Staff setting up the scene (pic: Xi'an Evening News)

In recent years, Xi'an has earned the new title "City of Short Dramas". Data shows that in 2023, over 60% of China's short dramas were filmed by Xi'an-based teams, and Xi'an production teams accounted for 80% of the hit short dramas in China. It is estimated that around 40% of China's short dramas will be produced in Xi'an in 2024. So, what has made Xi'an the hub of this phenomenon?

Short dramas have been around for only a short time, emerging at the end of 2021. Thanks to their rapid development in 2022 and 2023, they have become a formidable new force in the era of "information fragmentation".

An on-going filming of a short drama

Distinctly from traditional film and television, short dramas stand out with their brevity and fast pace. Each episode averages 3 to 5 minutes, and a 100-episode series can be filmed and produced in just seven to eight days, with production costs ranging in the hundreds of thousands of yuan. Short dramas rely heavily on big data algorithms to precisely target their audience. Once the series is finished filming, it can be released online immediately. With short production cycles and quick returns, the payback period is also much shorter.

      

 A film-making base in Fengxi New City of Xi'an

The diverse urban landscape of Xi'an has provided ample filming scenes for short drama productions, and many specialized short drama studios have thus popped up in Xi'an, equipped with sets, props, and other facilities. Some of these studios are even referred to as "Little Hengdian".

Hengdian: Hengdian World Studios is a film studio in Hengdian, a Chinese town in Dongyang, Zhejiang Province. It is one of the largest film studios in the world.

Inside scene of the film-making base

In addition to incubating the short drama studios, Xi'an has even given rise to industrial parks that link the industry's upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors. The low production cost is also a key reason the city has become a primary production hub for short dramas.

Post-production team of the studio

Li Bo, the head of a film industrial base in the Xi'an suburb, says that the "enterprise-university-institute-end-user" joint lab has greatly enhanced the quality of short dramas. "We have strategic partnerships with dozens of universities, and each year more than 3,000 students come here to learn and practice the skills of screenwriting, filming, and post-production, and their work will be fully exposed to the market."

Short dramas are wildly growing now. While Xi'an has made some headway in short drama production, the local enterprises will need to keep reflecting on how to sustain their edge in the long term.