Still, there are always audiences for the shows. One reason is, as many netizens have admitted, people like to review the classic shows they have watched time and again either on TV or online in order to focus on the process itself. "The classics are my first choice because most TV dramas today are too crude," a netizen told Global Times, "The classics are bits of gold sifted out of the sands of time."

Many classics such as Princess Huanzhu and The Legend of Zhen Huan are still capable of raising TV station ratings in spite of the rebroadcast trend. It is reported that Zhen Huan helped Jiangxi TV rank in the top five over the past holiday. Last June, when Hunan TV broadcast Princess Huanzhu for the 13th time, viewership surged and the station lead in the daytime ratings.

Even TV stations that usually rank poorly can change their fate occasionally with the aid of classic dramas. Also last June, the rebroadcast of The Legend of the Condor Heroes (1983) and The Legend of White Snake reportedly helped Sichuan TV rank third place during the summer holiday.

According to Hong, besides the long-lasting charm of classic TV dramas, the most important reason for TV stations to choose classics is that they mean low cost and low risks.

"Buying the second or third-run broadcasting rights of a TV drama is much cheaper than the original one," Hong told Global Times, "while costly new TV series are full of risks in the market, classics can guarantee a fixed audience at low cost."

With this mindset, many TV stations have been competing to store up exclusive resources of shows for rebroadcast. For example, Tianjin TV spent a huge sum of money to buy the five-year exclusive broadcasting rights of Drawing Sword. Hunan TV, which owns the copyright of Princess Huanzhu and refuses to sell its broadcast rights, used to fight against illegal broadcasting of the drama to prevent its rebroadcast by other TV stations.

"The reliance on classics is understandable, but it highlights the lack of innovation in the industry," Hong said, "Relying too much on classics is like collective slacking."

Quality matters

Some of those interviewed told Global Times they review classics on TV with a nostalgic mind, recollecting their memory of childhood, teenage years and even youth.

"It is obvious that some TV stations are playing a nostalgic card with the classics," said Hong, "It is a strong card, considering that Jiangsu TV rated first in the Spring Festival Gala competition with their reunion of the cast of The Legend of White Snake and Meteor Garden."

But we have to admit that TV dramas that can remain popular for years or even decades are surely of high quality, in terms of the script, the cast, the production and so on. If a play is poorly made, it can never recapture the audiences' attention after its first showing.

On the other side of the equation are thousands of shows that are thrown into oblivion after their debut.

"As the audience raises their standards with time, it is more and more challenging to produce a good drama, which is affected by various factors," said Hong, "It requires more sincerity and patience and not the reverse."

In recent years, however, the TV industry has witnessed waves of shooting lacking thought and innovation. Even the retelling of classic novels has run rampant with mischievous distortions of the original. For example, in the new TV version of Louis Cha's Swordman, Dongfang Bubai, a male character in the classic novel, is portrayed as a woman.

"The existence of such subversion in new TV dramas particularly makes the classics stand out," Hong told Global Times.

But he added that the emerging of new classics like The Legend of Zhen Huan is an encouraging example to indicate that sincere efforts and hard work can gain rewards.