In recent years, Chinese animated films have set sail to overseas markets and made great strides in them. At the same time, China's online literature, online games and online dramas have also shown strong development momentum around the world, becoming the "new three" of cultural exports, pushing China's cultural service exports to new heights.
Short short plays are going global and have a "Chinese style"
At a film and television base in the suburbs of Beijing, the reporter encountered the crew before entering the door. A closer look revealed that the mobile phones and SLR cameras were mounted on stabilizers and they were shooting a short drama. Turning into the inconspicuous gate, there was an even busier scene inside.
CCTV reporter Yang Litian: You must be wondering why I would appear in the subway? But is this really a subway? This is actually the set of a film and television base.
On the set of this film and television base space station, the shooting of a science fiction movie just ended in the morning, while in the afternoon the crew of a short overseas drama was busy here.
The entire film and television city was actually converted from an auto parts factory, and the exterior blocks were deliberately built in different architectural styles in order to target the vast overseas market for short dramas.
China's ancient costume and fairy tale short dramas have exquisite costumes and rich details; modern dramas have a tight rhythm and high-energy plots, which are very popular with overseas audiences. According to the overseas play schedule of a short drama company, more than ten Chinese short dramas are launched in Thailand, Japan, the United States and other countries every day.
Wang Jiacheng, Chairman of Jiuzhou Culture: There are many key projects that will be launched intensively after the Spring Festival. Our current overseas platform covers more than 230 countries and regions around the world, with a cumulative download volume of more than 100 million.
Short drama viewer Kathryn Kearney: I like watching TV short dramas on my phone because they are fast-paced and always gripping. Because they are short, I can watch them during breaks, before bed, or while waiting in line.
From exporting works to producing and exporting short dramas, exploring new ways to export overseas
The speed of releasing short dramas is far behind the needs of overseas audiences, especially for dramas exported to countries with small languages, where the translation efficiency is too low. It takes more than half a month from erasing subtitles to translating into films. In order to speed up the overseas expansion, the team used artificial intelligence after the Spring Festival.
Liu Jinlong, head of Jiuzhou Culture's overseas platform: We can complete it within a week through AI. It will be released this month and will be launched simultaneously in 14 countries and language regions around the world next month.
Although dubbed dramas have quickly opened up the international market, domestic dramas that rely solely on translation and dubbing are unlikely to satisfy the tastes of audiences from different cultural backgrounds. At present, Chinese short drama companies have begun to shift from exporting works to exporting production capabilities. On a set in the United States, the director is using the shooting techniques of Chinese short dramas, such as how many seconds the camera should stay on the male protagonist's face; how to use a set of quick shots to show plot twists, and require actors to show emotional outbursts in a short period of time.
Xiao Ying, director of micro-short dramas: I started shooting short dramas in the United States at the end of 2023. Short dramas can quickly capture the audience's attention within one or two minutes. American audiences have good paying habits. I have worked with more than 100 actors, and there will be more in the future.
Not only the shooting techniques, but even the scripts are exported from China. This scene is a story frame and outline laid out in China, and the main creative team filled in the "meat" according to local culture. For example, living habits, slang, scenes, etc. Even details such as "whether to change shoes when entering the door" will be changed according to different countries.
Wang Jiacheng, Chairman of Jiuzhou Culture: This model was implemented very quickly. Within two years, we established short drama production bases in North America, Japan, Vietnam and other places, and about 30 local self-made dramas were launched every month.
The "2024 Short Drama Overseas Market Insights" report released by a US data analysis company shows that there are currently more than 100 Chinese short drama applications launched in overseas markets, with a cumulative download volume of nearly 148 million times and revenue of US$200 million.
Good Stories Go Global - China Online Literature Exhibition Held in Singapore
In addition to online dramas, the international influence of Chinese online literature is also increasing. Its unique creative style and rich Chinese elements have attracted readers around the world.
The Chinese online literature and related exhibition is going on in Singapore these days. There are not only a large number of creative booths but also many interactive experiences, which attracted many citizens to visit.
CCTV reporter Liu Chang: I am now at Marina Bay Plaza in Singapore. Since the Spring Festival, Chinese online literature IP activities have been held here every day. The booths full of Chinese cultural characteristics have attracted a large number of tourists and people to visit.
There were many interactive sessions with classic IPs at the event. There was an AI camera in this room, and visitors could select their favorite IP image and get a photo of their own IP. This wishing tree, which was the same as the one in the online novel, also attracted many Singaporeans to come and make wishes.
Singaporean citizen Zhang Jianhua: I started reading online novels when I was in secondary school. I felt that they were very different from the English novels I had read before, so I became fascinated by them and have been reading them ever since.
CCTV reporter Liu Chang: In recent years, the scale and influence of Chinese online literature overseas have continued to expand. In the Chinese book section of the National Library of Singapore, China's best-selling online novels are always placed in a prominent position. A Singaporean engineer I know has also spontaneously translated many Chinese online literature works, with a word count of more than 10 million words.
In fact, the influence of Chinese online literature is not limited to Singapore. These works have expanded their influence to the entire Southeast Asia region by spreading China's traditional culture, customs, clothing, architecture and other elements, as well as derivative products such as film, television, and games based on online literature.
At present, the market for Chinese online literature in Southeast Asia has become the primary market for online literature export. Chinese online literature has also been deeply integrated with local culture. Through authorization and cooperation, Chinese companies have exported a mature online literature industry chain and promoted the creation and publication of online literature in Southeast Asia.
Online articles going overseas are more outstanding, and Chinese elements are the key to hits
Chinese online literature and online games have accumulated a large number of readers and players around the world with their unique cultural charm and innovative technology. When the reporter visited relevant companies, he saw that everyone was busy digging deep into traditional cultural elements and promoting China's "good stories" to the world.
Just after the Spring Festival holiday, the overseas editorial meeting of this online literature company filled the entire conference room. Everyone was enthusiastically discussing the list of works to be translated overseas in the near future, and finding the most popular content that best fits the current popular elements.
Hou Xiaonan, CEO and President of China Literature Group: We will continue to optimize and upgrade our IP industry chain this year and bring more good Chinese stories and good IPs to the world.
In recent years, themes that integrate oriental culture, such as modern cities, oriental fantasy, and fairy tales, have become increasingly popular overseas. Film, television, and animation works adapted from Chinese online novels have also accelerated their overseas expansion, even topping many overseas video platforms. Therefore, the goal of the overseas team and its writers this year is to reflect more Chinese culture in their works.
Yuewen writer Wu Xin: The fact that my works are popular overseas shows that the core of our traditional Chinese elements is still very recognized. The new book I am writing is also about espionage, and will incorporate some of my hometown's intangible cultural heritage.
Not only Chinese writers, but also the company's mailbox is flooded with submissions from 400,000 overseas online writers signed by the company, who hope to make a name for themselves in the fierce online literature industry.
Hou Xiaonan, CEO and President of China Literature Group: These overseas writers use many of the writing methods of Chinese online literature in their creations, and also incorporate many Chinese elements, such as China's pandas, tea ceremony, and chivalrous culture.
The latest report released by the Institute of Literature of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences shows that the current scale of China's online literature "going overseas" market exceeds 4 billion yuan, there are about 620,000 original works overseas, and about 230 million overseas visiting users.
Chinese elements not only make online literature go global, but also make the online game production team determined in the future direction. The person in charge of a game company in Chengdu Hi-tech Zone told reporters that the Chinese style online game under development took more than a year to create the iconic scene of "Bronze God Tree", from running around the library and visiting the cultural relics museum to modeling and adjustment. Because they know that only by deeply exploring and carefully producing Chinese traditional culture can the work stand out in the global market.
Xia Siyuan, Chief Technology Officer of Chengdu Lingze Technology: With the explosive popularity of Black Myth, we can see that more domestic stand-alone game teams have achieved breakthroughs in narrative, gameplay, and technical strength, and are able to compete with overseas teams in the international market.
The latest report from the China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association's Game Working Committee shows that in 2024, the overseas sales revenue of China's self-developed games will reach US$18.557 billion, a year-on-year increase of 13.39%, breaking the RMB 100 billion mark for five consecutive years. Domestic games are transforming from commodity consumption to cultural products and are becoming an important carrier for cultural exports.
Online games, online novels and online dramas: Showcasing China's charm with digital culture
According to the data from the Ministry of Commerce, in 2024, the export of culture represented by online articles, online dramas, and online games has driven a significant increase in China's cultural service exports. Among them, the export of personal cultural and entertainment services increased by 39.3%, and the import increased by 29.5%. With originality as the core, creativity as the driving force, and technology as the support, the "new three" of cultural export has become an important window for the world to understand Chinese culture. In the interview, many practitioners said that everyone has a common goal: through their own efforts, let the world know, understand, and read China.
Zhang Dong, CEO of Thailand's Yiding Media: This year will definitely be very busy. This year is the year of explosion for horizontal and vertical screen micro-short dramas.
Shen Rong, General Manager of China Online Writers Village: Micro drama is actually the video version of online novels. To date, more than one-third of the villagers in our writers' village have embraced the creation of micro dramas. Many of them are paying more and more attention to the internationalization of novel creation.
Wu Yuxuan, a student at Zhejiang Media College: The overseas expansion of short dramas is a very imaginative track. We all see the global potential of this industry, and there will definitely be more opportunities in the future than we can imagine now.
Tian Siyuan, Project Manager of Overseas AI Translation Quality Monitoring at China Literature: I plan to use AI to empower people while keeping up with the times, so that more stories can be conveyed to overseas audiences in a more accurate and authentic way.
Game enthusiast Ye Fu: I like this game, the exquisite design and rich characters, such as the panda. I also like the Chinese elements in the game, such as Chinese festivals and solar terms.
Xia Siyuan, Chief Technology Officer of Chengdu Lingze Technology: The homogeneity of themes and gameplay of foreign stand-alone games is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for domestic stand-alone games to go overseas. We hope to bring more stories about traditional culture and Chinese folk customs to global players.
(CCTV reporter Zhu Jihua, Zhao Shuguang, Yang Litian, Ji Lele, Liu Chang)
