The recent online complaint by actress Yang Zi about the prevalence of "bad horses" in Hengdian has inadvertently spotlighted a much deeper and more concerning shift within the local filming ecosystem.
This once-bustling hub for short drama production, famously known as the "vertical drama capital," is now experiencing a profound chill. The familiar scenes of packed sets and crews waiting in line for locations have largely vanished since the Lunar New Year, replaced by a stark quiet. The rapid rise of AI-generated short dramas, with their compelling advantages of low cost and high efficiency, is fundamentally rewriting the industry's rules and forcing a dramatic restructuring of supply and demand in Hengdian.
An industry insider provided a stark cost comparison: a traditional 80-episode modern short drama filmed on location in Hengdian costs roughly 500,000 yuan. By switching to the most advanced AI-assisted production workflows currently available, a similar result can be achieved for approximately 150,000 yuan—a staggering cost reduction of 70% to 80%.
These figures are rapidly tearing apart and reshaping the entire short drama industry's landscape.
On one hand, the number of crews relying on live-action filming has plummeted. Visits to multiple short drama sets in Hengdian revealed that only about one-third of locations had any active filming, with over sixty percent of sets idle on the day. A staff member at one Hengdian short drama base described the decline, noting that while the location once hosted up to 10 crews simultaneously and averaged 5-6 crews daily before the Spring Festival, it now often has just one crew, and sometimes none at all.
On the other hand, the output of AI-generated short dramas is exploding. Wang Xiaoshu, founder of Jiashu Bingtian, revealed a telling statistic: "Hundreds of short dramas are released online in China every day now. Only a few dozen are live-action productions; the rest are AI-generated. This means the daily volume of new AI short dramas is already ten times that of live-action ones."
Is Over 60% of Hengdian's Short Drama Capacity Now Idle?
This period, typically a peak season for short drama filming in Hengdian, has been unusually quiet. The Qingmango Studio, a renowned seven-story facility converted from a residential complex, exemplifies the downturn. Its meticulously designed sets, ranging from banquet halls and corporate offices to various villa styles, once commanded premium daily rental fees.
However, this year, Qingmango has been forced to slash prices. For instance, the daily rate for its "English-style villa" has dropped to 3,980 yuan, a reduction of over 1,800 yuan per day (more than 30%) from 2023 levels. This price cut is a direct response to a severe drop in demand. On the day of the visit, only one short drama crew was filming in the entire studio, with other elaborate sets sitting completely empty.
This scene of desolation is replicated across other popular Hengdian filming locations like Xintiandi and Huaxia Culture Park. During the visit, well over half of all short drama sets were found to be inactive, with no filming taking place.
Daily Wages for Extras Have Fallen Below 100 Yuan
The industry's cold spell is ultimately felt by its workforce. Work stoppages, pay cuts, and career changes are becoming common occurrences on sets of all sizes.
An extra working under the pseudonym Weiwei described the situation: "Work started drying up in April this year, and May has been even quieter. Sometimes I only get a role once every ten days." She also confirmed that pay rates have fallen, with most modern drama extras now earning just 90 yuan per day, and period drama extras 100 yuan—lower than rates in the past. Another extra, Xiaobai, echoed this, noting the increased competition and significantly depressed wages.
Both mentioned that friends have left the profession, finding it difficult to make a living, while they themselves stay primarily out of a love for acting. On social media, numerous actors, directors, screenwriters, and cinematographers have shared similar experiences of having no work after the new year, with many having already left Hengdian and the short drama industry altogether.
Reports indicate that even previously prolific actors are struggling. An actor once dubbed the "Drama King of Hengdian" for starring in over 100 short dramas in three years reportedly had zero income for over a month this year. Another actor known for "CEO" roles, who once earned 30,000-40,000 yuan monthly from multiple projects, has reportedly seen his bookings drop to zero post-Spring Festival and has returned to his hometown to farm.
Has Filming Truly Ceased in Hengdian?
In response to online discussions suggesting the demise of Hengdian's film crews, the Hengdian Film and Television City resort recently shared promotional materials showing 59 active film crews (26 for traditional widescreen and 33 for vertical/short dramas) as of May 12th.
However, this number appears far less optimistic when viewed against a longer timeline. Media reports from August 2025 indicated that over 150 short drama crews were actively filming in Hengdian at that time. An official from the Hengdian Actors Guild was quoted then describing a booming market with high demand for actors and skyrocketing daily rates for some, reaching up to 10,000 yuan.
This suggests that in just nine months, the number of active short drama crews in Hengdian has collapsed from over 150 to around 33—a contraction of nearly 80%. The era of soaring actor salaries and packed schedules has given way to a stark new reality as the tide recedes.
Does AI Slash Short Drama Production Costs by Around 80%?
The maturation of AI video generation models in early 2026 has triggered a revolutionary shift. An insider described it as a fundamental change in production tools and workflows.
The aforementioned cost analysis—50,000 yuan for live-action versus 15,000 yuan for AI for an 80-episode drama—underscores this transformation. A short drama producer confirmed the economic pressure, stating that to keep live-action projects viable, his team must ruthlessly compress all costs, completing filming and editing within 10 days, using only 4-5 actors with total acting fees around 12,000 yuan, and keeping the entire production budget in the low hundred-thousands. "Otherwise, we simply cannot compete with AI," he admitted.
Wang Xiaoshu of Jiashu Bingtian emphasized the irreversible trend: "Most of what live-action filming can achieve, AI can do now, and with greater creative efficiency. The cooling of live-action short drama production and the massive increase in AI short dramas is an unstoppable historical trend."
He elaborated on the reasons, noting that AI not only reduces current costs to about 30% of traditional methods but holds the potential to drive them down to 10% in the future. "Even at 30% cost, you can produce three dramas for the price of one before. Creators naturally gravitate towards such a cost-effective method."
While acknowledging that live-action still holds an edge in conveying nuanced emotions, Wang pointed out that for genres like post-apocalyptic, xianxia, or fantasy, AI's performance has already surpassed human actors. He predicts a clear "polarization" in the industry's future structure: top-tier creators may still pursue high-quality, cinematic live-action projects, but the vast majority of mid-level and entry-level creators will increasingly adopt AI.
"The emergence of AI is the industrial revolution of the short drama industry," Wang concluded. "It's akin to the invention of the steam engine replacing manual textile labor. This is an epoch-making shift. Once it happens, there's no turning back."
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