly details the female lead’s simple daily life while on a 3-month holiday in a rural village. After the first episode, the next 8 to 10 episodes could be a little draggy. You have to get used to the way the story is rolled out as it the type that slowly draws you in rather than makes you hooked immediately. This is because the female lead’s healing takes place gradually at her own pace.

In a way, it is realistic as you don’t suddenly heal overnight after a loss. But on the downside, not everyone will have the patience to watch a drawn out healing process especially if what they are after is purely the romance.

Slow Burn Romance

Meet Yourself is more than just romance. As mentioned above, there are other topics that get covered in the drama. Thus, the romance takes a significant amount of time to develop. It is not in-your-face type of romance with a rich CEO and a pretty subordinate like Hi Venus. Neither is it exaggerated nor melodramatic. This is because love is not the only thing that matters for the main couple. They are mature people who don’t jump into a relationship just because they have feelings for each other.

Instead, they will think ahead and give themselves as well as each other time and space to evaluate their feelings and options. So, it is essentially a slow burn romance and you will need a lot of patience to get to the couple’s sweet moments. With 40 episodes in total, you will need to wait until the last quarter to witness those moments and the accompanying kisses. Hence, if you prefer more drama in your romance, this could be boring to watch as the couple’s relationship doesn’t seem to be going anywhere even after the halfway mark.

Acting And Chemistry

Overall, the cast did a brilliant job for the roles they are given. Crystal Liu is perfect as Hong Dou. Her tears will make you cry along with her. Her acting in those emotional scenes effectively conveys the sadness of the moment. While Janice Wu only has a guest role in the drama, the 2 women’s brief partnership still managed to leave a deep impression on viewers with their convincing performance as best friends.

Li Xian is also splendid as Zhi Yao. When he smiles, his eyes seem to be smiling along too. His facial expressions and body language automatically give off a friendly vibe. This is consistent with the character’s easygoing personality which is in contrast to his more serious role in Go Go Squid! With his persuasive portrayal of Zhi Yao, It becomes heartwarming to watch his character in the drama.

Both Crystal Liu and Li Xian are also impressive as onscreen lovers. They have great chemistry together and you can sense it in their interactions. Just like the YangDi couple in You Are My Glory, I think viewers would look forward to having these 2 leads together again in another project. Crystal Liu and Li Xian appear so natural and comfortable with each other in the drama with their gazes, flirting, and hugs. Both their little pecks and more intense kisses will also make your heart flutter.

My Verdict – Uniquely Alluring

For me, Meet Yourself is uniquely alluring. It is not your standard fare when it comes to Chinese dramas. I admit that it might be a bit draggy in the first quarter and I’m not sure how many people will be patient enough to get through this initial bump. But the story will become more and more addictive thereafter. The allure comes when the characters have been given time to develop. That is when you will become immersed into the story. It has an element of healing and personal growth to impart some life lessons to viewers.

While it might be too slow for some, it is also what gives the drama a realistic depiction of life. Healing takes time and is gradual. Each person also has their own fears, problems, and struggles. The plot reflects all of that. The romance is also realistically portrayed without silly misunderstandings and toxic love rivals. The couple is pragmatic and rational which is reflective of their age and maturity.

For this Meet Yourself review, I would rate it 8.5/10. The storytelling is nicely done to give viewers an uplifting and a positive feel after the sad moments. The location setting and cinematography add to the allure. The supporting characters especially the kids give us a more complete story. Basically, don’t go in and expect a quick, intense romance. Meet Yourself is not meant to be binged on in this way. Instead, it is designed to be savored bit by bit as you follow the female protagonist’s effort to get over her loss and heal her soul.