2013–present: Mainstream popularity
In 2013, Liu starred in action comedy Badges of Fury alongside Jet Li. She then starred in wuxia film Brotherhood of Blades, alongside Taiwanese actor Chang Chen, for which Liu was nominated for Best Actress at the China Film Directors' Guild Awards.
In 2014, Liu starred in the historical romance drama Sound of the Desert, based on the novel Ballad of the Desert written by Tong Hua. The series topped television and web ratings domestically, and was also well-received overseas. Liu then starred in romance film Five Minutes to Tomorrow playing dual roles. She and co-stars Haruma Miura and Joseph Chang attended the 19th Busan International Film Festival for the premiere of the film, where she received the Asia Star Award.
In 2016, Liu headlined the historical drama The Imperial Doctress, based on the life of Tan Yunxian, a female physician during China's Ming Dynasty. The drama topped television ratings its run and received positive reviews, and Liu won the Most Influential Actress award at 1st China Television Drama Quality Ceremony for her performance. In 2017, Liu starred along actors Wang Qianyuan and Cao Bingkun in the spy drama The Battle at Dawn. The year also saw her long-overdue romance drama Angelo, which was shot in 2011, air. In it, she played a young single mother opposite Ming Dao. Liu then starred in historical fantasy drama Lost Love in Times alongside William Chan, as well as the crime suspense film The Liquidator where she played a palaeoichnology expert.
In 2019, Liu starred in the romance melodrama If I Can Love You So alongside Tong Dawei. The series has previously completed filming in 2016. The same year, she announced her comeback after two years with the female-centric modern drama To Dear Myself.
