Photo shows the filming site of a micro drama at the Huaxia Cultural Park, one of the scenic areas in Hengdian World Studios, east China's Zhejiang Province. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee)

The micro drama market size in China is expected to exceed 50 billion yuan ($6.82 billion) in 2024, according to the White Paper on the Development of China's Micro Drama Industry (2024) recently released by the China Netcasting Services Association.

Micro dramas feature short production schedules and relatively small budgets. Wang Hu, a micro drama director, said that the production cost of a micro drama typically stands around several hundred thousand yuan.

"If everything goes smoothly, a micro drama can be completed within a month or two, allowing investors to quickly adjust their future investment and production strategies," Wang Hu added.

Filming a micro drama is just as fast-paced as watching one. This has led to the explosive growth of China's micro drama market in the last couple years. Wang Hu, for example, directed over 10 micro dramas in 2024. Last year, more than 1,000 micro drama crews flocked to Hengdian World Studios in east China's Zhejiang Province, one of the country's largest film and television production bases.

Photo shows monitor screens for the filming of a micro drama. (People's Daily Overseas Edition/Li Zhen)

The booming micro drama industry has created opportunities for newcomers. Born in the 2000s, Su Huan, not formally trained as an actress, appeared in over 20 micro dramas last year.

The micro drama sector's success largely stems from meeting contemporary viewing habits. "Micro dramas are products of mobile internet era. Their appeal lies in fast-paced storytelling with multiple plot twists, catering to people's fragmented viewing habits," said Wang Jiushu, another micro drama director.

"Micro dramas, as a new form of online cultural and artistic expression emerged in the last two or three years, are now focusing on quality improvement," Wang Jiushu noted.

In June 2024, the National Radio and Television Administration issued guidelines to steer micro dramas toward quality content.

Extras wait for the filming of a micro drama. (People's Daily Overseas Edition/Li Zhen)

The guidelines can promote the healthy and orderly development of the micro drama industry, said Yang Chenghu, vice dean of the School of Arts and Communication at Beijing Normal University.

Production companies have been investing substantially more in premium micro dramas since late last year, which has helped raise production standards across the sector, according to Wang Jiushu. "For instance, this has enabled ongoing improvements in various aspects of production - from filming to lighting and post-production editing," Wang Jiushu noted.

The micro-drama boom has also brought new development opportunities to related industries. At one point facing challenges in continuing operations, the Huaxia Cultural Park, one of the scenic areas in Hengdian World Studios, successfully transformed itself by creating over 30 filming zones specifically designed for micro dramas, including both modern and historical settings. The cultural park opened to micro drama crews at the end of 2023. "These zones can meet the filming needs of most current micro dramas," said Yuan Man, general manager of the cultural park.

The cultural park now hosts an average of five to six micro drama crews each day, Yuan said, adding that this has led to an impressive surge in revenue, more than tripling the cultural park's previous earnings.

Tourists watch the filming of a micro drama at the Huaxia Cultural Park, one of the scenic areas in Hengdian World Studios, east China's Zhejiang Province. (Photo/Hu Zanlei)

Yuan believes that the implementation of the guidelines will further benefit the long-term and stable development of the micro drama industry.

Multiple regions across China are seizing the market opportunities of micro dramas by introducing favorable policies. Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, for instance, has rolled out measures to promote the development of the micro drama industry, including providing a fund aiming to produce over 200 high-quality micro dramas within two years and nurture over 15 leading enterprises in the industry.

Meanwhile, micro dramas have shown tremendous growth potential in overseas markets, with the United States leading in downloads and application revenue among international markets, according to the white paper. Chinese applications have secured the top three positions in micro drama downloads, leading the overseas market.

Micro dramas have opened up new international markets for Chinese cultural and entertainment products, while overseas audiences can gain insights into China's popular culture and Chinese people's life through micro dramas, said Guo Shu, general manager of the International Business Department of Hengdian World Studios.

DreameShort, a leading micro drama app focusing on North American, Japanese, South Korean, and European markets, has achieved over 6 million downloads in overseas markets over the past year, with more than 1 million monthly active users, said Yang Yang, DreameShort CEO. The app's top original series typically garner over 50 million views on average, with some hits exceeding 300 million online views.