Stellar Pictures at China-Vietnam Cultural Exchange Day: Chinese Dramas Evolve from Broadcast to Co-Creation

HANOI, Vietnam — At the recently held “rednote Global Village Gathering · Vietnam — Audiovisual Cultural Exchange Day,” an interactive marketplace built around film and television IPs popular among audiences in both China and Vietnam drew large crowds of local attendees. Among the most popular attractions was the “Love Game in Eastern Fantasy” themed booth in the Costume Drama Elegance zone, where visitors could step into recreated scenes from the series and participate in interactive games.

The drama’s strong broadcast performance in Vietnam was one of the reasons it was selected by event organizers as a representative work in the Costume Drama Elegance zone. The Vietnamese-dubbed version of “Love Game in Eastern Fantasy” premiered in November 2024 and immediately claimed the top spot among overseas dramas. The series was first released online simultaneously on Netflix and the Vietnamese streaming platform VieON, while its television premiere aired on Ho Chi Minh City Television, HTV7. The series’ Vietnamese-language topic views surpassed 400 million, making it the most discussed Chinese-language screen title of the year in Vietnam.

The drama’s message of “love and peace” struck a chord with local audiences, who described it as “positive, authentic, and deeply resonant.” The theme song “Send to the Moon” ignited a dance trend across school campuses, while the Eastern fantasy-inspired costumes proved so popular that many young Vietnamese women wore similar outfits for performances at school celebrations.

Representatives from HTV7, the local Vietnamese broadcaster, also visited the booth at the event and noted that “Love Game in Eastern Fantasy,” “Love Between Fairy and Devil,” and “Love in Pavilion” had all delivered impressive broadcast performances in Vietnam. They expressed hope for introducing more similar Chinese productions in the future.

Cecilia Liu, lead actress of “Love in Pavilion,” was also invited to the event to meet Vietnamese audiences in person, and brought themed collectible cards from the drama as gifts. Since their launch, the “Love in Pavilion” collectible cards have repeatedly set new sales records on iQiyi’s platform, reflecting the rising cultural consumption demand among young users and affirming that Stellar Pictures has cultivated a loyal core user base with a strong affinity for Eastern fantasy and cyber xianxia. From interactions at themed exhibition booths to face-to-face exchanges with actors, and from audience enthusiasm to positive feedback from local broadcasters, film and television content is increasingly serving as a bridge for people-to-people cultural exchange between China and Vietnam.

Wang Yixu, Founder and Chairman of Stellar Pictures, and Jason Zhang, Founder and President, attended the “China-Vietnam Audiovisual Practice” sharing session, where they shared insights into the company’s drama distribution and outreach across the China-Vietnam region.

The global expansion of Chinese dramas is moving beyond content distribution toward deeper co-creation with local audiences. Stellar Pictures also shared that, driven by the  widespread attention and popularity its three dramas have received across the Southeast Asian market, the company plans to release local-language versions of theme songs for future titles. This will enable audiences in different countries to perform and sing in their own languages, helping Chinese stories integrate into local cultural life in a more relatable way.