China’s Largest Filming Set Hendian Studios Goes 80% Empty and Pivots to Selling Filming of Short AI Dramas to Tourists to Stay Afloat
So far 2026 has been dubbed “The Winter of Hendian Studios” in that the noticeable decease in C-dramas being greenlit for filming has directly led to the once bustling filming city set to go quiet. Pundits are saying Hendian filming is down a whopping 80% of work and that studio employs so many people who are now either left or sitting around waiting to be an extra or get behind the camera. The studio has now pivoted to a new source of revenue by courting tourists and offering up filming packages for what are essentially short AI slop mini dramas for the tourists to star in. There are about a dozen storyline packages and filming is produced with hair and makeup and outfits along with folks acting as extras. The most popular storylines are ones with female lead revenge travel back in time or palace intrigue storyline a lot of betrayal, berating, and some royal slapping another. LOL. I do hope the faucet is turned back on soon in C-drama productions for the sake of the industry and selfishly as a viewer I do want to keep having C-dramas to watch.
Gotta do what they gotta do. Guess me and my friends need a girls trip to Hendian. 😂💁🏻♀️
I am waiting for your short drama
This is just the tip of the iceberg. The entire Chinese economy is stagnant under Xi’s outstanding leadership. LMAO. The signs of this economic winter are already reflecting in poorer entertainment production quality, like cheap styling, bad settings, and terrible CGI. Fans have been constantly complaining about the filming quality of several recent dramas.
Went here to have fun.
Yeah this place is massive with different sites but a lot of structures are already old and have some wear and tear features already.
I’m worried about the horses though. Hope they can be rehomed if there will be less dramas where they will be needed.
I knew the industry wasn’t doing well, but this is still shocking. I feel terribly for all those folks losing their jobs. They were able to make it through Covid and turn out a lot of great content in the following years, incidentally gaining a lot of international viewers too. The AI tide went at the industry like a tsunami this year.
And why even need to go to Hengdian when creating AI slop?
This sounds like how in Korea they let people dress up and take photos as a king or eunuch and such. Sounds crazier though lol.
I feel sorry for the kids entering the top drama schools. Competition is tough to get in but once they graduate, there’ll be even fewer opportunities waiting for them.
Well, yes, that is what happens when you mismanage the entire industry.
They allowed capital to dictate everything, from lead actors to the smallest side role. They invested massively into water to prop that up. They had “hits” year after year that were all hot air. What did they expect? That the audience will keep watching their fake stars in their fake hits? No, the audience said if we aren’t necessary for your self-produced hits, we will leave. And they did. So here we are.
Their film industry will fall even harder because the corruption is actually worse.
Welcome to the consequences guys. Buy your way out of this.
I really agree with you…
That’s a worldwide thing. No film industry is spared. Hollywood is struggling as well.
It was not because of that, showbiz industry ice age happened because middle class in China become poor thanks to real estate bust and tech sector being discipline, remember jack ma goes missing. Now they are fewer jobs, people have less discretionary income so off course everyone cut entertainment spending. So box office down,drama watching down,so no capital.
Exactly!
The middle class was never investing in drama or movie production. Maybe a drop in movie box office could be related to less discretionary income, but that shouldn’t affect dramas. Quite the opposite, since you can watch TV for free or close to free, drama numbers should be up, by your logic.
Lol no.
You don’t understand a single thing about the Chinese entertainment industry.
SMH @Smh. You’re ignoring the deep economic struggles China has faced for years. Get education yourself before spreading misinformation. A clear example of this downturn can be seen in the country’s entertainment sector. According to multiple industry sources, industry media reports a massive contraction caused by AI automation, tightening censorship, and a crash in production investments (thanks to economic woes). Even with temporary holiday spikes, the traditional box office plummeted 40.6% in the first half of 2026 compared to last year—its worst non-pandemic showing since 2014.
Stop saying data are wrong when they do not support your opinion. Right, because when the math doesn’t agree with your feelings, obviously the math is what’s broken. Classic. lol
You’re a well known China hater. Please stop talking to me and keep your xenophobic bs to yourself.
Deflecting with empty CCP rhetoric won’t change reality – Chinese economy is going downhills that puts a lot of pressure on showbiz in China too. Stop equating the CCP with China. The regime uses that exact narrative to mislead the world. Absolutely brainless! lol
AI-dramas may have made short-drama productions cheaper and faster, but it has also narrowed one of the few doors that existed for actors without connections. The VSD boom gave unknown young and seasoned actors a chance to work, experiment and eventually become stars. Zhang Chi, Chen Tianxiang and Liu Xiaoxu whose popularity in China is undeniable -especially Zhang Chi who is the first short drama actor invited by Grazia at the PFW in june 2026- are products of that ecosystem.
What makes it particularly frustrating is the role of capitalists. Many investors were not the people who built this industry in the first place – some probably dismissed or looked down on short dramas when they were still considered “low-end” entertainment. Once they realised the money was there, however, they rushed in, and AI became a convenient way to industrialise the market.
The result is a bigger content industry but fewer opportunities for the unknown human actors who helped build it.
And that’s the part that saddens me most: we may never know how many potential Zhang Chis simply never got their chance.
Let me repeat myself: the culprits behind all this are just one group: capitalists. People are tired of them wasting resources on those “Bleh-zone” dramas with no soul and their talentless “children celebrities”—I mean Ju Jingyi? Hu Yitian? Hou Minghao ? etc… Are you kidding me?
I think Hou Minghao can act and is beautiful to look at. lol.
Blaming capitalists? Look who’s actually pulling the strings behind Chinese STATE capitalism? The answer: the CCP !!! It’s a no-brainer!
Talking as if capital aren’t the ones backing for those bleh-zoned productions and talentless actors up. And no Hou Ming Hao is another lousy actor, talentless doll whose overexposure highlights his limited range. Girl you have no taste
I like apple that you don’t like. Then you criticize me for having no taste? Wow…so obnoxious! LOL
For your education – CCP is always behind any capital investment (state or corporate) in China. That’s written in their own party regulation. Stop being ignorant! lol