- Drama Title: Riverside Code at Qingming Festival
- Also Known As: 清明上河图密码, Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival, Qing Ming Shang He Tu Mi Ma
- Director: Yang Fan
- Genres: Mystery, Historical
- Cast: Zhang Song Wen, Bai Bai He
- Number of Episodes: 26
- Date of Release: December 16, 2024
- Original Network: CCTV, Youku
- Where to Watch: Youku
- Adapted from the novel: “Qing Ming Shang He Tu Mi Ma” by Ye Wen Biao
Dear readers… we all made it to 2025. Thanks for your patience and your support. Your presence over the past few years has brought us so much joy and happiness. Without all of you we are nothing. And now we welcome a new year full of new dreams, goals, opportunities and hopes. May the year 2025 bring you peace, joy, health, prosperity, and happiness. Happy New Year to you all.
Now, we’ll start with the first drama review of this year, the Riverside Code of Qingming Festival. It is one of the Chinese drama released in December 2024. Enjoy it!
Riverside Code at Qingming Festival Synopsis
Back to the Northern Song Dynasty. At the corner of Qu’er Alley in Bianliang City is the home of the Zhao family. There are 5 members of this simple family. Zhao Bu You, the eldest son, is a low-ranking scribe in the Ministry of Justice. His dream is to live a simple life with his family. His wife, Wen Yue, is a beautiful woman in her 30’s. She owns a small umbrella shop.
It has always been Wen Yue’s dream to buy a house and secure their future. Zhao Bu You’s younger brother and sister and his father were also living there. Each person is unique in temperament and character.
Although they used to quarrel with each other, everything was harmonious and the Zhaos were still close to each other. However, after years of marriage, Zhao Bu You realized that he might not know his wife completely.
Their simple life takes a dramatic turn when they become involved in the mysterious case of the disappearance of the Mei Ship. The case is connected to a similar case 15 years ago. While solving the mystery, the Zhao family embarked on a journey of endless family problems and mysteries that helped them grow.
In the end, they managed to secure their family’s happiness, protect the people, and bring peace to Bianliang City.
Riverside Code at Qingming Festival Drama Review
“If you are not home, is that a home?”
(Zhao Bu You to Wen Yue)
Dear readers… Riverside Code at Qingming Festival was the last mystery drama I watched in 2024. It took me days to write this review for several reasons. First, I like this drama, but I feel something is missing in the story. Second, because of the first reason, I had to rewatch. It took me more time than it did the first time around.
The third reason is that I just found out that Riverside Code at the Qingming Festival was more enjoyable on the re-watch than it was the first time. The first time, my focus was on the visual. But the second time, I had more focus on the cases and character development. So that was quite a satisfying setup for me.
Special Facts About This Drama
There were special things about this drama, especially in the opening scene and the first episode. Riverside Code at Qingming Festival was based on a traditional Chinese painting called “Along the River During Qingming Festival”. I learned from Wikipedia that the painting was created in the Song Dynasty by a painter named Zhang Zeduan.
The painting is sometimes referred to as the Chinese Mona Lisa. It is a very intricate painting made on a 5.28 meter (208 inch) long piece of silk. Riverside Code at Qingming Festival’s opening scene was based on the entire painting, while the first episode is a depiction of the bridge scene from the painting. The painting itself captured the daily life of the Bianjing people.
The essence of the painting was thickened in the story by the presence of Zhang Ze Duan, a character with the same name, who is also a painter from the Hanlin Academy. He first appeared at the beginning of episode 1 and helped many times throughout the series.
Zhang Ze Duan might be a fictional character based on a real person. Although I didn’t know the real Zhang Zeduan, I was in awe of this fictional character. Zhang Ze Duan has an excellent memory, a keen sense of observation, and exceptional painting skills.
This drama opened my eyes to traditional Chinese painting, which is called “ruler painting”. In many dramas you could see many characters, men and women with good talents in art. But their paintings were mostly made up of a small number of objects.
Like flowers, mountains and rivers, trees, and so on. I have never seen a character who could paint an intricate painting like the one in this drama.
Things That Keep Me Going
Riverside Code at Qingming Festival is a mystery drama, but it has a touch of comedy here and there to spice things up. It tells the story of Zhao Bu You, Wen Yue and their siblings who got involved in murder cases and eventually helped the Kaifeng court to solve them.
However, I think that Riverside Code at the Qingming Festival is more of a family drama than a mystery/detective genre drama. The story is mostly about the fragile yet strong bonds between the Zhaos. But each case they have to solve led to a new dynamic of the Zhao family.
So, if you want to see a full-scale mystery drama, I recommend you to watch Mystery Lotus Case Book or A League of Nobleman drama. These dramas were good. You can read my reviews of them on this site.
The pace of the story was fast in the beginning, slowed down in the middle, and picked up again at the end. To be honest, I was kind of bored when I reached episode 10 to episode 19. The actors tried their best to deliver the story, but some of them still feel out of sync with the character.
However, I like this drama because the characterization was well written. It was interesting to see the personal growth of each character in this drama. Riverside Code at Qingming Festival didn’t disappoint me at all. But you must watch this drama to the last minute because some secrets are revealed near the end.
For example, Zhao Bu You seemed like a useless and cowardly person at the beginning of the story. Although he’s a good investigator and has an excellent memory, Zhao Bu You’s working life was hard. He was an easy target for his corrupt boss, and Zhao Bu You has to conceal his ability because the boss didn’t like a “smart” subordinate. However, I wondered where he got the strength and persistence to investigate cases.
You have to wait for many episodes to get the answer. Zhao Bu You’s personality changed after the tragic death of his colleague, a person he admired and respected. Now saddled with responsibility, Zhao Bu You became a cowardly person who hid his abilities.
It wasn’t until he was fired from his scribe job and found a good boss figure in Gu Zhen, who treated him equally and supported all his decisions, that Zhao Bu You wasn’t afraid to show who he was.
It was the same with Wen Yue. She changed her personality from that of a ruthless girl to that of a soft-hearted and gentle woman. It didn’t make any sense in the first place, either. How could someone who used to be a pirate lose all her ruthlessness and hide her skills for 15 years? However, you will know later that Wen Yue never wanted to be a pirate in the first place.
Zhao Bu You teamed up with Wen Yue to solve cases. One with good physical skills and a strong mentality, and the other with good investigation skills. They are truly a match made in mystery heaven. Fantasyland is a fateful place where two assassins could be married like Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and now we have a detective with a pirate/assassin couple.
The cases in this drama seemed random and full of superstitious elements. But they all led to a larger conspiracy involving corrupt officials and a very powerful family untouched by the law. There was death everywhere and the bodies were fully displayed along with the pool of blood and other disturbing images. So if you can’t handle that kind of thing, be very careful.
I love the Song Dynastypedia section at the end of each episode. It consists of fun facts about life in the Song Dynasty. It was surprising that China in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) was quite modern. There are many things that we are familiar with today, such as the existence of real estate agents/brokers.
When Wen Yue decided to buy a house, she went to a real estate agent to pay the down payment and sign the contract. A realtor in the Song Dynasty would wear a government-issued badge that had his name on it along with the rules of being a realtor.
So it was a pretty legit profession back then. The whole thing made me awed. So every time the episode was nearing its end, I was eager to learn new facts about this fascinating period.
Now let’s talk about the actors. To be honest, there’s another reason why I decided to watch this drama, and it was Zhou Yi Wei. I have always been interested in Zhou Yi Wei ever since I saw him in 2021’s The Rebel Princess drama, which I still consider to be the best Cdrama ever. He was able to act alongside the great Zhang Zi Yi without losing his luster. He also acts in 2019’s The Longest Day in Chang’an drama and 2024’s Judge Dee’s Mystery drama.
I remember these dramas because of Zhou Yi Wei’s excellent acting skills. He always did a great job in portraying a period drama character. Whenever he took a role in a period drama, he always delivered. In fact, I thought that Zhou Yi Wei did a better job in this drama compared to the lead actors, Zhang Song Wen and Bai Bai He.
I love Bai Bai He in Our Days drama and Sunshine By My Side. She has done a good job in modern dramas. This is the first time I saw Bai Bai He in a period drama, and I came to the conclusion that I prefer to see Bai Bai He in modern dramas. Meanwhile, this is my first time watching Zhang Song Wen’s drama. He did a good job, but it did not impress me much.
Surprisingly, I think Zhang Yao’s acting was below my expectations. His lackluster performance as Zhao Mo Er was quite a disappointment. Honestly, I never read the original novel, so I did not know whether Zhao Mo Er was originally a rigid character, or Zhang Yao was not in his best performance.
My favorite character in this drama is the cheerful Zhao Ban Er. I love to see her jumping around her brothers. Xia Meng worked well on the drama. You should watch her when she examines the corpses. She shines in those scenes. Her face was full of excitement and anticipation. Truly enchanting, even though it was for unusual reasons. 😂😂😂
The ending of Riverside Code at the Qingming Festival is a happy ending for the Zhao family. However, the screenwriter and director were very naughty. They added an extra scene after the closing scene, which changed the whole ending. 😑
Awesome Visual
The visuals of this drama are captivating. I followed some news on the Internet, and they all praised how this drama managed to portray the painting of Bianjing in the Song Dynasty. It took a lot of effort to recreate the scene in the first episode.
I couldn’t tell if they used technology to create the people on the bridge or if they used real people as extras. But if they used extras, I couldn’t imagine how many people were on the set that day.
I really love checking out the drama sets. It was fun to see all the details in the sets. The lighting and camera angles in Riverside Coded at Qingming Festival were perfectly arranged. Except for some mismatched editing, I thought this drama was one of the best visual dramas in 2024.
The costumes must be praised. Not because they were beautiful, but because of their authenticity. Especially the headdress used by one of the villains. At first, I was confused when I saw it. Did people really use that back then? But considering that people in ancient China were very creative, and their ideas were often out of the box, I did some research on the Internet. And indeed. People did use that kind of headdress back then. It was an elaborate way to emphasize their beauty.
The Characters
Zhao Bu You
Zhao Bu You (played by Zhang Song Wen) worked as a lowly scribe in the Ministry of Justice. However, his superior used him as a scapegoat for a fire incident and fired him. Later, the Zuojun Investigator of the Kaifeng Court, Gu Zhen, recruited him and recognized his abilities. Zhao Bu You’s main strength is his excellent memory, and it has been honed by his work, which requires extra attention to detail.
Personally, Zhao Bu You is an optimistic person, but a little foolish when it comes to his relationship with Wen Yue. Zhao Bu You has a strong protective instinct, especially towards his wife. But he lacks the physical ability to do so.
Instead of being Zhao Bu You’s protector, Wen Yue was more capable of being his protector. And sometimes, he even became an obstacle for her. But no matter how foolish Zhao Bu You is, Wen Yue will always love him because Zhao Bu You is a sweet, kind and responsible husband.
Wen Yue / Su Yue
Wen Yue (played by Bai Bai He) is the wife of Zhao Bu You. They met 15 years ago in a dress shop. Zhao Bu You pretended she was his fiancée to protect her from the official’s questions. Their relationship continued because Wen Yue was impressed by him, even though she didn’t show it. Wen Yue has kept her background a secret from Zhao Bu You and his family.
Twenty years ago, Su Yue was an orphan in Jiangnan. Her family was murdered, and she had to flee alone. Su Yue met an old pirate who tricked her into becoming one of them.
Frozen and hungry, young Su Yue couldn’t resist the temptation of flat bread. And so, she ventured into the dark side of the city, and became one of those people who could not show their faces in the light of day. A pirate who killed people. Later, she changed her name and became the Wen Yue we all know today.
Even though she started out as a strong and ruthless teenager, Wen Yue still has a little bit of common sense and righteousness left in her. Living in darkness hasn’t made her forget about the distinction between right and wrong.
After living with Zhao Bu You and his family, it is true that love has softened the rough edges of her personality. However, Wen Yue was still known as a strict and disciplined sister-in-law. Nevertheless, her kindness and warmth remain in every corner of the Zhou family’s hearts.
Gu Zhen
Gu Zhen (played by Zhou Yi Wei) is the Zuojun Investigator of Kaifeng Court. He is calm, very smart, kind and has a deep mind. Gu Zhen has a strong sense of justice. However, he also realized that some people are untouchable by the law. And this is where he found Zhao Bu You perfect to be his confidant. Gu Zhen was always accompanied by his right-hand man, a somewhat foolish man named Wan Fu.
From the first time they met, Gu Zhen thought that Zhao Bu You was an interesting person. Later, when Gu Zhen met the rest of the family, he also thought that they were as interesting as Zhao Bu You. I remember a scene where Zhao Ban Er was begging Gu Zhen to let her participate in an autopsy.
The way Zhao Ban Er was begging him was like a little girl asking her father for sweets. And Gu Zhen, as a father, couldn’t hide the smile on his face and he let his little daughter join in all the fun. 😂😂😂
Zhao Mo Er
Zhao Bu You has two siblings. Zhao Mo Er and Zhao Ban Er. Zhao Mo Er (played by Zhang Yao) is his younger brother. Although he was a bit introverted and awkward in socializing with others except his family members, Zhao Mo Er has his own specialty.
He is the last disciple of Zhang Yong, the Crafting Genius. He is smart and knows a lot about mechanics and chemistry. Unfortunately, his communication skills need some work. Only a few people like his siblings and Song Qi Yu, the reporter, understand him.
Zhao Mo Er is a kind person. His heart was made of tofu, but his mind was sharp as a knife and strong as a rock. He was easily moved and always thought of the good in others. This made him easily tricked by others. But people were also moved by his sincerity and kindness.
Zhao Ban Er
Zhao Ban Er (played by Xia Meng) is the younger sister of Zhao Bu You. She is well-versed with medicine and proved to be a good coroner. Zhao Ban Er is different from other girls. She is not interested in fancy things like hairpins or clothes. She prefers to stay at the morgue and assist Yao He, the cowardly and jittery coroner of Kaifeng Court.
As a young girl, Zhao Ban Er was known for her friendly and cheerful nature. Like the rest of her family, Zhao Ban Er was kind and righteous. She wasn’t afraid to stand up for justice, and she had nothing to fear. She found examining corpses interesting and challenging. She didn’t believe in any kind of superstitious mumbo jumbo like Yao He did. But that was what made them such a great pair of coroners. Yao He has all of the knowledge, and Zhao Ban Er has all of the courage.
Zhao Li
Zhao Li (played by Hou Yan Song) is the patriarch and head of the Zhao family. He is the father of Zhao Bu You, Zhao Mo Er, and Zhao Ban Er. He is a laid-back old man who loves to drink wine. He would often brag about how their family was closely related to the imperial family.
However, the fact that the four of them lived in a small house in a narrow alley was something he could not shake off. Anyway, Zhao Li is a cheerful person who can only be tamed by his daughter, Zhao Ban Er, and his daughter-in-law, Wen Yue.
Zhao Li often mentioned some random things that led to a new clue for the investigation. In his daily life, Zhao Li often spent time in the city’s most popular brothels. He could be found drinking wine while surrounded by the beautiful girls. Truly an old man who knows how to enjoy life.😆
The Conclusion
Riverside Code at Qingming Festival is a good drama that you shouldn’t miss. If you are not into the mystery genre, you should watch this drama for the visual reason. Riverside Code at Qingming Festival was a depiction of real life in Bianjing City during the Song Dynasty.
Although the closing scene was a bit annoying for me (especially when a man scratching his butt appeared), the opening scene was a must watch. This drama would open your eyes to the wonders of ancient China. This drama has no romance, but it can still warm your heart.
Riverside Code at Qingming Festival drama was an excellent choice for your daily dose of Cdramas. Well, beautiful things should be enjoyed with patience, right? Don’t be surprised if, after watching all the episodes, you feel like eating some wonton soup. That is exactly how I feel after the ending.
Well, that’s all for today, dear readers. I hope you found this post helpful. Thanks for stopping by on this Riverside Code at Qingming Festival drama review post. Don’t forget to visit the Ending Explained post for Riverside Code at Qingming Festival. I’ll see you in another post. Bye bye!
