Chinese online literature and IP adaptations continue to be popular and are deeply integrated into the global cultural industry system

China News Service, Beijing, September 16 (Reporter Shangguan Yun) Recently, the discussion of online literature and related IP adaptations has not diminished. Topics such as "Blooming Flowers" have become the focus of discussion on social platforms. The waiting series of "The End of Ten Days" and "Come to Fight" are highly anticipated by the audience.

It may be said that the popularity of online dramas such as "Blooming Flowers" is a microcosm of the "Internet literature craze" in recent years. In the past few years, online literature has continued to break out of the industry, and excellent IP-related dramas have frequently appeared.

The previously released "2025 China Internet Literature Blue Book" (hereinafter referred to as the "Blue Book") shows that by the end of 2025, the total number of online literature works in my country will exceed 33 million, and the number of readers will exceed 500 million.

Many online novels and adapted dramas are also quite popular overseas. The "Blue Book" shows that by the end of 2025, China's online literature has exported more than 130,000 works overseas. China's online literature IP development is deeply integrated into the global cultural industry system.

Why do Chinese online literature and online literary IP continue to heat up? Why are related IP dramas so popular overseas? With these questions in mind, the reporter interviewed writers and industry insiders.

Why it continues to be so popular

Today, online literature has gone through decades of development.

In this regard, writer Jiang Shengnan once mentioned that since about 1999, literary forums have sprung up like mushrooms after a rain, the number of writers and readers has increased sharply, the payment model has become increasingly mature, and online articles have gradually entered the sinking market.

In recent years, online literature has developed rapidly and gradually entered film, television, animation and other fields. Excellent Internet literary IP is favored by the film and television industry. In recent years, film and television dramas such as "Lotus House" adapted from online novels have become popular, and the long tail effect is obvious.

Why does online literature continue to be popular? Internet writer Yuan Rui believes that online literature belongs to mass writing, and many people have a dream of writing. With the rapid development of the Internet and the popularization of smartphones, it has just provided convenient conditions for them to realize their dreams.

"The threshold for writing online articles is not too high. It is relatively easy to understand and has strong story-telling. Like some realistic themes, readers will easily feel that the author seems to be writing about people and things around them. It can easily arouse emotional resonance and be willing to read on." He said.

Moreover, the popularity of a literary story is often not limited to the literature itself. Wang Qiushi, an assistant researcher at the Internet Literature Center of the Chinese Writers Association, explained that for the film and television industry, many leading online novels have fresh and interesting high settings and come with a built-in fan base, making them good candidates for adaptation. Nowadays, micro-short dramas are also one of the most important channels for learning film and television adaptations online.

In her view, the IP industry chain of online literature has developed relatively maturely, and can quickly transform works that are favored by the market into artistic forms such as film and television, micro-short plays, etc., and the audience base will further expand.

"Many times, after people have watched TV series or animations, they will come back to read the original works, which also has a feedback effect on the development of online literature." Yuan Rui believes that it is for these reasons that online literature will continue to be popular.

Deeply influenced overseas popular literature and art

Not only does it have a wide audience in China, but over the years, online literature and the drama series derived from it have also been very popular overseas.

The aforementioned "Blue Book" shows that as of the end of 2025, China's online literature has exported more than 130,000 works overseas. There are approximately 250 million overseas registered users of China’s online literature platform, and active overseas users cover more than 200 countries and regions.

"Blue Book" stated that China's online literature IP development has been deeply integrated into the global cultural industry system. "C-Drama" (Chinese TV series) has become an overseas hot word, and dozens of popular IP dramas such as "Traveling with the Phoenix" and "Canglan Jue" have appeared on overseas hot lists.

Indeed, earlier this year, the TV series "Family Business" topped the popular charts in 13 countries and regions including Singapore, the United States, Japan, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Mexico, Brazil, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines after its broadcast, setting a new record for the overseas spread of domestic dramas.

According to Wang Qiushi's observation, China's online literature has now entered the stage of overseas narrative. Some of the distinctive narrative methods and methods of Chinese online literature have deeply influenced overseas popular literature and art, such as upgrades, systems, unlimited streaming, etc.

"Many Chinese TV dramas that are very popular overseas are also adapted from online literature." Wang Qiushi said that dramas such as "Celebrating More Than Years", "Dafeng Watchmen", "National Beauty", "Sniper Butterfly", "Breaking Back" and "Walking with the Phoenix" are all performing very well overseas.

Why are they so popular at home and abroad? She analyzed that one of the reasons is that the quality of the drama series itself is excellent. At the same time, they visually present Chinese cultural symbols such as food and clothing, which is also a direct expression of Chinese stories.

"Authentic Chinese actors, Chinese productions and even Chinese language are all of great interest to foreign audiences." She believes that foreign audiences are also curious about Eastern aesthetics. By watching these dramas, they can touch the surface and core of some Chinese culture, and then take the initiative to study in depth, which has also spawned a good global discussion.