Latest Chinese documentary series attract younger generation
"Masters in Mogao Grottoes" is one of the latest documentaries to be aired on Bilibili to focus on Chinese cultural relics.
Some latest Chinese documentary series continue to draw inspiration from traditional cultural elements and historical relics, as local productions try to gain attraction from a young generation of viewers.
The leading video community and entertainment site Bilibili has announced 36 documentaries including new titles featuring local attractions such as "National Parks of China" and "Masters in Mogao Grotto."
"The Story of Chuan'er," a film that shines a light on Chinese street food, will return for the fourth season through a co-production with Authrule Media.
Barbecue in Zibo of Shandong Province, which shot to fame recently online and made the city a hotspot for tourism, is included in one of the former films in the series.
Bilibili will stream the fourth season of "The Story of Chuan'er," a documentary on Chinese street food.
Digging deeper into cultural classics
In addition, the third season of "Yet The Books," a critically acclaimed documentary about book lovers and editors, will be aired.
Carly Lee, vice chairwoman and chief operating officer of Bilibili, said documentaries have become the second-largest segment outside of animated works, with 122 titles since 2017. The streaming website has accumulated 160 million viewers in the last year, she said.
A joint proposal by the Shanghai Bureau of Culture and Tourism and the Shanghai Administration of Radio and Television earlier this week pointed out that Chinese civilization is the cornerstone of Chinese cultural influence, and creators should dig deeper into traditional ideology and culture to renew these classics in the new era.
The proposal, which was unveiled during the first Internet Audio and Video Content Creators Conference in the city, called for online audio and video producers to adopt inspiring and uplifting directions and themes and base their creative works on ordinary people's aspirations for better lives.
According to a recent white paper by the Development and Research Center of the National Radio and Television Administration, 297 digital-exclusive documentaries were aired via streaming sites in 2022, an increase of 11 percent from a year ago.
Youku's "The Mystery of China" has explored well-known cultural sites including the Mogao Grottoes and the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum.
At the recent China Internet Video and Audio Convention, Han Yun, director of documentary channels at Youku, said that small-scale and heart-warming documentaries had been appealing to viewers.
Inspector Dong Nianchu at the National Radio and Television Administration said that diverse perspectives and unique fields had injected vitality for domestic documentary producers.
"The Legend of Chinese Yao" by ByteDance's Xigua Video depicts stories from Chinese folklore and about supernatural beings.
Folklore and flavor
"The Legend of Chinese Yao" by ByteDance's Xigua Video, which depicts stories about Chinese folklore and supernatural beings, started to stream at the end of April.
The eight-part series invites folklore scholars to explain fictional figures from works such as "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio (Liaozhai Zhiyi《聊斋志异》)" and "Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shanhaijing《山海经》)."
Tencent's popular titles include "Flavorful Origins," which explores Chinese dishes at their place of origin, has a wide attraction among foodies, as does "Breakfast in China," which became a well-received sequel with its fourth season launched in December last year.
