Are Nanwu and Yihe Real Places? The Fictional Cities of First Frost and Hidden Love, Explained

Quick answer: No — Nanwu, Yihe and Beiyu are all fictional. You will not find them on a map of China. Author Zhu Yi (竹已) invented all three for her novels, and the dramas adapted from them inherited the invented geography.

• Nanwu (南芜) — the home city of the Sang family, shared by both Hidden Love (偷偷藏不住) and The First Frost (难哄). Chinese readers generally take it as modelled on Hangzhou.
• Yihe (宜荷) — the second city of Hidden Love, where Sang Zhi goes to university. Generally taken as modelled on Wuhan.
• Beiyu (北屿) — a third invented city in Zhu Yi's world, mentioned far less often.

The thing that confuses everyone: the fictional cities and the filming locations are different places. Nanwu is read as Hangzhou by novel readers — but The First Frost filmed in Chongqing and Hidden Love filmed in Xiamen. One invented city, three real ones attached to it, depending on which question you're asking.

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Why you can't find Nanwu on a map

Search 南芜 on any Chinese map service and nothing comes back. That's by design.

Zhu Yi invented Nanwu — along with Yihe and Beiyu — rather than setting her novels in Beijing, Shanghai or any identifiable metropolis. There's a craft reason. A novelist who names a real city inherits every reader who knows it and will correct the bus routes, the district names, which coffee chain was dominant in 2010. A fictional city inherits the aesthetic without the argument.

But fictional doesn't mean vague. Nanwu works because readers recognise the type: a tier-1.5 or tier-2 city with hills, a riverfront, post-industrial texture, mild weather and a strong local food culture. Everyone in China has been to a version of it.

Which city belongs to which story

City	Characters	Appears in	Role
Nanwu	南芜	Hidden Love and The First Frost	The Sang family's home city — the shared anchor of the universe
Yihe	宜荷	Hidden Love	Where Sang Zhi attends university
Beiyu	北屿	Zhu Yi's wider world	A third invented city, referenced much less

Note the characters, because English romanisation hides a common error. Nanwu is 南芜 — 芜 meaning overgrown or weedy — not 南武 ("martial"), which circulates widely and is wrong. Likewise Yihe is 宜荷 (荷, lotus), not 宜禾 (禾, grain). Both mistakes are easy to make and both are everywhere online.

What real cities are they based on?

This is the question behind most of the searching, and it deserves an honest answer: Zhu Yi has not published an official key. What follows is the long-standing consensus among Chinese readers, not authorial confirmation.

• 南芜 → Hangzhou (杭州). The reading most commonly given on Chinese Q&A sites and in fan discussion.
• 宜荷 → Wuhan (武汉). Likewise the standard fan attribution, including for 宜荷大学, the university Sang Zhi attends.

Treat these as how readers read it, not as a fact the author has stated.

The part that trips people up: filming ≠ setting

Here's where the confusion actually comes from, and it's worth separating cleanly:

The novel's city is not the drama's city.

• The First Frost filmed in Chongqing (重庆). Chongqing has exactly the mountain-and-river, mist-and-stairs texture Nanwu needs, which is why it reads correctly on screen even though it isn't the city readers pictured. (The real Chongqing locations →)
• Hidden Love filmed in Xiamen (厦门), the coastal Fujian port city — a much softer, brighter, seaside look for the same fictional Nanwu. (The real Xiamen locations →)

So the same fictional city was shot in two entirely different real cities, by two different productions, because each was matching a different mood. Hidden Love's Nanwu is cosy nostalgia; First Frost's Nanwu is the same place seen through trauma.

That's why "where is Nanwu" has no single answer. Ask a novel reader and you'll hear Hangzhou. Ask a First Frost viewer and you'll hear Chongqing. Ask a Hidden Love viewer and you'll hear Xiamen. All three are answering honestly.

Why the two dramas share a city at all

Because they're the same universe. Zhu Yi wrote Hidden Love and The First Frost as parallel stories about the same family, not as prequel and sequel — the Sang family, the same city, the same decade, with the lens swivelled to two different people.

Nanwu is the hinge. It's the shared home city that makes the two stories one world rather than two books with a cameo. (Full universe breakdown →)

Frequently asked

Is Nanwu a real city in China? No. 南芜 is fictional, invented by author Zhu Yi for her novels.

Is Yihe a real place? No. 宜荷 is also fictional, and appears in Hidden Love as the city where Sang Zhi goes to university.

What real city is Nanwu based on? Chinese readers generally take it as Hangzhou, though the author hasn't confirmed it officially.

What real city is Yihe based on? The common fan reading is Wuhan. Again, not author-confirmed.

Where was The First Frost filmed? Chongqing — not Hangzhou. The filming location and the novel's setting are different things.

Where was Hidden Love filmed? Xiamen, in Fujian province.

Why do Hidden Love and The First Frost share a city? They're set in the same universe — parallel stories about the same family, with Nanwu as the shared home city.

Is it 南芜 or 南武? 南芜. The 南武 spelling is common online and incorrect.

What is Beiyu? 北屿, a third fictional city in Zhu Yi's world, referenced much less than Nanwu and Yihe.

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More on this universe:

• Hidden Love and First Frost Are Set in the Same Universe
• The Real Chongqing Behind First Frost
• Hidden Love's Real Xiamen Filming Locations
• What 难哄, 温以凡 and 桑延 Really Mean