China’s Xixi Pictures has arrived at the 61st MIPTV buoyed by a slate of recent successes that have helped the production house, based in Beijing and Shanghai, celebrate its fourth anniversary, but the company is nevertheless keen also to share with the international content community what’s on the immediate horizon.

Over the past 12 months, Xixi’s development has been pushed along by four significant productions that founder and CEO Yang Xiaopei says reflect an increased diversity not only “in house” but in terms of viewing demands across a global audience increasingly turning its head toward Chinese-produced content.

The school-age drama The Youth Memories, the domestic drama Alliance, as well as the fantasy The Last Immortal and the family drama Island were all able to find impressive audience reach across the state broadcaster CCTV, as well as on the streaming platform Tencent Video and the VOD service Mango TV.

Yang Xiaopei came to Cannes this year hoping to alter what she sees as a commonly held perception about what Chinese content creators can offer the global market.

Much has already been made about China’s epics, its tales of high romance and action set in ancient worlds amongst stunning costumes. While the country’s creators are sure to still play to those strengths going forward, Yang is part of a growing generation of studio heads who want to also share stories of contemporary China with the world.

“The diversification and caliber of Chinese series are flourishing,” says Yang, the founder and CEO of the Shanghai-based Xixi Pictures. “Outside of historical dramas, contemporary urban series have surged in popularity in China thanks to their relevance and thematic richness.”

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