Hit Chinese shows gain popularity in overseas markets

To improve its original productions, the company set up a shooting area equipped with high technology.

Century UU changed its distribution strategy this year. It dropped the practice of distributing one series through a single partner. Instead, it now provides a package of series.

For example, the dedicated Chinese TV section at TrueID is cooperating with Li's company. The section includes different types of Chinese dramas, such as costume series and modern productions, to showcase just how vivid Chinese culture is.

"This is a good way of offering more choices to audiences overseas," Li said.

His company is also one of the leading Chinese content providers on YouTube. It has more than 27 million subscribers and covers 13 languages. The number of subscribers from Russia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Arab countries has surpassed 1 million in each location.

Li said that in recent years, apart from the core market in Southeast Asia, the number of subscribers in Arab nations has risen quickly, and their favorites are modern series that tell romantic stories about young Chinese.

According to the report published by the National Radio and Television Administration in November, Arab nations are becoming an extremely important market for Chinese dramas. Historical series and modern dramas are favored by these audiences.

This month, the Arabic version of the popular Chinese series Minning Town, which tells the story of poverty being eliminated in a rural village, aired in many Arab countries.

Ma Ning, the founder of Wisdom House International Culture Communication Group, which dubbed Minning Town in Arabic, said, "This year marks the rise of Chinese dramas in the Arab world, especially after the release of Minning Town.

"People in Arab nations want to know the secret of China's success through its dramas."