BEIJING, March 22 (Xinhua) — With the swipe of a finger, mobile device users around the world can easily read popular Chinese novels on Webnovel or stream mini-dramas by Chinese playwrights on ReelShort. You can now dive into the world of Genshin games. You can get a glimpse of Chinese aesthetics.
These are among a new wave of online short dramas, novels, games, and other cultural and entertainment products that Chinese content creators are offering to consumers around the world.
In February, the “Yuewen Global IP Awards'' were held in Singapore by China Litital, a leading online reading company. The event quickly gained attention in international metropolises, and fans quickly snapped up tickets.
On the company's reading portal “Webnovel,'' you can currently view approximately 3,800 translated works of Chinese literature. Additionally, the platform collaborates with his 410,000 international authors who have published over 620,000 literary works, attracting a total of 230 million readers from all over the world.
These represent the burgeoning global market for popular Chinese online publications. According to a report released last year by the China Audio Video Digital Publishing Association, the total overseas revenue of China's online novel industry in 2022 will reach 4.06 billion yuan (572 million USD), an increase of 39.87% from the previous year.
According to the report, Chinese online literary works have been translated into more than 20 languages and cover more than 40 countries and regions in Southeast Asia, North America, Europe and Africa.
While Chinese novels are attracting attention overseas, short dramas based on scripts by Chinese playwrights are also gaining fan bases across borders.
An article in the Global Times says, “Unlike the previous practice of clumsily adding English subtitles to domestic short dramas, the recent wave of popular foreign short dramas is now featuring authentic European and American accents and faces. I'm there,” he commented.
A notable example is ReelShort. The app, which boasts hit shows such as “The Double Life of a Billionaire Husband,” currently ranks No. 7 on the iOS App Store's entertainment charts.
One review of ReelShort says, “They have great content…I hope they make more.” “I didn't expect to enjoy this app as much as I did. The story is very interesting.”
The app was downloaded more than 10 million times in total in the US throughout 2023, making it one of the most popular apps in the local market, according to statistics from technology analysis firm Sensor Tower.
Mobile games, which are a fusion of audiovisual and digital technologies, are another important means of presenting the best aspects of Chinese culture to domestic and international netizens.
Ahead of the Year of the Dragon, Chinese gaming giant miHoYo has released a series of new updates to its open-world adventure game Genshin, featuring Chinese-style lanterns and lion dances.
According to the game's production team, traditional lion dances and other elements of China's intangible cultural heritage are incorporated into the game, allowing overseas players to become familiar with Chinese culture.
“We are committed to leveraging digital technology to advance Chinese culture,” said Liu Wei, chairman of miHoYo. “By delving deep into history and culture, we strive to create distinctive and original cultural products. “There is,” he said.
It has a rating of 4.4 out of 5 on the iOS App Store and is currently ranked #26 in the Adventure Games category. One review said, “This game is the best game I've ever downloaded! It's a great open world game, the plot is great, all the characters are very well designed, and have great backgrounds. ” states.
Despite success stories such as Webnovel, ReelShort, and Genshin Impact, there are still bottlenecks for Chinese creators to break through, such as content localization and diversification.
Researcher Sun Jiashan said that in the future, content creators need to focus not only on visual techniques, but also on the inner value of production, and bring out typical Chinese culture more creatively. .
To reach the world, China's cultural products should not be limited to a single dimension or become mere one-hit wonders. Hou Xiaonan, CEO of China Literature Co., Ltd., said these works should resonate emotionally and culturally with people around the world. ■