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 ran from June 11 to 15.
Statistics show that Chinese TV series have been exported to over 200 countries and regions, and the export volume of TV series accounts for over 60 percent of all the exported TV programs.
The Chinese TV and film industry last year exported content products and service surpassing 400 million U.S. dollars.
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, has been translated into Filipino and 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 programs such as dramas about romantic and family relationships, as well as costume and historical dramas.
Nebojsa Bradic, editor-in-chief of Culture and Art Programme in Radio Television of Serbia, said TV dramas have a magic power that can make people interested in each other's society and culture.
Chinese screenwriter and TV producer Zhang Yongchen said Chinese TV series face obstacles in terms of language, culture, and narrative habits in the foreign markets.
Despite the challenges ahead, Chinese TV producers are ambitious and optimistic about the global markets.
Shanghai Linmon Pictures said it will sell the copyright for the costume TV series "Fuyao" to broadcasting platforms in countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
Huace Group said it has exported about 10,000 hours of film and TV programs to more than 20 countries and regions participating in the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative.
Zhao Yifang, founder and CEO of Huace, said with the growth in popularity, Chinese TV series will make an ever greater contribution to the communication and exchange of cultures.
