Chinese TV series attract an international audience

SHANGHAI: At the just-concluded Shanghai TV Festival, French film and TV series producer Thomas Viguier was attracted by a TV series telling entrepreneurial stories in China.

Deciding to bring the series back to France, he took some sample episodes of Entrepreneurial Age from the Chinese producer to take a closer look at the production.

“The popularity of Chinese TV series in the overseas market has been growing beyond our imagination,” Zhou Jihong, deputy head of international cooperation department of State Administration of Radio and Television, said at the festival that ran from June 11 to 15.

Statistics show that Chinese TV series have been exported to over 200 countries and regions.

The Chinese TV and film industry last year exported content products and service surpassing US$400mil (RM1.59bil).

Translated into Mongolian, the Chinese TV drama Revelation of Life, which featured a love story in a big city, ranked on top in the ratings for TV series airing in Mongolia last year.

Chinese TV drama Feather Flies To The Sky, which tells the story of Chinese entrepreneurs decades ago, will be broadcasted in the Philippines soon.

The TV series Ode to Joy, which has gained wide popularity in China, will be translated into Portuguese and broadcasted in Portugal.

“TV dramas that reflect the reality of Chinese life and Chinese people’s joy and sorrow offer a window for the international community to get to know more about China,” Zhou said.

Hungarian TV station ATV is working with China’s Shaanxi TV and has produced a Hungarian version of the documentary Here is China.

Tamas Kovacs, CEO of ATV Hungary, said Hungarians want to watch all kinds of Chinese TV programmes such as dramas about romantic and family relationships, as well as costume and historical dramas. — Xinhua