Lights flicker on, cameras are locked into position, and actors take their marks... A sharp clap from the slate signals another busy production day at the Fuping Micro-Drama Film and Television Base, located in the Fuping High-tech Zone.
Converted from standardized factory buildings, this production facility spans nearly 30,000 square meters and features built-in sets such as a hospital and a business hotel. Since opening its doors in June, the base has hosted 139 production crews and completed 101 finished works. Short-form series including Sanqin Hanwa and Restart 1988 have already been released to audiences. By turning industrial spaces into film stages, Fuping is accelerating its move into the micro-drama fast lane.
Seizing the trend: from factory floors to film sets
The policy tailwinds are strong. In March 2026, the 15th Five-Year Plan outline introduced micro-dramas into a national planning document for the first time, explicitly calling for the development of new cultural business formats such as digital animation, immersive exhibitions, online broadcasts, short videos, and micro-dramas. This endorsement has triggered a fresh wave of expansion across the industry.
The layout in the Fuping High-tech Zone is built on the robust foundation of Xi'an's thriving micro-drama sector, according to Zhang Ting, director of the zone's Investment Promotion Service Bureau. Xi'an stands as a major hub for micro-drama production, home to over 600 companies that generate more than 60% of the nation's annual output. However, as the industry has grown rapidly, challenges including rising land costs, scattered filming locations, and homogeneous competition among bases have become more apparent. Many production teams are wrestling with the practical pain points of difficulty finding locations, slow transitions between sets, and high shooting costs.
The Fuping High-tech Zone spotted this opportunity and moved quickly to revitalize its idle standardized factory spaces. It brought in Xi'an Fengxing Advertising Culture Communication Co., Ltd., which invested 30 million yuan to jointly build a specialized micro-drama production base. Developing micro-dramas as a new cultural business format is a natural step for the zone, aligning with industry trends while leveraging its locational strengths, Zhang Ting added.
The zone's confidence is underpinned by a convenient half-hour commuter network and a concentrated arrangement of shooting environments. A high-speed rail ride of just 19 minutes connects directly to Xi'an North Station, giving Fuping a natural advantage in absorbing spillover from Xi'an's film and television industry. Inside the base, professional settings like hospitals and courtrooms are fully equipped, while lifestyle locations such as luxury villas, business hotels, and coffee shops are laid out across the site. This variety supports a wide range of genres, from corporate warfare and workplace dramas to family ethics stories. The facility can accommodate 20 to 30 crews shooting simultaneously each day, with capacity for 80 to 100 micro-dramas per month, establishing a solid production scale from the outset.
Service-driven support: cultivating an industry ecosystem
What we're pursuing is not just a single project but the cultivation of an entire ecosystem, said Tian Liuyi, deputy director of the Fuping High-tech Zone Administrative Committee and head of the Micro-Drama Industry Development Leading Group Office. To advance the sector's high-quality growth, Fuping County has established a dedicated leading group that relies on cross-departmental coordination to open a green channel for production teams, covering everything from administrative approvals to location scouting.
The county has unified and opened up public resources, including administrative office spaces, cultural venues, parks, and scenic areas, creating a ready-to-use outdoor location resource library. Whatever scenes a crew needs can be coordinated quickly through the green channel, explained Liu Zhanhong, head of the shooting base at Xi'an Fengxing Advertising Culture Communication Co., Ltd.
In addition, the base has introduced a one-stop service model affectionately dubbed the drama service butler. This dedicated team handles everything from pre-production setup and accommodation arrangements to on-set coordination, filming schedule management, and wrap-up procedures. By streamlining these processes, overall production costs can be reduced by an estimated 25% to 35%.
A production crew from Xi'an Mushang Shenghua Culture Communication Co., Ltd. has been shooting at the base for three days. Producer Guan Nan noted that while she has visited many film bases, Fuping's planning is particularly well suited to the fast-paced rhythm of micro-drama production. Previously, shooting on location meant traveling between dispersed sites, with time-consuming transitions and modifications. Here, more than 30 shooting scenes are concentrated in one area. Stepping out of the CEO's office, you can walk upstairs to a villa living room or head downstairs to a hospital emergency room. Moving between sets takes just three to five minutes, truly delivering on the promise of arriving and shooting right away. Given the current pace, the crew expects to wrap in four or five days, marking a significant boost in shooting efficiency.
Combining live-action with AI: strengthening the chain and exploring new opportunities
Fuping is not only focusing on live-action filming but is also keeping a close eye on artificial intelligence. AI is reshaping the micro-drama industry landscape. According to data from the China Netcasting Services Association, approximately 128,000 micro-dramas were released nationwide in the first quarter of 2026, with AI-produced titles accounting for more than 95% of that total. The low cost and high efficiency of AI production are putting traditional live-action bases under mounting pressure to adapt.
Anticipating this industry shift, the Fuping High-tech Zone incorporated an AI post-production center into its base plans from the very beginning. While developing physical shooting spaces, it has simultaneously built a full-chain industrial ecosystem that pairs live-action filming with AI-enhanced post-production. The goal is simple: crews can come, shoot, edit, and leverage AI for efficiency gains throughout the process. This dual-track model of live-action plus AI is demonstrating unique resilience amid ongoing technological change.
The impact of this industrial chain is extending outward, and the most immediate effects can be seen in local commercial activity. Merchants near the base report that foot traffic in the evenings, once sparse, has picked up noticeably since production crews arrived. Shops are staying open later, and hotel occupancy rates are climbing. Job creation is also beginning to take hold. Liu Zhanhong said that once the base is fully operational, it will provide more than 100 permanent positions, with plans to train over 1,000 local actors and recruit more than 500 university graduates within two years.
Yet the most profound transformation is happening beyond the camera lens. Fuping's historical and cultural resources, along with its urban and rural landscapes, are becoming a natural material bank for micro-drama storytelling. As productions shot in Fuping go live one after another, the city's image is reaching audiences beyond Shaanxi Province, creating a fresh promotional vehicle for county-level cultural tourism. Recently, viewers have been commenting online, asking where certain scenes were filmed, and some locations are now drawing visitor interest, Tian Liuyi noted. Moving forward, Fuping plans to explore a micro-drama plus tourism model, converting filming locations into travel check-in spots and turning online traffic into offline footfall.
From idle factory buildings to a professional production hub, Fuping is leveraging its geographic strengths to transform underutilized spaces into a full-service industrial platform. The journey from filming in Fuping to creating in Fuping is well underway, and on this new track, the city is finding its own rhythm.