diff --git a/debuggers/common/mivariable.h b/debuggers/common/mivariable.h
--- a/debuggers/common/mivariable.h
+++ b/debuggers/common/mivariable.h
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@
 
 class CreateVarobjHandler;
 class FetchMoreChildrenHandler;
+class SetFormatHandler;
 namespace KDevMI {
 class MIDebugSession;
 class MIVariable : public KDevelop::Variable
@@ -61,8 +62,15 @@
 protected: // Internal
     friend class ::CreateVarobjHandler;
     friend class ::FetchMoreChildrenHandler;
+    friend class ::SetFormatHandler;
+
+    /**
+     * Construct a MIVariable child directly from a MI value
+     */
+    MIVariable *createChild(const MI::Value &child);
 
     QString enquotedExpression() const;
+    virtual QString formatValue(const QString &rawValue) const;
 
     bool sessionIsAlive() const;
 
diff --git a/debuggers/common/mivariable.cpp b/debuggers/common/mivariable.cpp
--- a/debuggers/common/mivariable.cpp
+++ b/debuggers/common/mivariable.cpp
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@
 #include "debuglog.h"
 #include "midebugsession.h"
 #include "mi/micommand.h"
+#include "stringhelpers.h"
 
 #include <debugger/interfaces/ivariablecontroller.h>
 #include <interfaces/icore.h>
@@ -49,6 +50,24 @@
 {
 }
 
+MIVariable *MIVariable::createChild(const Value& child)
+{
+    if (!debugSession) return nullptr;
+    auto var = static_cast<MIVariable*>(debugSession->variableController()->createVariable(model(), this, child["exp"].literal()));
+    var->setTopLevel(false);
+    var->setVarobj(child["name"].literal());
+    bool hasMore = child["numchild"].toInt() != 0 || ( child.hasField("dynamic") && child["dynamic"].toInt()!=0 );
+    var->setHasMoreInitial(hasMore);
+
+    // *this must be parent's child before we can set type and value
+    appendChild(var);
+
+    var->setType(child["type"].literal());
+    var->setValue(formatValue(child["value"].literal()));
+    var->setChanged(true);
+    return var;
+}
+
 MIVariable::~MIVariable()
 {
     if (!varobj_.isEmpty())
@@ -117,7 +136,7 @@
             variable->setHasMore(hasMore);
 
             variable->setType(r["type"].literal());
-            variable->setValue(r["value"].literal());
+            variable->setValue(variable->formatValue(r["value"].literal()));
             hasValue = !r["value"].literal().isEmpty();
             if (variable->isExpanded() && r["numchild"].toInt()) {
                 variable->fetchMoreChildren();
@@ -188,17 +207,8 @@
                                           QString("--all-values \"%1\"").arg(child["name"].literal()),
                                           this/*use again as handler*/);
                 } else {
-                    KDevelop::Variable* xvar = m_session->variableController()->
-                        createVariable(variable->model(), variable,
-                                       child["exp"].literal());
-                    MIVariable* var = static_cast<MIVariable*>(xvar);
-                    var->setTopLevel(false);
-                    var->setVarobj(child["name"].literal());
-                    bool hasMore = child["numchild"].toInt() != 0 || ( child.hasField("dynamic") && child["dynamic"].toInt()!=0 );
-                    var->setHasMoreInitial(hasMore);
-                    variable->appendChild(var);
-                    var->setType(child["type"].literal());
-                    var->setValue(child["value"].literal());
+                    variable->createChild(child);
+                    // it's automatically appended to variable's children list
                 }
             }
         }
@@ -276,36 +286,21 @@
             }
         }
 
-        // FIXME: the below code is essentially copy-paste from
-        // FetchMoreChildrenHandler. We need to introduce GDB-specific
-        // subclass of KDevelop::Variable that is capable of creating
-        // itself from MI output directly, and relay to that.
         if (var.hasField("new_children"))
         {
             const Value& children = var["new_children"];
-            for (int i = 0; i < children.size(); ++i) {
-                const Value& child = children[i];
-                const QString& exp = child["exp"].literal();
-
-                if (debugSession) {
-                    auto xvar = debugSession->variableController()->createVariable(model(), this, exp);
-                    auto var = static_cast<MIVariable*>(xvar);
-                    var->setTopLevel(false);
-                    var->setVarobj(child["name"].literal());
-                    bool hasMore = child["numchild"].toInt() != 0 || ( child.hasField("dynamic") && child["dynamic"].toInt()!=0 );
-                    var->setHasMoreInitial(hasMore);
-                    appendChild(var);
-                    var->setType(child["type"].literal());
-                    var->setValue(child["value"].literal());
-                    var->setChanged(true);
+            if (debugSession) {
+                for (int i = 0; i < children.size(); ++i) {
+                    createChild(children[i]);
+                    // it's automatically appended to this's children list
                 }
             }
         }
 
         if (var.hasField("type_changed") && var["type_changed"].literal() == "true") {
             setType(var["new_type"].literal());
         }
-        setValue(var["value"].literal());
+        setValue(formatValue(var["value"].literal()));
         setChanged(true);
         setHasMore(var.hasField("has_more") && var["has_more"].toInt());
     }
@@ -318,10 +313,7 @@
 
 QString MIVariable::enquotedExpression() const
 {
-    QString expr = expression();
-    expr.replace('"', "\\\"");
-    expr = expr.prepend('"').append('"');
-    return expr;
+    return Utils::quoteExpression(expression());
 }
 
 
@@ -334,8 +326,8 @@
 
     void handle(const ResultRecord &r) override
     {
-        if(r.hasField("value"))
-            m_variable.data()->setValue(r["value"].literal());
+        if(m_variable && r.hasField("value"))
+            m_variable->setValue(m_variable->formatValue(r["value"].literal()));
     }
 private:
     QPointer<MIVariable> m_variable;
@@ -360,3 +352,8 @@
         }
     }
 }
+
+QString MIVariable::formatValue(const QString &rawValue) const
+{
+    return rawValue;
+}
diff --git a/debuggers/common/stringhelpers.h b/debuggers/common/stringhelpers.h
--- a/debuggers/common/stringhelpers.h
+++ b/debuggers/common/stringhelpers.h
@@ -33,6 +33,21 @@
 
 QString unquoteExpression(QString expr);
 
+/**
+ * Qoute the string, using quoteCh
+ */
+QString quote(QString str, char quoteCh = '"');
+
+/**
+ * Unquote and optionally unescape unicode escape sequence.
+ * Handle escape sequence
+ *     '\\' '\\'                      -> '\\'
+ *     '\\' quoteCh                   -> quoteCh
+ *     '\\' 'u' 'N' 'N' 'N' 'N'       -> '\uNNNN'
+ *     '\\' 'x''N''N'                 -> '\xNN'
+ */
+QString unquote(const QString &str, bool unescapeUnicode = false, char quoteCh = '"');
+
 } // end of namespace Utils
 
 #endif // __STRINGHELPERS_H__
diff --git a/debuggers/common/stringhelpers.cpp b/debuggers/common/stringhelpers.cpp
--- a/debuggers/common/stringhelpers.cpp
+++ b/debuggers/common/stringhelpers.cpp
@@ -16,10 +16,16 @@
    Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA.
 */
 
+#include "stringhelpers.h"
+
+#include "debuglog.h"
+
 #include <language/duchain/stringhelpers.h>
 #include <language/duchain/safetycounter.h>
-#include <QString>
+
+#include <QByteArray>
 #include <QChar>
+#include <QString>
 #include <QStringList>
 
 namespace Utils {
@@ -167,18 +173,114 @@
 
 QString quoteExpression(QString expr)
 {
-    expr.replace('"', "\\\"");
-    expr = expr.prepend('"').append('"');
-    return expr;
+    return quote(expr, '"');
 }
 
 QString unquoteExpression(QString expr)
 {
-    if (expr.left(1) == QString('"') && expr.right(1) == QString('"')) {
-        expr = expr.mid(1, expr.length()-2);
-        expr.replace("\\\"", "\"");
+    return unquote(expr, false);
+}
+
+QString quote(QString str, char quoteCh)
+{
+    str.replace("\\", "\\\\").replace(quoteCh, QStringLiteral("\\") + quoteCh);
+    return str.prepend(quoteCh).append(quoteCh);
+}
+
+QString unquote(const QString &str, bool unescapeUnicode, char quoteCh)
+{
+    if (str.startsWith(quoteCh) && str.endsWith(quoteCh)) {
+        QString res;
+        res.reserve(str.length());
+        bool esc = false;
+        int type = 0;
+        QString escSeq;
+        escSeq.reserve(4);
+        // skip begining and ending quoteCh, no need for str = str.mid(1, str.length() - 2)
+        for (int i = 1; i != str.length() - 1; i++) {
+            auto ch = str[i];
+            if (esc) {
+                switch (ch.unicode()) {
+                case '\\':
+                    if (type != 0) {
+                        escSeq += ch;
+                        qCDebug(DEBUGGERCOMMON) << "Unrecognized escape sequence:" << escSeq;
+                        res += '\\';
+                        res += escSeq;
+                        escSeq.clear();
+                        esc = false;
+                        type = 0;
+                    } else {
+                        res.append('\\');
+                        // escSeq.clear();    // escSeq must be empty.
+                        esc = false;
+                    }
+                    break;
+                case 'u':
+                case 'x':
+                    if (type != 0 || !unescapeUnicode) {
+                        escSeq += ch;
+                        qCDebug(DEBUGGERCOMMON) << "Unrecognized escape sequence:" << escSeq;
+                        res += '\\';
+                        res += escSeq;
+                        escSeq.clear();
+                        esc = false;
+                        type = 0;
+                    } else {
+                        type = ch == 'u' ? 1 : 2;
+                    }
+                    break;
+                case '0': case '1': case '2': case '3': case '4':
+                case '5': case '6': case '7': case '8': case '9':
+                case 'a': case 'b': case 'c': case 'd': case 'e': case 'f':
+                case 'A': case 'B': case 'C': case 'D': case 'E': case 'F':
+                    escSeq += ch;
+                    if (type == 0) {
+                        qCDebug(DEBUGGERCOMMON) << "Unrecognized escape sequence:" << escSeq;
+                        res += '\\';
+                        res += escSeq;
+                        escSeq.clear();
+                        esc = false;
+                        type = 0;
+                    } else {
+                        // \uNNNN
+                        // \xNN
+                        if (escSeq.length() == (type == 1 ? 4 : 2)) {
+                            // no need to handle error, we know for sure escSeq is '[0-9a-fA-F]+'
+                            auto code = escSeq.toInt(nullptr, 16);
+                            res += QChar(code);
+                            escSeq.clear();
+                            esc = false;
+                            type = 0;
+                        }
+                    }
+                    break;
+                default:
+                    if (type == 0 && ch == quoteCh) {
+                        res += ch;
+                    } else {
+                        escSeq += ch;
+                        qCDebug(DEBUGGERCOMMON) << "Unrecognized escape sequence:" << escSeq;
+                        res += '\\';
+                        res += escSeq;
+                        escSeq.clear();
+                    }
+                    esc = false;
+                    type = 0;
+                    break;
+                }
+            } else {
+                if (ch == '\\') {
+                    esc = true;
+                    continue;
+                }
+                res += ch;
+            }
+        }
+        return res;
+    } else {
+        return str;
     }
-    return expr;
 }
 
 } // end of namespace Utils
diff --git a/debuggers/gdb/unittests/test_gdb.cpp b/debuggers/gdb/unittests/test_gdb.cpp
--- a/debuggers/gdb/unittests/test_gdb.cpp
+++ b/debuggers/gdb/unittests/test_gdb.cpp
@@ -1203,12 +1203,15 @@
 
     TestLaunchConfiguration cfg;
 
-    const QString testString("test");
-    const QString quotedTestString("\"" + testString + "\"");
+    // the unquoted string (the actual content):               t\"t
+    // quoted string (what we would write as a c string):     "t\\\"t"
+    // written in source file:                             R"("t\\\"t")"
+    const QString testString("t\\\"t"); // the actual content
+    const QString quotedTestString(R"("t\\\"t")");
 
     breakpoints()->addCodeBreakpoint(QUrl::fromLocalFile(debugeeFileName), 38);
     QVERIFY(session->startDebugging(&cfg, m_iface));
-    WAIT_FOR_STATE(session, DebugSession::PausedState);
+    WAIT_FOR_STATE_AND_IDLE(session, DebugSession::PausedState);
 
     variableCollection()->watches()->add(quotedTestString); //just a constant string
     QTest::qWait(300);
@@ -1227,7 +1230,14 @@
     {
         COMPARE_DATA(variableCollection()->index(ind, 0, testStr), QString::number(ind));
         QChar c = testString.at(ind);
-        QString value = QString::number(c.toLatin1()) + " '" + c + "'";
+        QString value = QString::number(c.toLatin1()) + " '";
+        if (c == '\\')
+            value += "\\\\";
+        else if (c == '\'')
+            value += "\\'";
+        else
+            value += c;
+        value += "'";
         COMPARE_DATA(variableCollection()->index(ind, 1, testStr), value);
     }
     COMPARE_DATA(variableCollection()->index(len, 0, testStr), QString::number(len));
diff --git a/debuggers/lldb/controllers/variable.h b/debuggers/lldb/controllers/variable.h
--- a/debuggers/lldb/controllers/variable.h
+++ b/debuggers/lldb/controllers/variable.h
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@
 
 protected:
     void formatChanged() override;
+    QString formatValue(const QString &value) const override;
 };
 
 } // end of namespace LLDB
diff --git a/debuggers/lldb/controllers/variable.cpp b/debuggers/lldb/controllers/variable.cpp
--- a/debuggers/lldb/controllers/variable.cpp
+++ b/debuggers/lldb/controllers/variable.cpp
@@ -25,13 +25,16 @@
 #include "debuglog.h"
 #include "debugsession.h"
 #include "mi/micommand.h"
+#include "stringhelpers.h"
+
+#include <QString>
 
 using namespace KDevelop;
 using namespace KDevMI::LLDB;
 using namespace KDevMI::MI;
 
 LldbVariable::LldbVariable(DebugSession *session, TreeModel *model, TreeItem *parent,
-                         const QString& expression, const QString& display)
+                           const QString& expression, const QString& display)
     : MIVariable(session, model, parent, expression, display)
 {
 }
@@ -73,3 +76,16 @@
         }
     }
 }
+
+QString LldbVariable::formatValue(const QString& value) const
+{
+    // Data formatter emits value with unicode escape sequence for string and char,
+    // translate them back.
+    // Only check with first char is enough, as unquote will do the rest check
+    if (value.startsWith('"')) {
+        return Utils::quote(Utils::unquote(value, true));
+    } else if (value.startsWith('\'')) {
+        return Utils::quote(Utils::unquote(value, true, '\''), '\'');
+    }
+    return value;
+}
diff --git a/debuggers/lldb/debugsession.h b/debuggers/lldb/debugsession.h
--- a/debuggers/lldb/debugsession.h
+++ b/debuggers/lldb/debugsession.h
@@ -59,6 +59,8 @@
 
     void updateAllVariables();
 
+    void setFormatterPath(const QString &path);
+
 public Q_SLOTS:
     void interruptDebugger() override;
 
@@ -83,6 +85,8 @@
     BreakpointController *m_breakpointController;
     VariableController *m_variableController;
     LldbFrameStackModel *m_frameStackModel;
+
+    QString m_formatterPath;
 };
 
 } // end of namespace GDB
diff --git a/debuggers/lldb/debugsession.cpp b/debuggers/lldb/debugsession.cpp
--- a/debuggers/lldb/debugsession.cpp
+++ b/debuggers/lldb/debugsession.cpp
@@ -147,15 +147,23 @@
     return new LldbCommand(type, arguments, flags);
 }
 
+void DebugSession::setFormatterPath(const QString &path)
+{
+    m_formatterPath = path;
+}
+
 void DebugSession::initializeDebugger()
 {
     //addCommand(MI::EnableTimings, "yes");
 
     // load data formatter
-    QString fileName = QStandardPaths::locate(QStandardPaths::GenericDataLocation,
-                                              "kdevlldb/formatters/qt.py");
-    if (!fileName.isEmpty()) {
-        addCommand(MI::NonMI, "command script import " + KShell::quoteArg(fileName));
+    auto formatterPath = m_formatterPath;
+    if (formatterPath.isEmpty()) {
+        formatterPath = QStandardPaths::locate(QStandardPaths::GenericDataLocation,
+                                               "kdevlldb/formatters/qt.py");
+    }
+    if (!formatterPath.isEmpty()) {
+        addCommand(MI::NonMI, "command script import " + KShell::quoteArg(formatterPath));
     }
 
     // set a larger term width.
diff --git a/debuggers/lldb/formatters/helpers.py b/debuggers/lldb/formatters/helpers.py
--- a/debuggers/lldb/formatters/helpers.py
+++ b/debuggers/lldb/formatters/helpers.py
@@ -41,6 +41,28 @@
     unichr = unichr
 # END
 
+def quote(string, quote='"'):
+    """Quote a string so it's suitable to be used in quote"""
+    return '{q}{s}{q}'.format(s = string.replace('\\', '\\\\').replace(quote, '\\' + quote),
+                              q = quote)
+
+def unquote(string, quote='"'):
+    """Unquote a string"""
+    if string.startswith(quote) and string.endswith(quote):
+        string = string.lstrip(quote).rstrip(quote)
+        ls = []
+        esc = False
+        for idx in range(0, len(string)):
+            ch = string[idx]
+            if ch == '\\':
+                if esc:
+                    ls.append(ch)
+                esc = not esc
+            else:
+                ls.append(ch)
+        string = ''.join(ls)
+    return string
+
 class SummaryProvider(object):
     """A lldb synthetic provider that defaults return real children of the value"""
     def __init__(self, valobj, internal_dict):
diff --git a/debuggers/lldb/formatters/qt.py b/debuggers/lldb/formatters/qt.py
--- a/debuggers/lldb/formatters/qt.py
+++ b/debuggers/lldb/formatters/qt.py
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@
     debugger.HandleCommand('type category enable kdevelop-qt')
 
 
-def dataForQString(valobj):
+def printableQString(valobj):
     pointer = 0
     length = 0
     if valobj.IsValid():
@@ -94,32 +94,34 @@
         # size in the number of chars, each char is 2 bytes in UTF16
         length = size.GetValueAsUnsigned(0) * 2
 
-    return (pointer, length)
+        error = lldb.SBError()
+        string_data = valobj.process.ReadMemory(pointer, length, error)
+        # The QString object might be not yet initialized. In this case size is a bogus value,
+        # and memory access may fail
+        if error.Success():
+            string = string_data.decode('utf-16').__repr__().lstrip("u'").rstrip("'")
+            return string, pointer, length
+    return None, 0, 0
 
 
 def QStringSummaryProvider(valobj, internal_dict):
     if valobj.IsValid():
-        content = valobj.GetChildMemberWithName('content')
+        content = valobj.GetChildMemberWithName('(content)')
         if content.IsValid():
-            return valobj.GetChildMemberWithName('content').GetSummary()
+            return content.GetSummary()
         else:
             # No synthetic provider installed, get the content by ourselves
-            dataPointer, byteLength = dataForQString(valobj)
-            error = lldb.SBError()
-            string_data = valobj.process.ReadMemory(dataPointer, byteLength, error)
-            # The QString object might be not yet initialized. In this case size is a bogus value,
-            # and memory access may fail
-            if error.Success():
-                return '"{}"'.format(string_data.decode('utf-16').encode('utf-8').replace('"', r'\"'))
+            printable, _, _ = printableQString(valobj)
+            if printable is not None:
+                return quote(printable)
     return None
 
 
 class QStringFormatter(object):
     """A lldb synthetic provider for QString"""
 
     def __init__(self, valobj, internal_dict):
         self.valobj = valobj
-        self._size_member = None
         self._content_member = None
         self._members = []
         self._num_children = 0
@@ -134,68 +136,54 @@
         return self._num_children
 
     def get_child_index(self, name):
-        if name == 'size':
-            return 0
-        elif name == 'content':
-            return 1
+        if name == '(content)':
+            return self._num_children
         else:
             try:
-                return int(name.lstrip('[').rstrip(']')) + 2
+                return int(name.lstrip('[').rstrip(']'))
             except Exception:
                 return None
 
     def get_child_at_index(self, idx):
-        if idx < 0 or idx >= self._num_children:
+        if idx < 0 or idx > self._num_children:
             return None
-        if idx == 0:
-            return self._size_member
-        elif idx == 1:
+        if idx == self._num_children:
             return self._content_member
         else:
-            return self._members[idx - 2]
+            return self._members[idx]
 
     def update(self):
-        self._num_children = 2
+        self._num_children = 0
         self._members = []
         if not self.valobj.IsValid():
-            self._size_member = self.valobj.CreateValueFromExpression('size', '(size_t) 0')
             self._content_member = lldb.SBValue()
             return
 
-        dataPointer, byteLength = dataForQString(self.valobj)
+        printable, dataPointer, byteLength = printableQString(self.valobj)
         strLength = byteLength / 2
-        self._num_children += strLength
-        self._size_member = self.valobj.CreateValueFromExpression('size',
-                                                                  '(size_t) {}'.format(strLength))
-
-        error = lldb.SBError()
-        string_data = self.valobj.process.ReadMemory(dataPointer, byteLength, error)
-        # The QString object might be not yet initialized. In this case size is a bogus value,
-        # and memory access may fail
-        if error.Success():
-            string = string_data.decode('utf-16').encode('utf-8')
+        self._num_children = strLength
 
+        if printable is not None:
             for idx in range(0, strLength):
                 var = self.valobj.CreateValueFromAddress('[{}]'.format(idx),
                                                          dataPointer + idx * self._qchar_size,
                                                          self._qchar_type)
                 self._members.append(var)
-            self._content_member = self.valobj.CreateValueFromExpression('content',
-                                                                         '(const char*) "{}"'.format(string.replace('"', r'\"')))
+
+            self._content_member = self.valobj.CreateValueFromExpression('(content)',
+                                                                         '(const char*) {}'.format(quote(printable)))
         else:
             self._content_member = lldb.SBValue()
 
 
 def QCharSummaryProvider(valobj, internal_dict):
     if valobj.IsValid():
         ucs = valobj.GetChildMemberWithName('ucs').GetValueAsUnsigned(0)
-        return u"'{}'".format(unichr(ucs)).encode('utf-8')
-    return ''
+        return unichr(ucs).__repr__().lstrip('u')
+    return None
 
 
-def dataForQByteArray(valobj):
-    pointer = 0
-    length = 0
+def printableQByteArray(valobj):
     if valobj.IsValid():
         d = valobj.GetChildMemberWithName('d')
         data = d.GetChildMemberWithName('data')
@@ -211,27 +199,37 @@
             pointer = d.GetValueAsUnsigned(0) + 24  # Fallback to hardcoded value
         length = size.GetValueAsUnsigned(0)
 
-    return (pointer, length)
+        error = lldb.SBError()
+        string_data = valobj.process.ReadMemory(pointer, length, error)
+        # The object might be not yet initialized. In this case size is a bogus value,
+        # and memory access may fail
+        if error.Success():
+            # replace non-ascii byte with a space and get a printable version
+            ls = list(string_data)
+            for idx in range(0, length):
+                byte = ord(ls[idx])
+                if byte >= 128 or byte < 0:
+                    ls[idx] = hex(byte).replace('0', '\\', 1)
+                elif byte == 0: # specical handle for 0, as hex(0) returns '\\x0'
+                    ls[idx] = '\\x00'
+            string = ''.join(ls)
+            return string, pointer, length
+    return None, 0, 0
 
 
 def QByteArraySummaryProvider(valobj, internal_dict):
     if valobj.IsValid():
-        content = valobj.GetChildMemberWithName('content')
+        content = valobj.GetChildMemberWithName('(content)')
         if content.IsValid():
-            return valobj.GetChildMemberWithName('content').GetSummary()
+            return content.GetSummary()
         else:
-            # No synthetic provider installed, get the content by ourselves
-            dataPointer, byteLength = dataForQByteArray(self.valobj)
-            error = lldb.SBError()
-            string_data = self.valobj.process.ReadMemory(dataPointer, byteLength, error)
-            # The object might be not yet initialized. In this case size is a bogus value,
-            # and memory access may fail
-            if error.Success():
-                # replace non-ascii byte with a space and get a printable version
-                string = ''.join([i if ord(i) < 128 else ' ' for i in string_data])
-                return '"{}"'.format(string)
+            # Our synthetic provider is not installed, get the content by ourselves
+            printable, _, _ = printableQByteArray(valobj)
+            if printable is not None:
+                return quote(printable)
     return None
 
+
 class QByteArrayFormatter(object):
     """A lldb synthetic provider for QByteArray"""
 
@@ -251,55 +249,45 @@
         return self._num_children
 
     def get_child_index(self, name):
-        if name == 'size':
-            return 0
-        elif name == 'content':
-            return 1
+        # 'content' is a hidden child, since lldb won't ask for a child at
+        #  index >= self._num_children. But we know that index == self._num_children
+        #  is indeed valid, so we can use it in SummaryProvider, to reduce
+        #  another fetch from the inferior
+        if name == '(content)':
+            return self._num_children
         else:
             try:
-                return int(name.lstrip('[').rstrip(']')) + 2
+                return int(name.lstrip('[').rstrip(']'))
             except Exception:
                 return None
 
     def get_child_at_index(self, idx):
-        if idx < 0 or idx >= self._num_children:
+        if idx < 0 or idx > self._num_children:
             return None
-        if idx == 0:
-            return self._size_member
-        elif idx == 1:
+        # see comments in self.get_child_index
+        if idx == self._num_children:
             return self._content_member
         else:
-            return self._members[idx - 2]
+            return self._members[idx]
 
     def update(self):
-        self._num_children = 2
+        self._num_children = 0
         self._members = []
         if not self.valobj.IsValid():
-            self._size_member = self.valobj.CreateValueFromExpression('size', '(size_t) 0')
             self._content_member = lldb.SBValue()
             return
 
-        dataPointer, byteLength = dataForQByteArray(self.valobj)
-        strLength = byteLength
-        self._num_children += strLength
-        self._size_member = self.valobj.CreateValueFromExpression('size',
-                                                                  '(size_t) {}'.format(strLength))
+        printable, dataPointer, byteLength = printableQByteArray(self.valobj)
+        self._num_children = byteLength
 
-        error = lldb.SBError()
-        string_data = self.valobj.process.ReadMemory(dataPointer, byteLength, error)
-        # The object might be not yet initialized. In this case size is a bogus value,
-        # and memory access may fail
-        if error.Success():
-            # replace non-ascii byte with a space and get a printable version
-            string = ''.join([i if ord(i) < 128 else ' ' for i in string_data])
-
-            for idx in range(0, strLength):
+        if printable is not None:
+            self._content_member = self.valobj.CreateValueFromExpression('(content)',
+                                                                         '(const char*) {}'.format(quote(printable)))
+            for idx in range(0, self._num_children):
                 var = self.valobj.CreateValueFromAddress('[{}]'.format(idx),
                                                          dataPointer + idx * self._char_size,
                                                          self._char_type)
                 self._members.append(var)
-            self._content_member = self.valobj.CreateValueFromExpression('content',
-                                                                         '(const char*) "{}"'.format(string.replace('"', r'\"')))
         else:
             self._content_member = lldb.SBValue()
 
@@ -877,4 +865,4 @@
     """lldb synthethic provider for QHash"""
 
     def __init__(self, valobj, internal_dict):
-        super(QMultiHashFormatter, self).__init__(valobj.GetChildAtIndex(0), internal_dict)
\ No newline at end of file
+        super(QMultiHashFormatter, self).__init__(valobj.GetChildAtIndex(0), internal_dict)
diff --git a/debuggers/lldb/unittests/debugees/debugeeqt.cpp b/debuggers/lldb/unittests/debugees/debugeeqt.cpp
--- a/debuggers/lldb/unittests/debugees/debugeeqt.cpp
+++ b/debuggers/lldb/unittests/debugees/debugeeqt.cpp
@@ -27,5 +27,6 @@
         x += QString::number(i);
         qDebug() << x;
     }
+    QString ustr = QString::fromUtf8("\u4f60\u597d\u4e16\u754c");
     return 0;
 }
diff --git a/debuggers/lldb/unittests/test_lldb.h b/debuggers/lldb/unittests/test_lldb.h
--- a/debuggers/lldb/unittests/test_lldb.h
+++ b/debuggers/lldb/unittests/test_lldb.h
@@ -100,6 +100,7 @@
     void testVariablesStartSecondSession();
     void testVariablesSwitchFrame();
     void testVariablesQuicklySwitchFrame();
+    void testVariablesNonascii();
     void testSwitchFrameLldbConsole();
 
     void testSegfaultDebugee();
@@ -120,7 +121,7 @@
 
     KDevelop::VariableCollection *variableCollection();
     KDevelop::Variable *watchVariableAt(int i);
-    KDevelop::Variable *localVariableAt(int i);
+    QModelIndex localVariableIndexAt(int i, int col = 0);
 
 private:
     KDevelop::TestCore *m_core;
diff --git a/debuggers/lldb/unittests/test_lldb.cpp b/debuggers/lldb/unittests/test_lldb.cpp
--- a/debuggers/lldb/unittests/test_lldb.cpp
+++ b/debuggers/lldb/unittests/test_lldb.cpp
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@
 
 #include <QFileInfo>
 #include <QSignalSpy>
+#include <QString>
 #include <QStringList>
 #include <QTest>
 #include <QTemporaryFile>
@@ -149,6 +150,7 @@
     {
         setSourceInitFile(false);
         m_frameStackModel = new TestFrameStackModel(this);
+        setFormatterPath(findSourceFile("../formatters/qt.py"));
         KDevelop::ICore::self()->debugController()->addSession(this);
     }
 
@@ -181,11 +183,10 @@
     return dynamic_cast<Variable*>(variableCollection()->itemForIndex(idx));
 }
 
-Variable *LldbTest::localVariableAt(int i)
+QModelIndex LldbTest::localVariableIndexAt(int i, int col)
 {
     auto localRoot = variableCollection()->indexForItem(variableCollection()->locals(), 0);
-    auto idx = variableCollection()->index(i, 0, localRoot);
-    return dynamic_cast<Variable*>(variableCollection()->itemForIndex(idx));
+    return variableCollection()->index(i, col, localRoot);
 }
 
 // Called before the first testfunction is executed
@@ -1461,8 +1462,11 @@
 
     session->variableController()->setAutoUpdate(KDevelop::IVariableController::UpdateWatches);
 
-    const QString testString("test");
-    const QString quotedTestString("\"" + testString + "\"");
+    // the unquoted string (the actual content):               t\"t
+    // quoted string (what we would write as a c string):     "t\\\"t"
+    // written in source file:                             R"("t\\\"t")"
+    const QString testString("t\\\"t"); // the actual content
+    const QString quotedTestString(R"("t\\\"t")");
 
     breakpoints()->addCodeBreakpoint(QUrl::fromLocalFile(m_debugeeFileName), 38);
     QVERIFY(session->startDebugging(&cfg, m_iface));
@@ -1665,6 +1669,26 @@
     WAIT_FOR_STATE(session, DebugSession::EndedState);
 }
 
+void LldbTest::testVariablesNonascii()
+{
+    TestDebugSession *session = new TestDebugSession;
+    TestLaunchConfiguration cfg(findExecutable("lldb_debugeeqt"));
+
+    session->variableController()->setAutoUpdate(KDevelop::IVariableController::UpdateLocals);
+
+    QString fileName = findSourceFile("debugeeqt.cpp");
+    breakpoints()->addCodeBreakpoint(QUrl::fromLocalFile(fileName), 30);
+
+    QVERIFY(session->startDebugging(&cfg, m_iface));
+    WAIT_FOR_STATE_AND_IDLE(session, DebugSession::PausedState);
+
+    QCOMPARE(session->currentLine(), 30);
+    COMPARE_DATA(localVariableIndexAt(0, 1), QString("\"\u4f60\u597d\u4e16\u754c\""));
+
+    session->run();
+    WAIT_FOR_STATE(session, DebugSession::EndedState);
+}
+
 void LldbTest::testSwitchFrameLldbConsole()
 {
     TestDebugSession *session = new TestDebugSession;