With the release of several original, high-quality productions, international viewers’ enthusiasm for Chinese television and online dramas continues to grow. The shows’ distinct cultural and artistic aesthetics, which can be seen in costume and family dramas, urban romances, and fantasy epics, fascinate many viewers.

Many foreign fans have been drawn to Chinese TV and web series because of significant improvements in storytelling, cinematography, and artistry. Chinese dramas, documentaries, and variety shows with Chinese and other language subtitles are widely distributed today, primarily through video websites and mobile apps such as YouTube, Netflix, Rakuten Viki, and Mydramalist.

Officials from the National Radio and Television Administration said at last year’s 25th Beijing TV Program Market and Exhibition that Chinese dramas have been exported to more than 200 countries and regions around the world, with dramas accounting for more than 70% of the total.

The most popular genres of Chinese productions aired on American streaming websites are costume dramas and suspense-crime series.

In 2015, Netflix adapted director Zheng Xiaolong’s costume drama “Empresses in the Palace” into a six-episode miniseries. Many popular Chinese shows, including “The Rise of Phoenixes,” “Day and Night,” and “Burning Ice,” were later purchased by the streaming service for global streaming rights.

Traditional Chinese dramas such as “Journey to the West,” “The Qin Empire,” “Water Margin,” and “Meteor Garden” have piqued the interest of North American broadcasters and online platforms.

Chinese fantasy-idol dramas and urban-romantic tales are popular among South Korean broadcasters such as KBS, SBS, and MBC.

A number of South Korean viewers praised the fantasy romance “The Honey Sank Like Frost,” praising the drama’s exquisite costumes and spectacular scenes; some also saw it as a good opportunity to learn Chinese.

Producers in South Korea are also eager to bring new remakes of popular Chinese dramas to the market. So far, adaptations of “Treading On Thin Ice” and “Fated to Love You” have aired in South Korea.

“The Advisors Alliance,” “Nirvana in Fire,” and “The Glory of Tang Dynasty” are examples of in-depth, epic dramas that Japanese broadcasters prefer. The majority of these series include a lot of traditional Chinese art. There have also been Japanese remakes of Chinese classic dramas such as “Journey to the West” and “Romance of the Three Kingdoms.”

Thailand and Malaysia, among other Southeast Asian countries, have well-developed collaboration mechanisms with domestic producers.

iQiyi, a Chinese video-streaming company, has announced a long-term strategic partnership with Astro to provide original TV dramas, films, and variety shows for Astro’s new high-definition channel on a regular basis. Internet technology has made global cultural exchanges and transmissions more convenient, according to iQiyi’s Yang Xianghua, and the company will continue to create high-quality, original content for international audiences.

For example, the 70-episode period drama “Story of Yanxi Palace” was released in more than 70 countries and translated into 14 languages, including English, Arabic, and Vietnamese. It has been widely praised for the quality of its costumes and sets, which are based on the power struggles that occurred during Emperor Qianlong’s reign (1711-1799).

Co-productions with Chinese and Thai filmmakers are also common in youth and romance ซีรี่ย์จีน พากย์ไทย. “Fleet of Time” and “What the Duck: The Series,” both produced by international teams, are aimed at young people in both countries.

Catherine Gomez