A Chinese entertainment format consisting of series of roughly 90 episodes, each lasting about two minutes, which cram soap-opera plots into a short-video format. They are watched almost exclusively on mobile devices. Revenue in China from micro-dramas was projected to nearly double in 2025, to 90bn yuan ($12.7bn)—exceeding sales of cinema tickets. Chinese studios shot 40,000 micro-dramas in the first eight months of 2025.
In 2023 Chinese marketing executives began shooting micro-drama series to promote the country's online-novel industry. As social media began promoting the clips, the format took off.
Zhengzhou, a manufacturing hub of 13m people in inland China, has emerged as the capital of micro-drama production. Officials wrote micro-dramas into economic-planning documents, built studios and established state-owned investment funds for the industry. The city's property crisis has been an asset: real-estate costs are so low that vast film-production complexes can be set up cheaply. Jumei Film Base, one of the largest studios, was built in 2023 in a derelict shopping centre on the outskirts of the city. Local actors are paid just 1,000 yuan ($141) a day.
Some micro-dramas aimed at Western audiences are produced in America, with scripts translated into English and shot in places such as California. Others targeting foreigners are still produced in Zhengzhou, where foreign actors can earn around $1,000 a day. To sell well overseas, micro-dramas need racy plot lines that may break China's strict censorship rules; steamy scenes with foreign actors must therefore be shot discreetly.
Nearly all large tech companies in China are snapping up rights to micro-dramas, including Baidu, ByteDance and Pinduoduo. Jumei Film Base has begun monetising its star power with live-streaming sales. The sheer volume of content has resulted in looser or fewer censorship checks than other entertainment formats face.
The proliferation of AI-animation tools since 2025 has enabled production costs to be cut by up to 90%, according to analysts at HSBC. The volume of live-action micro-drama filming in some regions has shrunk by 80%, while actors' already meagre pay has been cut by half. By early April 2026 only a handful of non-AI-animated micro-dramas were being shot in China.
Total time spent watching longer dramas fell by 15% year on year in January 2026, while viewing time on Red Fruit, a micro-drama app owned by ByteDance, more than doubled. Excessive competition has become a problem: China has produced so many AI micro-dramas that, despite shoestring budgets, fewer and fewer get sufficient views to make money. The format also struggles with viewer loyalty, as it is hard for audiences to form sentimental attachments to micro-drama characters.
The Communist Party has promoted the format despite its fondness for taboo topics and comedic violence. Many local governments are investing in micro-drama studios. In August 2025 the TV regulator altered its rules to streamline the review process for content. Since April 1st 2026, regulators have required that all animated micro-series not already approved for streaming be removed from online platforms, and new series must file for approval before release.
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