The recent China International Film& TV Program Exhibition showed how determined domestic producers are to make inroads into overseas markets, Xu Fan reports.

For most Chinese fans, it was a shock to see Mei Changsu, the protagonist of the TV series Nirvana in Fire, a royal period drama set in ancient China, "speaking" Spanish fluently.

Interestingly, the character-a leader of a group of swordsmen-can also "speak" English and a few more other languages.

These are all different foreign language-dubbed versions of Nirvana in Fire, a phenomenal worldwide hit show that has garnered more than 16 billion views online.

Earlier this year, the TV series remade with a Spanish voice-over aired in Argentina and Mexico, making it the first commercially successful Chinese television program released in either of the two countries.

During the 16th China International Film & TV Program Exhibition, the drama was highlighted alongside a string of television productions for making successful forays into overseas markets.

The annual showbiz event held in Beijing from Sept 11-12 attracted industry insiders, producers and distributors from over 300 organizations from more than 50 countries and regions.

Over 80,000 episodes of TV dramas, documentaries and animation series were on display at the event, according to the organizers.

Its 93 booths, which covered 22,000 square meters at the China National Convention Center, also featured forums on the internationalization of Chinese tales.

Statistics from the National Radio and Television Administration, the country's top regulator, show that more than 1,600 domestic TV shows have been translated into 36 languages and shown in over 100 countries and regions in recent decades.

With the rapid development of China's television industry, the country has seen a steady rise in TV content exports year-on-year, says Ma Li, the director-general of the international cooperation department with the administration, at a forum during the exhibition.

Speaking about domestic dramas that have made a big splash or broken records overseas, Ma says that the series "had opened a window for overseas audiences, enabling them to develop a more comprehensive understanding of China".

She also says that the administration had launched a project, which started in August and will run until October, to broadcast 70 quality works through more than 60 mainstream media platforms and streaming sites in around 50 nations.

The works, mostly reflecting China's transformation and economic achievements, include the metropolitan romance Ode to Joy; popular cartoon series New Big-head Son and Little-head Father; and the award-winning movie Hold Your Hands.

Ma says she wants domestic companies to work more with international partners to encourage them to seek inspiration from each other's culture and history.

Exemplifying this effort, the Film and TV Import & Export Association-an alliance founded in 2017 to unite top players in China-has seen its membership expand to 66 companies, according to the China International Television Corporation, the initiator.

Tang Shiding, the vice-president of the corporation, says the association members broadcast nearly 500 TV shows of around 10,000 episodes overseas in 2018.

Pointing to a new trend, Tang says: "The majority of new TV programs released simultaneously in China and abroad also saw a remarkable rise in online views overseas."

In recent years, Chinese films and television programs have expanded their influence in Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America, with some shows even earning more views than domestic hits, adds Tang.

One such series is Feather Flies to the Sky, a 55-episode television drama chronicling the rise of a businessman and his wife in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, the largest wholesale market of small commodities in Asia.

The series has been exported to 15 nations, including Russia, South Korea and Portugal, and it has made waves in Indonesia, where it was one of the top two most-watched TV programs in October.

"The drama is very popular in Indonesia," says Gandhi Priambobo, founder and CEO of Red and White, a joint venture between Indonesia and China which dubbed the drama into the local language and distributed it around the country.

A fan of Hong Kong star Stephen Chow, Priambobo says most Indonesians have limited knowledge about China, and the best-known Chinese productions in Indonesia still tend to be Hong Kong action films starring Jackie Chan.

He says the success of Feather Flies to the Sky is largely due to the growing curiosity about China's booming economy and interest in how Chinese businessmen conquer obstacles and earn success.

In the meantime, more Chinese production companies are scouting for overseas locations thanks to bigger budgets and profits, industry insiders say.

Lu Yan, the chief representative of the Chinese office with Triton Film Productions Limited, the largest studio in Malta, is a witness to this change.

He says Malta has a number of ancient castles and buildings dating back to the medieval era, which are attracting crews looking for exotic scenery.

"The buildings are not high and it's relatively easy and safe for actors or stunt performers to hop from one roof to the other. And most of the streets are narrow, allowing cameras to capture nerve-wracking action sequences like car chases," he explains.

The Chinese film The Curse, a suspense thriller, was shot in a castle which hadn't been opened to the public for seven decades.

"At least four Chinese studios are currently in negotiations with us, and two others have already decided to shoot their productions in Malta next year," says Lu.

Several ambassadors also attended the exhibition. Among them were Ahcene Boukhelfa, the Algerian ambassador to China.

He says Algeria, the largest country in Africa by area, is now home to around 60,000 Chinese people.

Speaking about the two countries, he says they have enjoyed a long history of friendship since China and Algeria established diplomatic relations in 1958.

He hopes more Chinese companies will consider his country as a location to shoot future film and TV productions.