Chengmai County, Hainan. March 18. The Hainan AI Short Drama Overseas Industrial Base was inaugurated at the Hainan Free Trade Port Resort Software Community in Laocheng Town.

This is Hainan’s first industrial base dedicated to AI-generated short dramas for overseas markets. Its establishment is expected to further drive the province’s efforts at the global promotion of Chinese culture.

Online film and television productions, online games and online literature — collectively known in China as the “new trio” of cultural exports — are becoming representative of China’s soft power cultural presence on the world stage.

Within this emerging “blue ocean” of digital culture and industry, Hainan is attracting a growing number of companies in the digital cultural industry.

Notable Progress in Cultural Exports

Online games: Hainan has taken the lead nationwide by launching pilot programs for game exports.

For instance, with its PLAYOL platform, Chengmai County has developed a leading industrial cluster for game exports. The cluster brings together 63 gaming companies—contributing to the global release of 201 games and attracting over 10 million overseas registered users.

At the same time, other parts of the island, such as Lingshui Li Autonomous County, have driven sector-wide development, with breakthroughs across multiple fronts that form a coordinated ecosystem of enterprises of different sizes spanning the entire industrial chain. As of January 2026, the 425 games Hainan-based companies had deployed overseas reached players in 148 countries.

Turning to online dramas, the Haifeng International Film and Television Base in Lingshui is building a short drama industry cluster. It offers one-stop services covering content creation, filming, post-production, distribution, and crew support for both domestic and international production teams. To date, it has undertaken more than 100 short drama projects, with many works distributed to Southeast Asian markets.

A key feature of the newly launched AI short drama base is the full-process application of AI technologies. Through in-depth cooperation with partners such as Volcano Engine, and by leveraging multiple large models—advanced AI systems trained on extensive data—production efficiency is significantly improved. AI is used throughout the entire production cycle: from script generation, digitally generated character design, to intelligent dubbing and editing.

Online literature: The “Haibao” (Seals) platform — a service that adapts online literature into short dramas and promotes the export of digital cultural products — was launched in December last year. It aims to build a full industrial-chain ecosystem for digital cultural exports.

Hainan has also introduced several online writer studios to promote the development of online literature into a fully IP-based industry chain.

Amid these developments, with overseas market demand continuing to grow, this “new trio” of cultural exports has become an important driver of revenue growth for enterprises.

Key Driving Factors

As of now, Chengmai has attracted more than 2,000 gaming companies; the Haifeng International Film and Television Base in Lingshui has brought in dozens of enterprises along the industrial chain and undertaken more than 100 projects; and the Fullsing City Internet Industrial Park in Haikou is actively introducing animation, gaming, and film and television companies.

Why are so many enterprises choosing the Hainan Free Trade Port as their gateway to global markets?

First, preferential policies enhance Hainan’s appeal.

Specifically, at the provincial level, the Hainan Free Trade Port offers “zero tariffs and low tax rates,” as well as facilitation of cross-border capital flows and orderly cross-border data flows. These opening-up policies have significantly reduced the institutional costs, such as taxes, regulations, and procedures, of international cooperation in digital cultural products.

Furthermore, at the municipal and county levels, additional targeted measures are in place to support overseas expansion. Chengmai has set up special funds and subsidy mechanisms for enterprises going global, while Lingshui’s Haifeng Town provides incentives such as one year of rent-free office space and two years at half rent, along with computing power support, cross-border dedicated communication lines and a 4-billion-yuan fund for high-quality development.

In addition to policy support, digital infrastructure boosts productivity.

Robust digital infrastructure helps enterprises reduce costs and increase efficiency. For digital cultural products that rely heavily on data transmission, smooth and stable information flows are particularly critical.

Hainan is home to the world’s first commercial undersea data center and the world’s first undersea intelligent computing center, as well as multiple international submarine communication cables. Together, they provide strong computing power and high-speed channels for digital content production and cross-border transmission.

For example, because gaming data can be transmitted directly from Hainan without an intermediate relay, enterprises’ operating costs are significantly reduced.

Beyond infrastructure, a sound ecosystem enhances competitiveness.

On the one hand, Hainan’s high-quality ecological environment and livable conditions continue to attract content creators to live, work and create on the island.

On the other hand, a well-developed industrial ecosystem has taken shape. At the mini-game creator base in Lingshui, because enterprises are both geographically clustered and closely linked in business, a collaborative and dynamic industrial community has been formed.

Future Outlook

At present, the “new trio” of cultural exports is gaining strong momentum, but competition in the global market is also intensifying. Against this backdrop, Hainan aims to build itself into a key bridgehead for cultural exports by further strengthening its core competitiveness.

To that end, sharpening technological strengths is critical. As part of the digital economy, the “new trio” fundamentally depends on technological progress. Hainan will work to translate its technological advantages into concrete industrial outcomes and export performance.

Additionally, leveraging existing advantages will further solidify Hainan's position. With its strategic location radiating across the Asia-Pacific and connecting to global markets, Hainan will make full use of the policy and geographic advantages of the Free Trade Port, strengthen policy coordination and international cooperation with ASEAN countries, and build itself into a bridge for cultural exchange between China and ASEAN so that high-quality cultural content can be disseminated faster and farther.

Equally important, telling China’s stories well through Hainan will maximize cultural impact. As Hainan boasts rich historical, revolutionary, maritime, and folk cultural resources, it has unique strengths that will prove fruitful in developing the digital cultural industry. The province will further promote the deep integration of local cultural elements with international communication, enabling global audiences to better understand Chinese culture through “Hainan stories.”

Looking ahead, as the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port advances and the digital cultural industry continues to grow rapidly, Hainan is transforming from a geographical “remote frontier” into a “digital-era launchpad,” serving as a solid strategic pivot for China’s “new trio” of cultural exports to reach broader international markets.