The "has-been internet celebrity" who made a fortune through short dramas has finally won back their dignity.

"Young people who haven't achieved major career milestones have all picked up the 'big red fruit' (a popular local sweet persimmon) one after another".

In 2026, short drama is widely regarded as one of the most fiercely competitive red ocean tracks. The National Radio and Television Administration revealed that in the first 8 months of this year, 430,000 micro short dramas were launched nationwide, which is 13 times the total number of last year.

They are not only too numerous to count, but also more adept at targeted content delivery than ever before.

Some people say that short dramas grasp the audience's preferences as precisely as cunning courtiers: they specifically push overbearing dragon king son-in-law wish-fulfillment dramas to middle-aged men, push storylines where vicious mothers-in-law turn over a new leaf to married women, and push plots where mean daughters-in-law reform their ways to elderly mothers-in-law.

The emerging AI comic dramas have pushed this gameplay to a new extreme of competition.

The China Netcasting Services Association pointed out that in the first three months of this year, the number of new AI short dramas released was as high as 20 times that of live-action short dramas.

With the overwhelming quantity advantage, AI short dramas have even developed niche wish-fulfillment tracks such as "Marry a Delivery Guy" and "Street Stall Owner Teaches Unscrupulous Peers a Lesson".

However, in sharp contrast to the booming AI comic drama sector, the short drama industry, which was still a sunrise industry just a year ago, has been completely reshuffled. Hengdian, the former "short drama factory", has also fallen into the industry winter together with the sector.

In 2025, Hengdian saw 4016 new vertical-screen micro short drama crews start filming throughout the year, a year-on-year increase of 237%, and photography studios were in extremely short supply.

However, in 2026, with the explosion of AI short dramas and the adjustment of platform rules, the vacancy rate of Hengdian World Studios has exceeded 80%. More media reports point out that in the first quarter of 2026, the number of short drama crews starting filming in Hengdian plummeted by three quarters.

Hengdian, which entered the "winter overnight", even forced the overbearing presidents and rich ladies in short dramas to lower their profiles to find jobs, and some even went back home to sell sesame seed cakes.

No one expected that Hengdian, which had just gone through the industry winter, would get a "comeback script" during this year's National Day holiday.

Young people who are tired of watching short dramas have flocked to Hengdian to shoot short dramas in person, making the "Hengdian one-day drama experience package" priced at 200-300 yuan per person a huge hit.

Visitors can not only rewrite the script as they wish, but also enjoy 1-on-1 services from the entire filming crew.

The whole production can be completed in as fast as half an hour, allowing ordinary tourists to experience the fun of "joining the crew with investment".

How did Hengdian, once hit hard by AI, stage a strong comeback?

200 yuan to "join the crew with investment",

making everyone eager to act

"Who wouldn't want to bring their good friends along on the weekend to perform the classic 'blood test for kinship' scene in person?"

As the most iconic famous scene in *Empresses in the Palace*, the blood test for kinship scene has been analyzed countless times by fans of the drama, and all kinds of creative secondary works keep emerging.

No one could have imagined that more than a decade later, this palace fight scene would become the top signature experience project of Hengdian's short drama experience packages.

According to reports from *Times Finance*, there are 24 ancient costume clips on Hengdian's short drama experience list, 4 of which are from *Empresses in the Palace* alone.

There are also classic scenes from *My Fair Princess*, *Secret History of Xiaozhuang* and other hit dramas, with more than 1000 sets of costumes for tourists to choose from.

In Hengdian's Ming and Qing Palace Scenic Area, the red walls and yellow tiles are ready-made sets, and all NPCs including eunuchs, maids, emperors and empresses are available.

Professional directors, makeup artists and photographers are all on site, providing one-stop services to turn every ordinary tourist into the protagonist of a wish-fulfillment drama.

It doesn't matter if you don't know how to act, the crew team will guide you throughout the whole process.

It doesn't matter if you can't remember the lines, the director will remind you line by line behind the camera.

Even, tourists can enjoy the protagonist aura of "joining the crew with investment" and modify the script on site at any time.

For example, Xiaohongshu blogger Nina even rewrote the blood test for kinship scene into a martial arts fight scene.

She slapped all the characters from Concubine Qi, the Empress, Jiang Fuhai all the way to the Emperor and Imperial Physician Wen, even the makeup artist and director didn't escape her slaps.

According to media statistics, 12 of Hengdian's experience scripts are arranged with wish-fulfillment plots such as slapping others in the face and tearing off the disguise of hypocritical villains. Performing such a hearty scene is known as the best stress reliever.

VV, a tourist interviewed by *New Weekly*, chose a more exciting rebirth script *Climb out of the Cold Palace to Become the Emperor's Favorite Consort*.

In just over 40 minutes, she experienced the triple-speed plot of jumping into a well and being reborn, reuniting with the emperor, being carried in the emperor's arms, and giving birth to a child, experiencing the ups and downs of the heroine's whole life.

Although the crew is small, it is very professional. There is even a dedicated stunt double for the scene of jumping into the well.

When it came to the princess carry scene, the NPC playing the emperor couldn't carry the tourist, so the staff moved in props to help her shoot the scene with position adjustment.

Young people who are eager to act have made the "Hengdian one-day drama experience" a huge traffic hit.

Some people bring their whole family and friends together to form a full crew of *Empresses in the Palace*.

Even a 70-year-old grandmother came all the way here to fulfill her dream of being a leading housewife in a drama.

In the comment section, many netizens made a wish that they could perform the four major internet classic drama scenes in Hengdian in their lifetime: the blood test for kinship in *Empresses in the Palace*, Xue Zhenzhu catching her husband cheating, Pinru's return, and Old Madam Chang scolding Kang Yima...

Some people even suggested on the spot: "Can you launch a workplace wish-fulfillment drama where you can slap your boss in the face? Office workers really need that."

Hengdian, which used to only serve professional crews, has opened up a new gold mine through cultural tourism experience.

Hengdian, once beaten down by AI,

staged a comeback with three unique tricks

Hengdian's sudden rise to fame seems accidental, but behind it is a necessary battle for survival.

In previous years, the rapid development of short dramas turned Hengdian into a "vertical short drama base".

However, short dramas, which overthrew the traditional film and television industry with low cost and high productivity, soon encountered AI comic dramas that were even more competitive than themselves.

Hengdian, which made a living from short dramas, also ushered in its darkest hour.

But Hengdian did not wait for death, it successfully saved itself with three unique tricks.

First step: transform from a landlady to a service provider, and retain old customers by taking the initiative to offer benefits.

Back in 2000, Hengdian once provided shooting locations to crews for free in a short period of time. In July this year, it further raised the intensity of preferential policies to the maximum.

According to local government reports, more than 130 photography studios with a total area of 500,000 square meters are all open for free, more than 200,000 square meters of free modern drama real shooting sites are newly added, and the accommodation price for crews is as low as 60 yuan per day.

This combination of policies can reduce the shooting cost of crews by about 30%.