Hengdian honors micro-drama creators amid booming business

The 2025 Short Drama Night @ Hengdian was held at Hengdian World Studios in Hengdian, Dongyang, Zhejiang province, on Nov. 2 to recognize outstanding actors, works and enterprises in the industry.

Award winners gather on stage at the 2025 Short Drama Night in Hengdian, Dongyang, Zhejiang province, Nov. 2, 2025. [Photo courtesy of Hengdian Film & TV Festival Organizing Committee]

The awards honored individuals and enterprises across a variety of categories, including actors and actresses of the year, and best on-screen partnerships, scriptwriters, producers, short dramas, content export brands and production companies.

Chen Tianxiang, He Jianqi, Yao Guanyu and Zhang Chi received the influential star actor of the year awards, while Guo Yuxin, Wang Xiaoyi, Yu Yin and Yue Yuting were honored as influential star actresses of the year. The outstanding director of the year category recognized Jiao Xiaoyu, Li Yunqi, Sun Yue, Tian Baba, Wang Sheng, Xie Ze, Yan Peiliang, Zhao Pengtao and Zhang Xueheng. Among the 12 winners for horizontal short drama of the year were productions such as "She is the Phoenix," "Echoes of the Self" and "Rosefinch."

Ten companies received the brand of the year award for exporting short dramas overseas, including ShortMax, Playlet, Stardust TV and Content Republic.

As an important component of Hengdian's young actor support program, the event marked the inaugural release of both the short and micro-drama actor rankings and a global short drama industry annual report.

The year 2025 represents a critical upgrade period for the short and micro-drama industry. The evening gala served not only as an annual review of the industry but also clearly establishes Hengdian's position as a global hub for short and micro-drama production. During the critical transition period from traffic-driven trends to quality-focused development, Hengdian's growth path — built on production capacity and powered by ecosystem development — is providing a unique model for the innovative upgrading of the global film and TV industry.

According to the event's organizers, China's short and micro-drama market reached 50.44 billion yuan in 2024, surpassing the traditional film market for the first time and creating 647,000 direct and indirect jobs. In the first quarter of 2025, Chinese short and micro-dramas recorded over 270 million global downloads, generating more than 2.4 billion yuan in revenue, with total market scale expected to reach the $10 billion level. By the end of October 2025, Hengdian World Studios had hosted 3,095 vertical screen drama crews and productions, with the annual total projected to triple last year's number.

This explosive growth stems from Hengdian's comprehensive ecosystem, where more than 20 large-scale film and TV bases, streamlined production services and a pool of 100,000 background performers enable rapid micro-drama production. In recent years, Chinese micro-dramas have gained global popularity through compelling narratives and frequent plot twists. With more than 2,000 industry companies supporting the entire production chain, Hengdian has attracted numerous domestic and international professionals to develop their short and micro-drama careers there.

Meanwhile, industry policies continue to provide momentum. The National Radio and Television Administration's "micro-drama+" initiative, designed to empower various industries through travel-themed content and educational programming, is driving deeper integration of short dramas with cultural tourism, legal education, intangible cultural heritage and other fields.

"As one of China's major cultural exports, micro-dramas have proven their overseas potential in the market," said Ren Kui, mayor of Dongyang. "Currently, some film and television companies in Dongyang are producing micro-dramas using the model of 'Chinese production teams + foreign actors + global distribution' and have achieved great results."

He added, "According to estimates, the overall production cost of micro-dramas shot in Hengdian is about 60% lower than that of similar overseas projects."