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Short drama productions, AI are bringing new life to rural Chinese villages_我的网站

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A short drama crew films a wedding-themed scene at a traditional residence in Yuanqiao village. Photo: Courtesy of Yuanqiao village
Yang Ni, a villager from Yuanqiao in Dengfeng, Central China's Henan Province, still remembers the nervous excitement of facing a slowly advancing camera for the first time. Now, she shifts with ease between roles, from a maidservant trailing a heroine in a historical drama to a famine-struck villager before the People's Republic of China was set up in 1949.
Experiencing so many lives within various screenplays, Yang said that short dramas have transformed not only her life, but also the ancient village she calls home.
Yuanqiao, a small village with a history that traces back over 600 years, has welcomed more than 70 short drama crews in recent years. The creators have captured every angle of the village's traditional courtyards, winding alleys, and gently rising cooking smoke. Locals have grown used to exchanging their daily farm clothes for costumes between busy seasons, giving life to lively townsfolk on vertical screens.
Yuanqiao village's revitalization is not just a story told through the camera lens. Si Jianbin, responsible for short drama coordination in the village, told the Global Times that the changes brought by short drama filming are visible in many ways.
With traditional buildings serving as natural film sets, once-abandoned houses, crumbling village walls, and old opera stages have been repaired and preserved. This has renewed villagers' sense of cultural stewardship. The arrival of drama crews has also broadened job opportunities for local youth; more young people are now choosing to stay or return home, breathing new life into the village.
Si noted that challenges also persist. The swift rise of AI-generated dramas is reducing demand for real-life shoots, and the number of visiting productions in the village has started to drop. Still, Si remains confident, noting that the village's authentic architecture meets the growing demand for high-quality short dramas. He said that leveraging this unique match will secure a promising future for revitalizing rural areas through film.
Changed villages

"For years, I only saw our old houses as broken-down obstacles; after filming, I realized every brick and tile is our cultural heritage," Yang said. Having played a background actor in numerous dramas - from period pieces to modern stories - she and her neighbors now see their ancient city walls, opera stages, temples, and homes through new eyes.
Some once-vacant houses have found new purpose as meticulously arranged sets, bearing witness to love stories or family feasts. One courtyard, frequently appearing in short dramas, is adorned with red lanterns and paper cuttings to express joy. Villagers redecorate it for shoots, blending cheerful ambiance with authentic period feel.
Today, Yuanqiao's residents - all from toddlers to seniors, even family donkeys and dogs - have become "stars" on camera. People farm during the busy season, then slip into costumes to perform, seamlessly shifting between fields and film sets.
Younger villagers have found new skills and work too. Si noted that more than half of local youth have acted as extras, with some job-seeking college graduates now learning editing and computer skills from the drama teams, opening the door to steady work in short film production.
The economic benefits for the village are clear. Si pointed out that village income grew from 4 million yuan ($593,330) in 2024 to over 5 million in 2025, a 20 percent of increase thanks to short drama filming. Most villagers have seen their annual incomes rise by around 5,000 yuan as a result.
Traditional crafts once on the verge of disappearing - such as paper-cutting and basket-weaving - are also reviving. Villager An Qing'e, known for her hand-woven flower baskets, was discovered by a filming crew and soon found online customers for her props.
Tourists, too, are seeing the village in a new light, as site visiting becomes an immersive experience. They are no longer fleeting passersby, but participants in the living stories of the ancient village.
The sets created for filming repurpose historical spaces, allowing visitors to step into the joys and sorrows of different eras.
This phenomenon is not limited to Yuanqiao village. The unique needs of rural and historical short dramas perfectly match the spaces and cultural resources of China's villages. Other places, such as Hujiaxi in Yuanling county, Central China's Hunan Province, and Nanhu in Jinyun county, East China's Zhejiang Province, are attracting drama crews and experimenting with a rural revitalization approach combining short drama with agricultural and cultural tourism.
Seeking the irreplaceable
Still, the path for rural short dramas is being tested by the realities of the market.
The rise of AI-generated content is quickly diverting orders away from real-location shoots. Si said that after peaking at 35 crews in 2025, the number shrank to one or two per month in Yuanqiao village by 2026.
Even so, Si sees a hopeful future. While AI short dramas win on low-cost virtual settings, China continues to encourage the creation of well-crafted real-life dramas through supportive policies.
There is a lasting appeal in the atmosphere, sense of history, and human vitality that only real villages can provide - qualities virtual images cannot match. As audiences and studios increasingly seek authenticity and quality sets, villages like Yuanqiao have lasting room to grow.
Zhang Peng, a cultural researcher and associate professor at Nanjing Normal University, told the Global Times that the rise of AI-generated short dramas is reshaping the industry. However, this does not mean villages will lose out on the benefits brought by filming. On the contrary, when the bubble fades, truly valuable villages may be in even greater demand.
Their core competitiveness is not just cheaper venues, Zhang explained, but their unique local culture, authentic lifestyle, and the fusion of online and offline tourism experiences.
"To keep these benefits, villages should not compete with AI on cost and efficiency," Zhang noted. "Instead, they must redefine their own irreplaceability in the production chain."
Ding Daoshi, a veteran internet analyst, offers a word of caution: short dramas change fast, and their impact rarely lasts as long as movies or TV series. For villages, the key to sustainable development is leaning on their unique heritage and not just short dramas.
By finding their own irreplaceable assets and combining them with the energy of film, they can secure their future for the long haul.
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原标题：【国际锐评】想搞“核”暗箱操作的美英澳又被亮红灯美英澳三国小圈子想搞暗箱操作把核潜艇合作“洗白白”，结果迎来第四次失败。12日，国际原子能机构理事会会议第四次协商一致决定，以单独正式议题形式讨论美英澳核潜艇合作有关问题。这意味着，三国核潜艇合作不是三国可以私自处理的，必须由机构成员国共同来管。一年前的9月15日，美英澳宣布建立三边安全合作伙伴（奥库斯AUKUS），核心计划是美英将协助澳大利亚打造核动力潜艇。这其中涉及的核武器材料转让本质上是核扩散，它将加剧军备竞赛，破坏地区和平稳定，严重冲击国际核不扩散体系，因此引发国际社会极大关切。美英澳都是《不扩散核武器条约》的缔约国，理应履行核不扩散义务。

二 | 但三国无视国际原子能机构理事会以协商一致方式通过的核潜艇合作相关议题，另起炉灶，企图同机构秘书处擅自谈判核潜艇合作保障监督安排，以遮掩核扩散行径。

三 | 无论它们玩什么花样，都无法改变一个基本事实：三国核潜艇合作涉及武器级浓缩铀及相关技术、设备的转让，存在严重核扩散风险，违反《不扩散核武器条约》的目的和宗旨，超出了国际原子能机构秘书处的职责范围，必须由机构成员国共同讨论决定。现在，国际原子能机构理事会会议连续四次挫败美英澳的暗箱操作，说明大家都看清了奥库斯的本质就是搞拉帮结伙、冷战对抗那一套，看清美英一边就朝核、伊核问题表达关切、一边在同澳核潜艇合作问题上“开绿灯”，是典型的双标。从去年9月奥库斯成立，到当年11月签署《海军核动力信息交换协议》、正式允许澳获取美英机密的核潜艇信息，再到今年3月澳声称将在东海岸建造一个新潜艇基地、用来停靠澳未来的核潜艇并支持美英核潜艇定期访问，这一系列举动让地区国家越来越不安。中国、印度尼西亚等国都向8月份举行的《不扩散核武器条约》第十次审议大会提交了工作文件，就核动力潜艇合作引发的核扩散风险提出诸多关切。