I just want to say you really miss out on some good dramas if the number of episodes puts you off. Let me ask this question: Who cares how long it is when its good throughout? The only thing with long dramas is the first couple of episodes tend to be a bit boring but its because they are setting up the characters.
If you like historicals I think the Chinese do it better than anyone and they also portray strong females a lot which I love. Dramas from everywhere have cliches its just a matter of how cheesy can they get and how much you're willing to put up with lol
+1 Eternal Love- you wont get bored with this one and I have yet to hear anyone say anything bad about it.
Nirvana in Fire- hella smart lead, strong females, epic bromance, revenge- its awesomesauce
The Princess Wei Young- A1 amazing chemistry with the leads
Legend of Concubine Zhen Huan- ok so this has 70+ episodes but trust is doesn't lag at all... like I was shocked at how quick I was going through it because the story is so good