Whether it's documentaries, short dramas, online literature, or video games, driven by strong demand, going global has become a "Blue Ocean Strategy" for these industries, accelerating the international expansion of Chinese digital culture. On November 22nd, during the "Cultural Going Global" session at the 2024 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Cultural Industry Investment Conference, cultural enterprises and industry experts gathered in Guangzhou to discuss new trends and challenges in cultural exports.

"Represented by online literature, online games, short videos, and film and television content, the 'Four News' cultural industries are going global," said Zhao Bowen, Secretary-General of the Shenzhen Internet Cultural Market Industry Association. He pointed out that platforms like Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok) and TikTok have become significant platforms for spreading Chinese voices worldwide.

In recent years, China's short dramas have experienced a market boom. Liang Jian, CMO of Guangzhou Guanghe Power Culture Communication Co., Ltd., shared "Short dramas are an emerging content format rooted in China, and they have a natural content advantage when going global. With the empowerment of domestic experience, Chinese short dramas are rapidly entering international markets." He noted that by March 2024, global user engagement with short drama apps had increased 16-fold, and the short drama industry is moving toward a blue ocean market worth tens of billions of dollars.

Regarding documentaries, Chen Gang, Chairman of Guangdong Puxingda Cultural Technology Co., Ltd., believes Chinese documentaries are entering an period with opportunitiesfor international development. "Chinese documentaries often focus on traditional culture and economic development, which aligns closely with international market demand," he said. For example, the documentary "China: Nature’s Ancient Kingdom" has aired more than 300 times across over 120 countries and regions, while "A Long-Cherished Dream" won Best Documentary Short Subject at the Chicago International Film Festival.

Despite these successes, challenges remain for cultural exports. Chen Gang admitted that Chinese documentaries still have room to improve regarding international adaptability in content creation, as overseas markets tend to prefer niche or sensational topics, with mainstream cultural works having lower acceptance. Additionally, the Chinese documentary industry chain is not yet fully aligned with international standards, and market mechanisms and evaluation systems need further development.

In response, Cao Rui, Vice General Manager of Shenzhen Kuyin Cultural Communication Co., Ltd., emphasized that deep localization is key. Chen Gang also highlighted four main challenges faced by Chinese documentaries going global: limited awareness among overseas audiences, weak international adaptability of content, incomplete industry mechanisms, and the lack of effective evaluation standards. With the acceleration of digital culture's global expansion, industry insiders generally believe that new ideas and models will be crucial to overcoming these challenges.

Source: Lingnan on the Cloud

出海已成文化企业的“蓝海新赛道”

无论是纪录片还是短剧，与网络文学、网络游戏一样，在旺盛需求的推动下，出海已成为它们的“蓝海新赛道”，不断加速中国数字文化走向世界的步伐。11月22日，在2024粤港澳大湾区文化产业投资大会“文化出海”专题交流会上，文化企业与行业专家齐聚广州，探讨文化出海的新趋势与挑战。  

“以网络文学、网络游戏、短视频和影视内容为代表的文化‘新四样’正在走向全球。”深圳市互联网文化市场协会秘书长赵博文表示，其中，抖音及其海外版TikTok短视频平台已成为传播中国声音的“扩音器”。  

近年来，中国短剧迎来市场爆发期。广州光盒动力文化传播有限公司CMO梁剑介绍：“短剧是根植于中国的新兴内容形式，其出海具有天然的内容优势。在国内经验的赋能下，中国短剧正快速走向国际。”他指出，截至2024年3月，全球短剧APP用户时长增长了16倍，短剧正向百亿美元级蓝海市场迈进。

纪录片方面，广东普星达文化科技有限公司董事长陈刚认为，中国纪录片正在迎来“出海窗口期”。他说：“中国纪录片的主题多聚焦传统文化和经济建设，与国际市场需求高度一致。”以《国家公园：野生动物王国》为例，这部纪录片在120多个国家和地区播出超300轮次，纪录片《柴米油盐之上》荣获芝加哥独立电影节最佳纪录短片奖。  

尽管如此，文化内容出海仍面临诸多挑战。陈刚坦言，国产纪录片在内容创作的国际适应性上仍有不足，海外市场更倾向于猎奇题材，主流文化作品的接受度较低。此外，国内纪录片产业链尚未完全与国际接轨，市场机制和评估体系有待完善。

对此，深圳市酷看文化传播有限公司副总经理曹蕊提出，深度本地化是关键。陈刚也提到中国纪录片出海面临的四大挑战：海外观众认知局限、内容国际适应性较弱、产业机制不完善，以及缺乏有效的评估标准。随着数字文化出海的步伐加快，业内人士普遍认为，新思路、新模式将成为破解出海难题的关键。

文｜记者 黎存根 黄宙辉
图｜记者 刘畅
译｜Kelsey
英文审校｜王枥焓