China.org.cn | January 10, 2025
Dragon TV:
The 34th Flying Apsaras Award ceremony was held last weekend and a batch of TV series were awarded. Ordinary viewers are most concerned about whether they can watch more excellent works on TV and online. What measures will be adopted to further enrich the high-quality content of radio, television, and online audio and video? Thank you.
Zhu Yonglei:
Thank you for your question, I will answer this. In the past few years, excellent TV dramas and online dramas have been produced one after another, with many highlights, from "A Lifelong Journey" and "The Knockout" to "Three-Body" and "Blossoms Shanghai." People all speak highly of these high-quality products. I think this is a very important achievement for TV dramas and workers in the TV industry in practicing Xi Jinping Thought on Culture. The NRTA has adhered to the people-centered approach to creation, and in accordance with the requirements of finding the right topic, telling a good story, and producing high-quality products, systematically planned major topics, strengthened planning, guidance and support, and advanced the creation and broadcast of a number of excellent works with profound ideas and original artistic expression. For example, we broadcast TV series over the past year such as "Ask on the Boundless Land," "Welcome to Milele," "The Eagle in the Sea and Sky," "Happy Grass" and "March Towards the Southwest." In particular, "The Flowers Blooming" aired during prime time on CCTV 1 recently, depicting the story of principal Zhang Guimei and her efforts to establish a high school for girls in a mountainous area of Yunnan, which is very touching. This drama now has a score of 9.0 on the popular review site Douban, which is very high. People feel that this drama is somewhat like the TV series "Minning Town" from previous years, which was a popular themed drama.
The NRTA has also actively improved the working mechanisms for the service, guidance and organization of literary and artistic creations, and the television drama producers and television literary and artistic workers have great enthusiasm. Another interesting phenomenon is that more and more filmmakers have been creating TV series and online dramas in the past couple of years. The famed director Wong Kar-wai directed the TV series "Blossoms Shanghai," which, as you all know, is phenomenal; Teng Congcong, an outstanding young director, created the online series "To the Wonder" this year; and the renowned director Zhang Yimou is currently serving as the supervising producer of the TV series "The Protagonist." This is a very interesting phenomenon.
At the same time, the NRTA is also working to arrange for good programs to be aired on good platforms at prime time. Recently, we issued the opinions on enriching the contents of television and further meeting the cultural needs of the people, introducing a series of specific measures. For example, TV dramas are encouraged to be aired on multiple TV channels and on online platforms and TV channels simultaneously. The TV series "The Great Sea Road," which launched recently, aired simultaneously on Jiangsu Satellite TV, Zhejiang Satellite TV, Hunan Satellite TV, Shandong Satellite TV and Xinjiang Satellite TV, as well as video sites Tencent Video and Mango TV. This has greatly facilitated people's watching of the drama and also enhanced the dissemination and influence of dramas.
As another example, we have promoted coordinated broadcasting between traditional television and smaller-screen terminals as well as dissemination between online and offline platforms. For example, the online series "Imperfect Victim" has been aired simultaneously on TV stations and online platforms for the first time. The just-mentioned "To the Wonder" is the first online series to be aired on CCTV 1 during prime time, greatly enriching the content of TV screens. We have also established a coordination mechanism with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, promoting and shaping tourism with culture. There is a phenomenon of "a drama makes a city popular," which integrates culture into the economy. The series "Meet Yourself," "Blossoms Shanghai" and "To the Wonder" are all examples of this. For example, some tourist resorts in Xinjiang have become popular because of "To the Wonder." That is the effect of TV dramas on local tourism. Series such as "The Great Sea Road," that is currently being broadcast, and "The City of Sunlight," that will be aired during the National Day holiday, can enable audiences to enjoy the beautiful scenery of Xinjiang and Xizang while experiencing the ups and downs of the series' plots. If you watch these two dramas, you will definitely have enthusiasm to visit these places and enjoy the beautiful scenery there. That's all from me. Thank you!