The Mid-Autumn Festival has just passed and the National Day is approaching, and the NPCs (non-player characters) in the scenic area have become active. From the "roly-poly lady" in Xi'an to the "Snow Cake Monkey" in Changchun, to the "Wang Po" matchmaker in Kaifeng, in recent years, scenic spots have attracted tourists with immersive interactive experiences and become a new trend in the cultural tourism industry. These young people put on theatrical makeup, stood on the scenic stage, and were seen and recognized in role-playing. However, outside the spotlight, problems such as long working hours, lack of labor protection, and unclear career prospects are also unavoidable. When the traffic ebbs, a deeper question emerges: Is the scenic NPC just a short-term traffic outlet, or is it a promising career path? Recently, reporters from China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily interviewed a number of NPCs, talked to industry experts and legal professionals, and answered this new cultural and tourism issue from multiple dimensions.
In the past two years, at 4 p.m. every afternoon, a long queue has formed in front of the ticket gate of Changchun Zoological and Botanical Park, with tourists waiting to enter the park to participate in night activities. The park restores scenes such as the Five Elements Mountains, the Land of Women, Gaolaozhuang, and the Heavenly Court in the 1986 TV series "Journey to the West." The "Snow Cake Monkey", Tang Monk, Sha Monk, Erlang Shen, and Peacock Princess... these NPCs played by real people talk to tourists at their respective points, amuse themselves, take photos, and even play together, becoming an attractive scene in the park.
NPC is the abbreviation of English Non-Player Character, which means "non-player character". It originally refers to a character in a video game that is not controlled by the player. Now it has been introduced into the offline tourism scene, with real people playing specific identities, allowing tourists to gain an immersive experience through interaction. This "play" is nothing new. At the end of 2018, the "tumbler lady" of Xi'an Datang Evernight City took the lead in making her debut, and a video of a real person standing on a tumbler holding hands and interacting with tourists became popular on the Internet. Since then, NPCs in scenic spots have become popular: in February 2024, the "Snow Cake Monkey" of Changchun Zoological and Botanical Park became a hot search because he disliked the snow cakes fed by tourists as "too dry"; the following month, the "Wang Po" of Kaifeng Long Live Mountain Martial Arts City conducted matchmaking on the spot, driving enthusiasm for cultural tourism in the scenic spot.
This year, due to the influence of AI technology, the live-action short drama industry has experienced a downturn. Some actors have no roles to film and have begun to turn to scenic spots to work as NPCs. What deserves attention is whether the NPC in scenic spots is a short-term outlet or a long-term career? How to protect the rights and interests of practitioners? How to further improve industry rules so that young NPCs can go further?
The scenic stage gives NPC a chance to be seen
This summer, actor Shi Yuanting unexpectedly became popular as the "Er Lang Shen" of Changchun Zoological and Botanical Park, becoming more popular than his career as an actor. He graduated from the Central Academy of Drama and became famous for his role in the TV series "Northeast Transfer". But after that, he had fewer and fewer opportunities to film. He occasionally received short dramas, and often had no film appointments for several months. "There are too few opportunities in the film and television industry, but I don't want to be forgotten. I want to prove my ability." To Shi Yuanting's joy, being an NPC in a scenic spot allowed him to be seen again.
Nowadays, Shi Yuanting is one of the core NPCs in the park. The park has customized a new outfit for him, and many tourists queue up to interact with him. He said frankly that when he first stood on the stage of the scenic spot, he was "a little embarrassed". Half of the tourists left the stage before the performance was over. He continued to perform, interacted enthusiastically with tourists, and gradually opened up the situation. Facing the expectations of more and more tourists, Shi Yuanting stood on the stage and cried - he was finally recognized and liked.
"Snow Cake Monkey" actor Wang Tiezhu enjoyed traffic dividends earlier. He played Sun Wukong and lay down under the "Five Elements Mountain". At first, he couldn't wait for several tourists to feed him in a day. Until one day, a short video of him complaining that snow cakes are "too dry, I won't eat them if I don't want to eat them" went viral. Many tourists from other places came here specially, and netizens commented, "One person brings a city to life."
Wang Tiezhu's popularity moved Heiji (screen name). This young man graduated from the dance major of 211 University and worked in the song and dance troupe for two years. In order to take care of his parents, he returned to his hometown of Tangshan, Hebei Province and joined the Hetou Old Street Scenic Area.
At the beginning, he played many NPC characters, but he often couldn't handle the interaction from tourists. He worked hard and repeatedly practiced his words and expressions in front of the mirror. Now, he has a fixed role and exclusive stage, and has accumulated many fans.
According to incomplete statistics, the number of NPCs in major scenic spots across the country varies from about two to three hundred in medium-sized scenic spots to thousands in large-scale scenic spots.
Pooh (screen name) works as an NPC in the Long Live Mountain Martial Arts City in Kaifeng, Henan. He belongs to the "most common category". He has no fixed lines and only needs to welcome guests, parade around, and cooperate in taking photos. But in her opinion, the scenic spot has given many talented young people who love performing a stage to be seen, and she never tires of it.
How long can this bowl of "youth rice" last?
In the eyes of some people, NPCs just "walk around in ancient costumes, wave and take pictures" in the park, but the actual work is much more than that.
At the Hengdian Film and Television City Qingming Riverside Scenery, Yang Yunchuan, a post-00s generation, puts on makeup at 8:30 a.m. every day and goes to work on time at 10 a.m. Wearing ancient costumes, he stood in a certain position and interacted with the tourists in the plot, allowing them to experience the emotions of the characters. Each interaction lasts for half an hour, with a 15-minute break and multiple parades interspersed until work ends at 8:30 p.m. He is very popular for his good looks and acting skills. As the main NPC, he works 12 hours a day, has a fixed rest time, and his salary is higher than that of ordinary NPCs.
The operating hours of most scenic spots are eight or nine hours. With early makeup and park closing review, the actual working hours of an NPC often exceeds 12 hours. An actor said that during the peak season, he often works for more than ten days in a row, working more than 12 hours a day, with no fixed rest time, and even having to "take advantage of every opportunity" to eat and use the toilet.
No matter what the season and weather, NPCs must wear full costumes according to their characters. Wearing heavy costumes in summer can make your whole body soaked for a while. In winter, the clothes underneath should not be too thick, so as not to affect the style, which is a great challenge to physical fitness and tolerance. "At the end of the day, I shake hands until my hands are numb, and I laugh until my facial muscles become stiff." An NPC actor said that most tourists are friendly, but it is inevitable that they will encounter verbal harassment or physical offense from tourists. The job requirement is to "never lose character throughout the entire process." You must not show negative emotions when you are wronged, and you must always remain warm and friendly.
"What determines how far an NPC can go is not just acting skills, but also traffic and fan base." Dayu, an acting agent who cooperates with many scenic spots, said that some NPCs are deeply involved in a scenic spot, and there are also internet celebrities who are "traveling" and use their agents to connect with activities in scenic spots across the country and charge per event.
In scenic spots, NPCs have different levels: basic positions only need to cooperate with taking photos, no lines, no improvisation; interactive interpretation positions are the main NPCs, who need to memorize lines, complete plot points, and interact with tourists impromptu; in addition to interactive interpretations, core NPCs also need to participate in content planning, short video shooting, and live broadcast operations. Personal traffic and drainage effects are hard indicators. The income of NPCs at different levels varies greatly. The daily salary of top Internet celebrities can reach thousands of yuan, while the daily salary of basic positions is only one or two hundred yuan. More importantly, the vast majority of NPCs do not have formal labor contracts, and their employment models are mostly part-time outsourcing or project-based cooperation.
In the eyes of some NPCs, this job is still "youth rice" and they don't know how long they can last.
When traffic ebbs, how can NPCs in scenic spots stay?
"Snow Cake Monkey" Wang Tiezhu does not consider himself an "Internet celebrity", but a "grassroots cultural and tourism worker." He believes that the character "Snowcake Monkey" will be popular for a long time as it focuses on promoting cultural tourism and spreading Journey to the West culture.
Zhu Linqi, a professor at the School of Culture, Tourism and Film at Changchun Normal University, analyzed that behind the popularity of NPC is a change in cultural tourism consumption from "viewing the scenery" to "entering the country".
He believes that tourism in the past was "gaze consumption" - mainly watching. Nowadays, tourists are no longer satisfied with this, especially young people, who need a sense of role, participation and interaction. NPC just changes the scenic spot from a static viewing space to a dynamic narrative space, and tourists change from bystanders to participants.
Zhu Linqi pointed out that this relies on two driving forces: First, the value of social communication. The standard for young people to measure a trip or a visit to a park has changed from "I have been there" to "I have had an experience of my own." Each tourist's participation process has become unique content and unique experience; second, the scarcity of reality. In the current era of AI-generated content and short videos, face-to-face interaction has become increasingly precious. What tourists experience is a "sense of being alive" - accidents, humor and emotional resonance in improvisation.
"The competitive logic of urban cultural tourism has changed. In the past, we competed for resource endowments, but now we compete for content creation, emotional connection and value experience." Zhu Linqi said.
In Zhu Linqi's view, NPC is more like a gust of wind at the moment, not a long-term career.
He analyzed that the current problems in the NPC industry are manifested in three aspects: first, the brain drain has led to the hollowing out of content. Many NPCs leave after a few activities or a few months. Scenic spots are repeatedly recruited and trained, and the quality of content cannot be accumulated. "It is impossible to retain people, let alone content."
Zhu Linqi believes that making money is quick during the trend period, but traffic comes and goes quickly. It is difficult to build a sustainable cultural and tourism brand by just harvesting the popularity.
"The establishment of a new profession requires clear promotion channels, stable income expectations and basic social security and other conditions, which the NPC industry currently does not have." In Zhu Linqi's view, NPC is currently only a temporary job, not a "long-term job."
He believes that as a single role, NPC may not be suitable for a lifelong career, but after the position is standardized, it can become the entrance to the immersive performing arts career system and an important starting point for the growth of cultural and tourism entertainers.
Zhu Linqi suggested that for the NPC industry to develop healthily, systematic efforts are needed: At the institutional level, promote the inclusion of positions such as "immersive entertainers" and "interactive performing arts instructors" into the national occupational classification system, and clarify occupational standards and skill levels; at the employment level, core NPC positions should shift from project outsourcing to standardizing regular employees, and even flexible employment must sign formal labor contracts; On the development path, there should not be only one path of "leave if you can't perform", but can build multiple development paths from NPC to character manager, content director, project operation manager, etc.; in terms of industry model, it is necessary to form a profit closed loop of "experience drainage + diversified consumption", use secondary consumption to feed back labor costs, so that scenic spots can "afford and retain" good actors, so that content can be precipitated and quality can be improved.
Regarding college training, Zhu Linqi believes that there is no need to reinvent the wheel, but to "upgrade and empower" - embedding course modules such as immersive interactive performing arts and improvisational performances into existing performance, cultural tourism and other majors to open up employment channels.
From "traffic outlet" to "long-term career", it requires more than just Internet popularity. The longevity of the scenic NPC industry depends on the willingness of young practitioners to stay. Behind this is a signed contract and a visible development path.
Photo by Wang Peilian, reporter of China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily
Source: China Youth Daily, September 29, 2026, Page 03
