Today's Highlights：
1. Premium Mini Series Qiu Niao Zhi Lian (Caged Bird's Love) Wraps Filming in Wenzhou
2. Pucheng: Embracing the Mini Series Track to Activate New Development Momentum
3. Acting Competition Concludes! Top 12 Gear Up for the Only You Signing Ceremony!
4. Baijiu Industry Ranked Among the Top 5 for Mini Series Brand Collaborations
5. Shanghai Aims to Reach 32 Billion USD in Cultural Product and Service Trade by 2027
6. Shanghai Jingwen Investment to Launch "Intelligent Production in Shanghai" Premium Mini Series Project
Premium Mini Series Qiu Niao Zhi Lian (Caged Bird's Love) Wraps Filming in Wenzhou
On December 7, the premium mini series Qiu Niao Zhi Lian (Caged Bird's Love), which focuses on the theme of "breaking constraints and discovering one's true self," officially wrapped filming in Wenzhou. "Wenzhou is making every effort to build an industrial ecosystem for the new trio of cultural industries like mini series. The production of Qiu Niao Zhi Lian represents a mutually beneficial endeavor facilitated by local support," explained Zhu Zhicai, a Wenzhou-born director and co-producer of the series. He noted that Wenzhou's profound historical and cultural heritage, together with its diverse tourism resources, offers abundant material for mini series and provides varied filming scenarios.
Director Sen Yanyan stated that the plot follows the narrative of the male and female protagonists breaking free from the shackles of fate. This core theme of "shattering constraints and pursuing one's true self" resonates with Wenzhou's city spirit of "daring to take the lead." Market expectations are further fueled by a strong cast—lead actor Ma Xiaoyu has previously generated over one billion views with works such as Shan Hun Hou Qian Yi Lao Gong Ma Jia Diao Le (After the Flash Marriage); lead actress Lan Lan earned widespread acclaim for a three-minute crying scene in Zhang Xin Kui Ai (A Design Forged Time). Their reunion in this project has already generated significant buzz even before the series' release.
An official from the Wenzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism stated that the city will continue to promote film and television projects, helping Wenzhou upgrade from a "filming location" to a "hub for content creation." The series is now in post-production and is expected to premiere on platforms like Douyin and Hongguo during the 2026 Spring Festival.
Pucheng: Embracing the Mini Series Track to Activate New Development Momentum
Recently, the mini series Zhi Chang Kuang Biao (Workplace Rush), which focuses on rectifying workplace misconduct, commenced filming in Pucheng, Fujian. Since the beginning of this year, over ten mini series have been shot in Pucheng. The steady inflow of these productions is not only inseparable from Pucheng's unique natural landscapes and deep cultural details, but also reflects the area's proactive efforts to leverage mini series creation as a driving force, coordinating resources and planning strategically to explore a distinctive "film and television +" development path.
Situated at the intersection of Fujian, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi provinces, Pucheng is endowed with an exceptional natural environment, rich historical and cultural heritage, and clear resource advantages. Since being included in the first batch of 20 key provincial outdoor film and television shooting bases in 2022, Pucheng has, with the county as the main unit, actively integrated into the Greater Wuyi Cultural Tourism Circle. Anchored by the Mengbi Cultural Industry Park (including the Pucheng Art Museum / Fan Di'an Art Museum), and supported by scenic corridors such as the "World Heritage No. 6" route that runs across the county, Pucheng has woven together inter-provincial eco-cultural tourism zones, agriculture-culture-tourism integrated demonstration zones, and the Fuli Rural Tourism Resort Area. By fully utilizing resources such as Kuangshan National Forest Park, Fengxi Terraced Fields, and Xianxia Ancient Trail, Pucheng has built a comprehensive "one core, two belts, three zones" outdoor filming layout, creating a "film studio without walls."
Acting Competition Concludes! Top 12 Gear Up for the Only You Signing Ceremony!
Acting Competition, a cross-platform mini series actor selection program jointly launched by Inke Live and Tianjin TV's Only You, has reached an exciting milestone. After rounds of open auditions, assessment stages, and intense advancement battles, the online competition has officially come to an end.
With the online competition concluded, all attention turns to the Only You "Signing Ceremony" stage at the end of December. This event marks not just the end of the selection process, but the beginning of new dreams. There, the top 12 finalists will meet face-to-face with executives from leading mini series production companies for on-site mutual selection. They will have the opportunity to gain exclusive agency support, top-tier acting training, and even direct access to main roles in premium mini series. This cross-platform talent selection, co-created by Inke Live and Tianjin TV's Only You, has carried the mission of bringing fresh talent into the fast-growing mini series industry since its inception.
Baijiu Industry Ranked Among the Top 5 for Mini Series Brand Collaborations
China's baijiu (a traditional Chinese liquor) industry is undergoing a profound transformation driven by generational changes in consumption. With the rise of younger consumer groups, the "youth-oriented" strategic shift has gradually evolved from a past industry topic into a collective action embraced by major baijiu companies. Since last year, many baijiu brands have entered the mini series field, launching new brand marketing models through "customized mini series." According to the 2024 Baijiu Industry Social Media Marketing Trends Report released by Weiboyi, the baijiu industry ranks among the top 5 industries in terms of the number of mini series brand collaborations.
Unlike traditional films and TV works that feature product placements in the form of opening and closing ads or brief product appearances in certain scenes, short dramas are more likely to allow baijiu companies to integrate brand culture, and historical heritage, and other elements into the narrative, achieving a "content is marketing" effect. For example, Yanghe once launched the mini series Da Shi Shuo Mian Rou (Master Talks: The Soft and Smooth Style of Baijiu), which uses fun storytelling and easy-to-understand explanations to introduce viewers to the world of Yanghe's soft and smooth (mianrou) style baijiu. The scenes, such as the liquor design center, clay jar storage, and fermentation rooms, were all filmed on location at Yanghe's distillery.
In January this year, Shede Spirits' Master Quality and Flavor Yan collaborated with comedian Zhu Shimao to launch the short drama Shi Jiu Feng Yun Zhi Shui Shi Zhen Zheng De Da Shi (The Poetry and Liquor Saga: Who is the True Master?) which follows the time-traveling story of Tang Dynasty writer Chen Zi'ang and highlights Shede's traditional brewing techniques that have spanned centuries. This drama presents viewers with a blend of history and modernity. On December 1, Wuliang Chun, an upper mid-end brand under Wuliangye, worked with Joy Media to launch a customized short drama titled Kai Ju Yi Ge Wang Ye, Gong Fu Can Lan Chun Guang (A Prince's Story: A Journey to the Splendid Spring) on Douyin. The drama integrates Wuliang Chun's brand story into the plot, conveying the brand's values of "upholding quality and spreading warmth."
Shanghai Aims to Reach 32 Billion USD in Cultural Product and Service Trade by 2027
Recently, the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce and three other departments released the Action Plan for Promoting the Innovative Development of Cultural Trade in Shanghai (hereinafter referred to as the "Action Plan"), outlining 20 measures across five areas. The goal is to enhance the international competitiveness of Shanghai's cultural products and services, continuously promote the growth and structural optimization of cultural trade, and create new momentum and advantages for the development of foreign trade.
In terms of actively developing the "new trio" of cultural products going global, the Action Plan proposes the construction of a full-chain system for the overseas expansion of game development, production, distribution, and international operations. It also emphasizes accelerating the high-quality global expansion of online literature and the development of the international mini series industry. Furthermore, the Action Plan supports the use of high-quality cultural IPs to drive integrated innovation across gaming, e-sports, online literature, short dramas, and other fields, fostering the joint development of copyright services, MCNs, IP derivatives, and third-party service providers.
Shanghai Jingwen Investment to Launch "Intelligent Production in Shanghai" Premium Mini Series Project
On December 10, Shanghai Jingwen Investment Co., Ltd. held a 30th-anniversary sharing event. The event reviewed the company's 30 years of development, with a focus on the progress and achievements in four major areas: cultural investment, cultural finance, cultural trade, and cultural creativity.
During the event, Jingwen Investment, along with its subsidiaries in each sector signed investment cooperation agreements with various partners to promote the integrated development of culture, tourism, business, sports, and exhibitions. They also released the sixth edition of the Shanghai Cultural Creative Financial Services Manual and signed a few agreements, including the Strategic Cooperation Agreement with Banks and Guarantee Institutions and the Strategic Cooperation Agreement for the "Intelligent Production in Shanghai" Premium Mini Series Project. Additionally, Jingwen Cultural Creative's "Wen Jingxuan" brand signed a Strategic Cooperation Agreement with its first batch of ecosystem partners and launched the "Shenlang" Music Festival IP project.
