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| Ding Yuxi and Zhang Linghe Take the Top Two Spots as KuYun Reveals China’s 10 Most Popular Drama Characters. (Weibo/Kuyun) |
Ding Yuxi and Zhang Linghe have taken the top two positions in KuYun Data’s latest ranking of China’s most popular drama characters, with their respective roles Zhao Ling and Murong Qingyi leading a remarkably competitive Week 33 chart. The ranking, covering 10 to 16 August 2026, shows just how closely the current drama field is being contested, with only a few thousand heat points separating several of the leading characters and no shortage of familiar faces making the cut.
Ding Yuxi’s Zhao Ling from The Road to Splendor (花开锦绣) claimed No. 1 after recording a peak character heat score of 17,368, while his seven-day average stood at 16,909. It is a strong showing for the actor, whose character remained ahead throughout the tracking period and gave the drama an early lead in the overall character popularity race.
Not far behind was Zhang Linghe’s Murong Qingyi from Overdo (这一秒过火), which landed at No. 2 with a peak heat score of 16,310 and an average of 15,421. The difference between the two characters was only 1,058 points at peak, making it a much closer contest than the final ranking might suggest. In other words, Zhao Ling may have won the week, but Murong Qingyi certainly did not exactly arrive quietly.
The strength of The Road to Splendor becomes even clearer at No. 3, where Deng Enxi’s Fu Tingyun recorded a peak heat score of 16,095 and an average of 15,287. That puts two characters from the same drama inside the top three, giving the series one of the strongest overall performances in the ranking.
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| Most Popular Chinese Drama Characters Week 33: Ding Yuxi, Zhang Linghe and More |
The result also means Ding Yuxi and Deng Enxi both occupy the podium for The Road to Splendor, a particularly notable achievement given that the chart measures individual character popularity rather than simply ranking dramas by overall performance. Zhao Ling's first-place finish therefore sits alongside Fu Tingyun's third-place result as evidence of the show's ability to keep multiple characters in the conversation.
At No. 4, Johnny Huang’s Chen Yizhou from Forging Justice (重器) posted a peak heat score of 16,065 and an average of 15,509. The character missed the podium by only 30 peak points behind Fu Tingyun, turning what looks like a comfortable fourth-place position on paper into a much tighter race when the numbers are actually examined.
Joseph Zeng’s Wu Laogou from Mystic Nine (九门) followed at No. 5, recording a peak score of 15,844 and an average of 15,293. The drama then appeared immediately again at No. 6 with William Chan’s Zhang Qishan, whose peak heat reached 15,829, with an average of 14,999.
That particular pairing produced one of the smallest gaps in the entire ranking. Wu Laogou was ahead of Zhang Qishan by just 15 peak points, which is essentially the character-ranking equivalent of winning by a whisker. Both performances helped Mystic Nine establish itself as one of the week's strongest ensemble dramas.
The series appears again at No. 8 through Chen Yao’s Huo Xiangu, who recorded a peak character heat score of 14,872 and an average of 14,506. With three characters inside the top 10, Mystic Nine matched The Road to Splendor for the largest number of entries in the ranking.
At No. 7, Tian Xiwei’s Lin Zhixia from Genius Girlfriend (天才，女友) recorded a peak score of 15,694 and an average of 15,140. Her position keeps the drama represented in a chart otherwise dominated by titles with multiple characters, while also putting Tian Xiwei comfortably inside the upper half of the week's top 10.
The final two positions went to characters from dramas that had already made several appearances. Jiang Qiming’s Yu Gaoyuan, also from Forging Justice, ranked No. 9 with a peak heat score of 14,790 and an average of 14,336. At No. 10, Dong Zifan’s Yu Jingxiu from The Road to Splendor completed the chart with a peak score of 14,773 and an average of 13,431.
Taken together, the numbers underline just how strong The Road to Splendor was during the tracking period. The drama supplied three of the 10 characters, including the No. 1 and No. 3 positions, while Mystic Nine also contributed three characters at No. 5, No. 6 and No. 8. Forging Justice followed with two entries, while Overdo and Genius Girlfriend each secured one place.
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The Week 33 chart therefore features characters from five different Chinese dramas, rather than being dominated by a single title. That makes the result particularly interesting because the competition is spread across several currently airing series, with different casts attracting attention rather than one drama simply sweeping the board.
KuYun's character heat index is designed as a broader measure of character popularity rather than a simple viewer-count figure. Its calculation takes into account viewing performance, user engagement across platforms and social-media activity connected with the actors portraying the characters, with different elements given their own weighting. So, while the ranking offers a useful snapshot of online momentum, it should not automatically be treated as a definitive measure of which character every Chinese drama viewer prefers.
Fan reactions to the results are likely to vary depending on which drama has captured their attention. Supporters of Ding Yuxi have plenty to celebrate with Zhao Ling at No. 1, while Zhang Linghe fans can point to Murong Qingyi's narrow second-place finish as evidence that the gap was hardly enormous. Fans of The Road to Splendor have an even stronger argument, with three characters inside the top 10, while Mystic Nine viewers can reasonably boast about the show's equally impressive trio.
There is also plenty of room for debate around the middle of the ranking. Fu Tingyun, Chen Yizhou, Wu Laogou and Zhang Qishan all sit within a relatively tight numerical range, meaning small changes in audience engagement could potentially shuffle those positions in another weekly update. And with character popularity charts being particularly vulnerable to sudden bursts of discussion, one week at the top does not necessarily mean permanent dominance.
For now, though, Ding Yuxi's Zhao Ling is the character everyone else has to catch. Zhang Linghe's Murong Qingyi is close behind, while The Road to Splendor and Mystic Nine have demonstrated impressive depth across their casts. The bigger question is whether next week's chart will see Zhao Ling hold on to the crown or whether another currently airing drama can finally knock him from the top spot. Which character do you think deserved No. 1 this week, and is there anyone missing from KuYun's top 10 who you think should have made the cut?