Ordinary People, Big Dreams in China's Micro-Drama Boom

"I don't think I'll ever get better," Zeng Chao said, lounging on a sofa as his "family members" rushed to comfort him.

The scene was not a real family dispute; rather, it was part of a micro-drama being filmed for the graduation project of Shanghai Open University's inaugural micro-drama acting course.

Five sofas made up the set in a bedroom-sized space. Most of the 12 actors had never done a micro-drama before. They filmed a five-episode family melodrama in one afternoon and will finish post-production in a week. The video will be uploaded on WeChat Channels and Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok) for viewing.

Micro-dramas are ultra-short episodes, typically lasting 1.5 to 2 minutes. They often run between 60 and 100 episodes and are usually shot vertically.

According to a recent report released at the 2025 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit this month, China's micro-drama market exceeded 50 billion yuan (US$7 billion) in 2024, surpassing the year's box office revenue of 42.5 billion yuan.

Over 36,400 new micro-dramas were launched throughout the year, attracting a user base of 662 million. iMedia Research forecasts that China's short and micro-drama market will increase 34.4 percent year-on-year to 67.79 billion yuan (US$9.54 billion) in 2025 and is expected to surpass 150 billion yuan by 2030.

"Micro-dramas have experienced rapid growth in recent years. Many viewers enjoy watching them and want to get involved," said Wu Chunji, a professor at Shanghai Open University.

The university is a public institution primarily offering undergraduate programs as well as various non-degree training courses to students.

"Recognizing this demand, we decided to launch this program," added Wu.

The first run of the program included two classes with a total of 23 students, most of them between 30 and 50 years old and working in fields ranging from freelancing and education to finance. Tuition fees ranged from 2,380 to 2,780 yuan depending on registration time.

The four-day course covered line delivery, basic acting techniques, and a final project shoot. The script was tailored for students to ensure everyone had a chance to perform. Wu noted that the next session will open in January.

Among the students was 60-year-old Hou Yanlian, who had just retired.

Micro-dramas have become so popular that she knows many elderly women who watch them until 3am in the morning. "I want to understand how these shows are made, and why they're so addictive," she said.

Before retiring, Hou served as the general manager of an education group and considered herself strict and efficient. However, in the graduation production, she played a gentle and soft-spoken woman.

"This was a new attempt and a breakthrough for me," she said, adding that the professional instructors' guidance on line delivery and acting opened a new window for her. Although the course has ended, she remains open to further exploring micro-drama acting.

"If the director thinks I have potential to improve further, I'm willing to give it a try," she said.

Actors like Hou are exactly what the industry lacks, said producer Yang Lu, who runs a micro-drama studio and is an instructor of this short-term training course. He said that 10 to 20 micro-dramas are filmed in China every day, creating a huge demand for actors.

"Micro-dramas include a large amount of content featuring everyday family life and social interactions, which demands many actors for roles such as parents, relatives, and neighbors," Yang said. "At a single filming base, the shortage of middle-aged and elderly actors can exceed 1,000."

Younger actors often receive some basic training before heading to filming hubs like Hengdian in east China or Zhengzhou in central China. But for middle-aged and older adults, who have spent decades in full-time jobs, adapting to the film-set environment is far more challenging.

The current four-day program serves only as an introduction. Yang said that longer intermediate and advanced classes are being planned, and students who meet certain performance standards will be recommended to appropriate productions.

"Actors in this age group have a wide variety of roles to choose from," he said. "With the right presence, you can play anything from a commanding executive or leader to an everyday parent."

For Zhang Lingna, however, acting is not the ultimate goal.

A former nurse, Zhang now works for the Shanghai Reproductive Health Industry Association, frequently visiting communities to share health knowledge and producing public health videos. Yet for medical professionals, she explained, mastering the use of language and body movement to engage audiences is still mostly unexplored.

"We feel like we have done a lot, but people don't always understand what we're trying to say," Zhang said.

She felt the short course made a real difference. With small classes and one-on-one coaching, she gained methods she can keep practicing in her daily work.

"Why can short videos grab viewers' attention in just a few seconds? It's the way you use your eyes and your dialogue delivery," she said. "I can apply these skills in community outreach and in presenting medical information more effectively."

She noted that medical workers speak a lot daily, often repeating simple instructions to many. Learning proper vocal techniques could reduce vocal strain and help improve patient experience, which may help ease doctor-patient tensions.

When Zhang's colleagues heard she was taking the course, they joked that she might soon star in "The CEO Falls in Love with Me during Menopause" or "I Became a Court Physician in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)."

Indeed, micro-dramas have been known for their wild plot twists and loose logic, but Zhang believes their value shouldn't be dismissed. In the pressure of modern life, she said, even a few minutes of emotional release can matter.

The format has also become a powerful tool for public-interest communication.

Last year, the health commission of Shenzhen in south China released a four-minute micro-drama titled "I'm the Miserable Doctor in a CEO Romance."

Styled as a parody of classic micro-drama tropes such as the female lead getting cancer, scheming rivals, the male lead coughing up blood, and miraculous resurrections, it embedded crucial medical knowledge, including leukemia diagnosis standards and melanoma treatment.

The video quickly went viral. According to micro-drama analytics platform DataEye, it received over 200,000 likes on Douyin within 24 hours and garnered more than 200,000 views on Bilibili.

Such impact is precisely what Zhang hopes to achieve.