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niversity student, Zhuang “It’s more conveni- Compared to TV dramas, micro
Yan, is an avid fan of mi- dramas are sold by episode. On av-
Ucro dramas and spends at ent for me because erage, the cost of each episode rang-
least five hours watching them weekly. es from a few cents to RMB ¥2 (US
they can be watched $0.28) or RMB $3 (US $0.41).

“I like watching dramatic micro
dramas, where mother-in-law and in portrait mode on As of June 2024, the number of us-
daughter-in-law can become roman- my smartphone, so I ers for Chinese micro dramas reached
tic rivals,” the Year Four student ma- 576 million, accounting for 52.7 per
joring in Integrated BBA says. don’t need to rotate cent of the total internet users in the
country, even surpassing the user base
Micro dramas, or short dramas, the screen orienta- for online food delivery services, ac-
typically featuring 50 to 100 episodes cording to the China Netcasting Ser-
in a series with each episode lasting tion” vices Association (CNSA).
between two to five minutes, capti-
vates her with cliffhangers and con- “I love drama about a protagonist The market size of Chinese mi-
stant unexpected turn of events.
who is betrayed in her past life and
has a second chance to take revenge “I know it’s trashy.
“Compared to conventional dra-
mas, micro dramas are funnier, and on enemies, and finally win a perfect But then that’s why
man’s heart,” the 20-year-old univer-
the pace is faster so that they waste sity student says.
less of my time,” the 22-year-old girl I love it. They are so
adds.
“I know it’s trashy. But then that’s addictive just like
why I love it. They are so addictive just
Another notable characteristic is like novels,” she adds. novels”
their vertical screen format, which
closely resembles short videos, en-
hancing phone user’s viewing experi-
ence.

“It’s more convenient for me be-
cause they can be watched in portrait
mode on my smartphone, so I don’t
need to rotate the screen orientation,”
Zhuang adds.

Zhuang’s interest in micro dramas
started last summer when she came
across micro drama advertisements
Micro Drama Craze while browsing Douyin, a mainland
Chinese short video platform.

“There are lots of twists and sus-
in China pense, leading me to wonder what
the plots are. That’s how I first got
hooked,” she says.

Micro drama, a new form of entertainment is becoming increasingly popular in China. Another short drama fan, Cai Han-
jun, also learnt about micro dramas Zhuang Yan is watching a micro drama at school.
through advertisements on Douyin.
By Isa He