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The Chinese Stories You Need to Know, II, a CCTV Production, is Proving Vastly Successful in Relating Some of China's Most Moving Stories to Audiences Worldwide

CCTV Creative Media Co., Ltd.
2018-02-28 18:37 765

BEIJING, Feb. 28, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On the first day of this year's Chinese Lunar New Year, a video clip briefly telling the China story of the important holiday was displayed on the large NASDAQ screen overlooking New York's Times Square. Passers-by, many of whom were Chinese who live in or were visiting New York, stopped to watch the short yet compelling video and used their cellphones to grab the QR code from the large screen so that they could watch the full length versions of the stories on their phones. After enjoying the stories, in a way very similar to how all smartphone users today in China use modern technology to send small yet meaningful monetary gifts to friends and family as is traditionally done on this holiday, the passers-by shared the code with their loved ones, enabling them to experience the intimate warmth of the time normally spent with their families and friends back home. To date, one story in the video collection, "Ode to Pear Blossom," has been watched 60 million times. The new model for sharing these wonderful Chinese stories via a QR code in the new world of integrated media is being widely seen as a successful move on the part of CCTV, China's state-owned national TV broadcaster, to tell Chinese stories on the global stage. 

Rich with familiar Chinese imagery, the story in the video displayed on the huge NASDAQ screen was drawn from the Chinese Stories You Need to Know, II, a TV show co-produced by CCTV-1, the primary broadcast channel of China's state-owned national TV network, and CCTV Creative Media, the content development arm of the same network. The TV show is the national broadcaster's way of wishing "Happy New Year" to Chinese people everywhere on the important day. In the 15-second video, three famous Chinese personalities - Christina Hai, Beining Sa and Jerry Lee, in the role of the storytellers - recount wonderful Chinese tales, while, using modern technology, Chinese audiences worldwide spread access to the stories far and wide. 

The video debuted on the NASDAQ screen on February 15 and was rebroadcast on the same screen 18 times during the course of the day. Many passers-by captured the entire video and uploaded it onto social media. Based on the best statistics that were available at the time, nearly 50,000 people scanned the code and watched the full-length version on that day. One of the stories, "Ode to Pear Blossom," an ancient Chinese story that reflects features of classic and traditional Chinese culture, touched many people's hearts. The singer of the song, a Chinese youth residing abroad, has been an eager lover of traditional Chinese culture since childhood and wants to be sure that he can instill the love and respect he feels for its many traditions in his own future family. His father, Wang Dong, a person who also deeply loves Chinese culture, has established a theatrical troupe in Canada in a move to remind members of overseas Chinese communities worldwide of the traditional culture that is so easy to forget when living in a foreign environment. The singer and his father remind themselves of their original intent to keep the essence of traditional Chinese culture alive among the world's Chinese communities and to encourage more members of those communities to open their hearts to the culture of the land where they originated from. Their efforts are praised by countless people. To date, the video has been watched online by 60 million people worldwide. Many viewers in the Chinese communities were openly pleased to learn of the effort that their native country has put into passing on the traditional culture in this open and inclusive manner through an innovative application of the QR code. 

Chinese culture travels around the world through traditional stories that convey warmth

Chinese Lunar New Year, also known as Spring Festival, is the most important holiday of the year in China and for every member of the Chinese diaspora. The promotional clip on the NASDAQ screen debuted on the first day of the important holiday. The Chinese Stories You Need to Know, II relates the spiritual connection that all people feel through these real and moving stories, while expressing the sense of duty that every Chinese person feels for their homeland, their commitment to love, their responsibility in protecting their loved ones and respect for all people, whether an acquaintance or a total stranger. The story resonates with every person who has taken the time to view it.

From the Chinese New Year Family Day held in John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., to the Happy Spring Festival temple fair in Nottingham, England, to expressing best wishes for the New Year to members of Chinese communities worldwide through the video on the NASDAQ screen, Chinese culture is becoming more and more well known around the world. The number of non-Chinese who have mastered Mandarin Chinese has grown exponentially, while ever more Chinese culture fans have adopted the habit of placing a banner or scroll containing an upside-down rendition of the Chinese character Fu (the character stands for luck or fortune) on their door, an act which is supposed to bring good luck. A campaign leveraging the technology behind augmented reality whereby fans scan and upload the upside-down Fu character has caught on in 2,300 cities around the world, demonstrating how the Chinese New Year is gradually transforming itself into one that is celebrated by all peoples and all cultures everywhere.

The Chinese Stories You Need to Know, II became China's first TV program to take advantage of the media convergence phenomenon, by leveraging the latest technology via the QR code to spread access to the program way beyond the limits of conventional terrestrial television. The QR code not only served as a bridge between the big screen and the small screen, but also acted as a window through which stories and audiences share emotions. By scanning the QR code, viewers can watch the stories that represent the spirit of China in the new era. After the broadcast of the first two episodes, nearly 20 articles reviewing the program were published online by several media outlets, with the articles having been read more than 100,000 times, while CCTV's own written coverage of the program has recorded in excess of 1 million reads. This leveraging of media convergence by using a QR code as the vehicle represents another breakthrough for CCTV. The warm and fuzzy feelings that are associated with the sharing of the QR code have served to amplify the emotions that arise when viewing the program. When the Chinese spirit being expressed in the new era, an era defined by the advances in technology, is shared by more and more people, every person engaged in that sharing may be filled with inner warmth and happiness as well as a sense of security, all of which is an expression of the Chinese spirit. At the same time, the program gives everyone an opportunity to get a better understanding of what Chinese New Year stands for and why it is so important to every person of Chinese descent. Now, people from all over the world can learn about Chinese culture and what it means to be Chinese through these stories and can do so by taking advantage of the latest in technology via the QR code for CCTV's the Chinese Stories You Need to Know TV show, highlighting the important role of QR code technology.

Better telling of Chinese stories and reflection of the Chinese style in the new era

Chinese wisdom had always led the direction of China's development while the pace of that development has quickened over time. Now, that same wisdom is the source of China's growing power. Once upon a time, people were immersed in the splendor of grand narratives, but as the times progressed, it has become increasingly difficult to get people's attention and move them emotionally. Starting from a small and obscure group of individuals who value and treasure every living moment of their lives, the Chinese Stories You Need to Know, II moves to a focus on the tension embodied by individual destiny and the burden of the power that is inherent in that destiny. Audiences have been visibly moved by the sincere approach of and profound insights uncovered by the program. The program obtained the highest audience ratings across the entire network.

Every story in the program is the epitome of contemporary Chinese values and reflects the energy and vitality that is resident in the body of every living person. The appearance of the stories on the massive NASDAQ screen overlooking New York City's most important square is a testament to the confidence, fearlessness and positive spirit of the new era it embodies as China, the country, stands with steady and firm determination on the world stage.

CCTV takes the lead in opening the path of all Chinese media organizations that have ambition to expand abroad 

A Chinese belief that goes back many generations is encapsulated in the saying, "the nation is the world," and by that token, all good things have value and should be shared. The Chinese Stories You Need to Know, II TV program shoulders the mission of a new era, shares Chinese stories that represent China's new era, and tells Chinese stories with an inclusive and open mindset on the international stage. The innovative QR code model also shows the determination of Chinese media to make new achievements in the new era.

The multiple showings of the video clip of the Chinese Stories You Need to Know, II on NASDAQ's big screen during the first day of the Lunar New Year proved to be a vehicle that vastly expanded the global audiences that enjoyed the Chinese stories. The ability of anyone viewing the stories to immediately share them with friends and family, no matter where they are in the world, coupled with the immense praise that the stories received, demonstrated the recognition of Chinese spirit and culture by old friends and new, yet also expresses China's proactive approach, in its new-found role as one of the world's leaders, to transmit positive energy to every corner of the globe.

As these wondrous and meaningful Chinese stories are shared by ever more individuals around the world, there is reason to believe in China's positive role in the future of the planet, as the Chinese spirit and culture serve as a beacon of light for the world.

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Source: CCTV Creative Media Co., Ltd.
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