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Duanju
Duanju (simplified Chinese: 短剧; traditional Chinese: 短劇; pinyin: duǎn jù), sometimes translated in English as short drama, vertical drama, microdrama, vertical minidrama or mobile drama, is a type of short form web or television series that originated in China. These series typically feature 1–2 minute episodes, and a complete production may include 20 to 100 episodes, resulting in a total runtime similar to one or two feature-length films. Produced specifically for smartphone viewing, many duanju are shot in vertical format and optimized for fragmented, bite-sized consumption on platforms such as Douyin (TikTok China). Some titles are further adapted into interactive film-style mobile games. Duanju is characterized by fast-paced plots and heightened melodrama, sometimes adapted from Chinese web fiction.
Duanju originates from Chinese Web fictions that started around 2002. These fictions were written by users on websites such as Qidian and were released in installments, where readers had the option to pay per chapter or a subscription.
Video-form duanju started in 2013 on Youku Tudou before moving to apps like TikTok, ReelShort, DramaBox, GoodShort, and Kuaishou. By 2023 the audience for duanju reached about 1.6 billion people.
Between 2020 and 2022, the format became professionalized: fast shoots (often under two weeks), vertical 9:16 format, smaller budgets, and monetization through freemium or pay-per-episode models. Unlike the majority of content submitted to apps like TikTok, duanju are professionally-produced rather than user-generated. Chinese production companies hire professional actors and crew to shoot and edit the content. The shows are typically freemium, offering a few episodes for free before monetizing through various means, including video-on-demand and subscriptions.
In 2024, China's duanju market generated over 50 billion yuan (approx. USD 7 billion) in revenue. The sector is also estimated to have created over 600,000 jobs. Duanju (short or vertical drama) have thus become one of the fastest-growing sectors of the Chinese entertainment industry.
Chinese production companies have started collaborating with their American and British counterparts to bring the content to English-speaking audiences. This is done either by dubbing the existing Chinese duanjus or by re-creating the entire series with English-speaking actors. Productions in these countries are also on a very small budget and can be filmed in as little as 10 days for an entire season.
In the United States, producer Chris Wicke described duanju as "the next frontier of global mobile-first storytelling" in a Forbes article published in March 2025.
In 2025, Netflix adopted a vertical mobile feed. Journalist Isabelle Deromas Lebocq saw it as a sign of the growing influence of the duanju format.
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Duanju AI simulator
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Duanju
Duanju (simplified Chinese: 短剧; traditional Chinese: 短劇; pinyin: duǎn jù), sometimes translated in English as short drama, vertical drama, microdrama, vertical minidrama or mobile drama, is a type of short form web or television series that originated in China. These series typically feature 1–2 minute episodes, and a complete production may include 20 to 100 episodes, resulting in a total runtime similar to one or two feature-length films. Produced specifically for smartphone viewing, many duanju are shot in vertical format and optimized for fragmented, bite-sized consumption on platforms such as Douyin (TikTok China). Some titles are further adapted into interactive film-style mobile games. Duanju is characterized by fast-paced plots and heightened melodrama, sometimes adapted from Chinese web fiction.
Duanju originates from Chinese Web fictions that started around 2002. These fictions were written by users on websites such as Qidian and were released in installments, where readers had the option to pay per chapter or a subscription.
Video-form duanju started in 2013 on Youku Tudou before moving to apps like TikTok, ReelShort, DramaBox, GoodShort, and Kuaishou. By 2023 the audience for duanju reached about 1.6 billion people.
Between 2020 and 2022, the format became professionalized: fast shoots (often under two weeks), vertical 9:16 format, smaller budgets, and monetization through freemium or pay-per-episode models. Unlike the majority of content submitted to apps like TikTok, duanju are professionally-produced rather than user-generated. Chinese production companies hire professional actors and crew to shoot and edit the content. The shows are typically freemium, offering a few episodes for free before monetizing through various means, including video-on-demand and subscriptions.
In 2024, China's duanju market generated over 50 billion yuan (approx. USD 7 billion) in revenue. The sector is also estimated to have created over 600,000 jobs. Duanju (short or vertical drama) have thus become one of the fastest-growing sectors of the Chinese entertainment industry.
Chinese production companies have started collaborating with their American and British counterparts to bring the content to English-speaking audiences. This is done either by dubbing the existing Chinese duanjus or by re-creating the entire series with English-speaking actors. Productions in these countries are also on a very small budget and can be filmed in as little as 10 days for an entire season.
In the United States, producer Chris Wicke described duanju as "the next frontier of global mobile-first storytelling" in a Forbes article published in March 2025.
In 2025, Netflix adopted a vertical mobile feed. Journalist Isabelle Deromas Lebocq saw it as a sign of the growing influence of the duanju format.