Chinese drama Pursuit of Jade became one of the biggest hits of the first half of 2026, and it has now surprised fans by announcing a concert featuring the cast. The one-night event “Zhu Yu: One Thought” (逐玉一念) is scheduled to take place on August 15, 2026 in Shenzhen. However, the big controversy is that the drama’s two lead stars, Zhang Linghe and Tian Xiwei, are both absent from the lineup announced today.
Thus far, the second leads Deng Kai (Qi Min) and Snow Kong Xue’er (Yu Qianqian) as well as supporting actors that include Ren Hao (Li Huaian), Li Qing (Gongsun Yin), Yu Zhongli (Qi Shu), Lin Muran (Sui Yuanqing) and Xiang Xia (Magistrate Cui) have been confirmed to attend. The organizers also teased one mystery guest, whose identity has yet to be revealed.
Many fans argued that a concert without the two leads lacks sincerity, with some netizens mocking it as cash grab especially given the ticket prices. Even Kong Xue’er’s fan club has publicly withdrawn support for the concert as they urged her agency to protect the artist and prevent her from being commercially exploited. Nevertheless, Deng Kai and Kong Xue’er, the drama’s secondary couple have amassed many fans who are no doubt looking forward to seeing the pair share the stage. Some argue that Pursuit of Jade became such a huge success that even the supporting cast is worth watching. Then again, the mystery guest leaves open the possibility that the organizers still have one major surprise in store for fans.
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Wendy
Why are so many not-singers having concerts in China? I keep reading about actors, actresses, TV hosts declaring they’ll have concerts but most of these people are not known for singing well or have their own songs? Here, you’d have to be known as an at-least-GOOD singer (not Karaoke bar level) to book a concert; why aren’t they doing short stage plays or ensemble cast skits (like Prairie Home Companion); you know, ACTING stuff? I don’t care how famous Kim Kardashian is; I’m not paying and taking 2 hours of my life to sit and watch her drone through a background recording of cover songs; but I *would* pay to listen to her talk about her experiences with how she crafted her business (like a TED talk). Is it a government directive to get the economy moving through tourism? Just why specifically CONCERTS? I’m confused as there are more obvious options taliored to what the performers are known for and have experience doing!