Online entertainment bolsters cultural prosperity

Stills from popular online dramas in recent years such as Meet Yourself, To the Wonder, Blossoms Shanghai, and Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty 2 [Photo/Douban]

For most Chinese people, it is hard to imagine living without watching their favorite shows, listening to their loved musicians, and playing online games.

The flourishing landscape of online entertainment in China has not only transformed how people consume media but also played a pivotal role in nurturing cultural prosperity. The surge in diverse high-quality content across various streaming platforms, such as iQIYI, Youku, Tencent Video, Bilibili and NetEase Cloud Music, has fanned widespread interest in the country's illustrious history, heritage, and culture, promoting national cohesion and enhancing people's sense of identity.

A recent example is the Chinese-developed AAA video gameBlack Myth: Wukong, which attracted worldwide attention upon its release on Aug 20. The game's stunning visuals and re-creation of ancient Chinese architecture, especially Buddhist and Taoist temples in North China's Shanxi province, have inspired awe about the splendor and ingenuity of ancient Chinese architecture and thus quickly turned them into in-vogue travel destinations.

In the meantime, history and culture enthusiasts can seek precise and insightful content through online documentaries. For example, the 2024 eight-episode documentary China Before China, a heavyweight production engaging hundreds of archaeologists from across the country, tells the story of the origins and early development of Chinese civilization and contemporary attempts to portray ancient societies based on archaeological findings. The Potala Palace, a documentary produced by Tencent Video, brings viewers closer to the architectural interiors and collections within the Potala Palace in Lhasa, the capital of Southwest China's Xizang autonomous region, and showcases this treasure of human civilization from varied perspectives, including history, architecture, art and cultural folklore.

In addition to documentaries, a raft of richly researched costume dramas such as The Longest Day in Chang'an (2019), Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty 2 (2024), Royal Nirvana (2019), Serenade of Peaceful Joy (2020), Luoyang (2021), A Dream of Splendor (2022)and Royal Feast (2022)have achieved runaway success at home and abroad, enchanting the audience with the glamour of ancient China's Tang (618-907), Song (960-1279) and Ming (1368-1644) dynasties and encouraging them to delve into the profound traditional Chinese culture, arts, and heritage portrayed in those series.

Dramas highlighting local culture and traditions strongly resonate with modern audiences. For instance, the hit Chinese series Blossoms Shanghai, released in both Mandarin and the Shanghai dialect in late December, has sparked discussions among residents, online viewers, and experts over the preservation and inheritance of the declining Shanghai dialect. This year's national hit mini-seriesTo The Wonderhas put a spotlight on the nomadic life of the Kazaks in Altay prefecture in Xinjiang. Featuring the picturesque scenery of Altay such as snow-capped mountains, forests, grasslands, and deserts, the series also triggered a spike in tourism to pastures in Xinjiang.

Popular online reality shows exploring various themes also help raise awareness about critical issues and inject positive energy into society. The iQIYI-produced reality show Become a Farmer, turned 10 obscure Gen-Z male artists into agriculture entrepreneurs over two years. The phenomenally successful show is critically acclaimed for increasing public awareness about the country's food security and farmers' livelihoods. While in the Youku-produced reality showYoung Island, more than a dozen young people of various educational backgrounds, were tasked with using their skills and fresh perspectives to vitalize Yushan Island in Fuding, Fujian province, to enhance its tourism sector.

Digital entertainment consumption also often spurs people's desire for live, immersive entertainment for a balanced diet of live and online entertainment experiences, according to a global study commissioned by MGM Resorts International in 2018.

As this finding explains why so many hit online drama series have catapulted their filming locations to hot tourist destinations, it especially holds true for music consumption.

According to the 2024 China Music Industry Development Report, released in June by the China Communication University, in 2023, China boasted 726 million online music users, and the number of paying subscribers and the payment ratio of major music streaming platforms both achieved double-digit growth compared with a year earlier. The overall revenue from the country's live music market reached 26.419 billion yuan ($3.71 billion) in 2023, marking a 122.33 percent surge compared with 2022.