Arab viewers tune into TV series

In terms of TV series, he adds that Arab audiences who watch Chinese content favor costume dramas and documentaries aired via online platforms, according to their surveys. Minning Town is special, as it reaches a wide audience mainly through Arab TV stations.

Ma Ning is confident and excited about the future of exporting Chinese TV series to Arab nations. He says that China's rising economic power and the good relationship between China and Arab states both contribute to a bright future for such cultural exchanges. The further exchange of TV series is a certainty.

According to a report published by the National Radio and Television Administration in November, Arab nations are becoming an emerging and important market for Chinese dramas.

Li Fude, founder of Century UU, a Tianjin-based Chinese content distributor and producer, says that their subscribers from the Arab world has increased in the past two years. Li's company has more than 27 million subscribers and covers 13 languages on YouTube. The number of subscribers from Arab nations has passed 1 million.

On Dec 9, the first China-Arab States Summit was held in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, attended by President Xi Jinping and leaders of 21 Arab nations.

"The recent exchanges between China and Arab nations really excite us," says Ma Ning. "The future cooperation in the TV industry is very bright, and Chinese TV dramas will enjoy rising popularity."

Hu Dongmei in Yinchuan contributed to this story.