Happy Memories of the Ma's became the first Chinese series shown by Vietnam's leading broadcasters. (Photo provided to China Daily)
Netflix plans to make the series available in its global market of 190-plus countries and regions. Xu Zhimin, assistant president of Youku, says the purchase is "an uplifting signal" for Chinese content makers.
"The quality of Chinese dramas has risen greatly over the past five years, and as a result they have won recognition in the international market."
The bulk of those who watch Chinese online video services are young people, most of them aficionados of hit television dramas made in the centers of the world film industry, such as the United States, the UK and South Korea, Xu says.
Demand by Chinese audiences for better quality productions has prompted domestic content-makers to act, including providing better storytelling and visual effects, while at the same time making some of the productions more attractive to overseas audiences, he says.
This shift in the market is taking place not only on broadcasting platforms, but also in genres of particular interest to foreign audiences.
Wei Lili, vice-president of Ciwen Media Group, says she has sensed the change over the past few decades. The Beijing-based Ciwen has produced a number of dramas sold overseas.
Sales of Chinese dramas abroad go back to the 1980s, when household TV series such as Journey to the West, a mythological tale about the Monkey King, were exported to Southeast Asia and Africa, she says.
Streams of fine gold
In the early 2000s, martial arts dramas emerged as a major genre rated highly in China and elsewhere around the world, she says.
"The dramas adapted from bestselling novels by the prestigious wuxia authors Louis Cha and Gu Long were then greatly welcomed in Southeast Asia, whose culture and history are similar to China's."
For example, the Ciwen-produced martial arts dramas Legend of the Eagle Shooting Hero, The Proud Twins, Stories of the Wandering Hero and The Seven Swords were well received in Japan and South Korea.
As the Chinese economy has continued to boom over the past 10 years, more domestic series have been exported. Tales featuring modern China and the lifestyles of Chinese began to dominate ratings as foreign audiences wanted to know more about the changes that were unfolding in the country.
Happy Memories of the Ma's, a 47-episode TV series chronicling the life of a Shanghai family between the 1970s and early 2000s, became the first Chinese series shown by Vietnam's leading broadcasters and beat other local shows to top the country's ratings when it was first aired in the country.
When fantasy or historical dramas based on influential online novels rose to become leading genres in China, they have also gained in popularity overseas.
After topping China's TV screen ratings and being watched 2 billion times online, the fantasy drama The Journey of Flower made a big impact in Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.
The series, based on the online novel of the same title and starring pop stars Wallace Huo and Zhao Liying, centers on a bittersweet romance between an immortal master and his young disciple.
Another online sensation has been Princess Agents, about a sixth-century female slave's rise to become an influential military leader. It set a record for YouTube views at nearly 3 billion, making it the most-watched Chinese TV drama internationally. Plans are afoot for it to be translated into nine languages and broadcast in about 85 countries and regions.
"Overseas distribution is usually a long, time-consuming process," Wei says. "In the future, Chinese companies may work with foreign distributors before the shooting of a drama begins, which will leave more time for marketing. In addition, foreign actors can make stories more appealing to international audiences."
At the moment the biggest problem for foreign fans of Chinese dramas is the limited information about these productions.
Anne. J, the founder of Drama-Panda, an English-language website in Singapore that disseminates news and opinion about Chinese dramas, movies and celebrities, says most of its visitors are from the US. As its fan base has grown the website has been transformed from a personal blog to a thriving online community, she says.
"Costume dramas seem to be the biggest attraction. They range from fantasy pieces such as Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms to dramas such as Nirvana in Fire. I have noticed that these popular dramas in China tend to be similarly well-received by international viewers, especially if English subtitles are available. Princess Agents is a good example of that."
