The poster of TV documentary A Bite of China. (Photo/cntv.com)
Like many foreigners, 33-year-old Mildred had an initial idea that Chinese films and TV programs were all kung fu-style as that was what they saw on screens.
But things are changing as more Chinese video products are available on the international market.
"When I was a child, the only reason of going to China, it occurred to me, was to learn martial arts, but my thought changed recently after watching a Chinese teleplay," said Mildred, a Kenyan single mother, referring to "Go, Lala, Go!", a hot television drama about the story of a successful Chinese career woman.
With box office of 44 billion yuan (about 6.9 billion U.S. dollars) in 2015, China has become the second-largest film market in the world, following North America.
Additionally, more Chinese movies and TV dramas with diversified subjects and styles are being watched internationally.
Speaking of Chinese TV drama "Shanshan Is Coming," Russian viewer Rutla, who only give his first name and spent a single day finishing all the series, called the drama amazing.
"Shanshan Is Coming," a romance story between a girl and her boss, is now ranking No. 1 among all Chinese teleplays on Russia's video website Dorama.ru.
"The Journey of Flower," "Empresses in the Palace," "The Three Kingdoms" and some other period dramas can be found on the Internet with Russian subtitles.
While a limited number of Chinese teleplays became popular in America, Africa has the most fans of Chinese movies and teleplays.
Chinese and Africans have the same value on family and love and such resonance promotes the popularity of Chinese plays in Africa, said Zhang Junqi, executive officer of the Kenyan branch of StarTimes Corp, a Beijing-based private company that runs a Chinese movie and TV drama channel in Kenya.
"Movies softly but profoundly affect people's view about China, such as how to summarize or memorize China," Shi Hang, a Chinese scriptwriter, told Xinhua on Monday, likening movies to spring rain that moistens everything silently.
During the 69th Cannes Film Festival that ended early Monday, Chinese pavilion welcomed a record of consultations from international film producers and market managers, who see the potential of the Chinese film industry.
At the festival, Roberto Stabile, an official from Italy's motion picture association Anica, called for more co-productions between China and Italy in the film industry, saying the combination of Italy's creativity and China's technology could yield nice results.
International cooperation has been a mutual beneficial way for film and teleplay makers from China and abroad.
Both the co-produced film "Wolf Totem" by China and France, and "Kung Fu Panda" by China and the United States have been successful.
