(Yicai) Oct. 21 -- With the rise in popularity of mini drama series on Chinese video streaming sites, more and more Chinese cities have unveiled plans to attract talent, with Zhengzhou topping the list by demand.

Postings for mini drama-related jobs in Zhengzhou, the capital city of central Henan province, accounted for more than 13 percent of China’s total, with talent demand surging almost 76 percent in the third quarter of the year from a year earlier, according to an industry report released by online recruitment platform Zhaopin.

The overall demand for mini-drama talents in China has increased 26 percent in the first three quarters from the same period last year, the Zhaopin report also showed. Video editors were the most in-demand jobs, accounting for 16 percent of postings, followed by scriptwriters at 10 percent, actors or models at 8.6 percent, and hosts at 5.4 percent.

Zhengzhou unveiled plans to develop comprehensive mini-drama production capabilities in July, aiming to cultivate multiple shooting locations, establish one or two influential industry hubs, foster over 10 competitive production and distribution companies, and grow the industry to CNY10 billion (USD1.4 billion) by 2027.

The city has already attracted more than 820 mini-drama companies and 15 large production bases, creating an efficient supply chain where lighting sets can be assembled in 10 minutes and hundreds of costumes can be sourced within an hour.

Beijing ranked second, accounting for just under 13 percent of total postings for mini drama-related jobs, with talent demand up 36 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, according to the Zhaopin report.

Chengdu and Xi'an followed Beijing, recording growth of 44 percent and 128 percent, respectively, in mini drama talent demand, as they developed distinctive regional production bases combining local cultural resources with emerging streaming platforms.

Northwestern Shaanxi province also introduced supportive measures, targeting to produce over 2,000 mini dramas, including 50 premium titles, and achieve an annual revenue of CNY2 billion (USD281 million) this year.

China’s mini drama industry reached CNY50.5 billion last year, exceeding the country’s box office revenue for the first time, according to a report by Shenzhen Media Group, Communication University of China, and the China Television Drama Production Industry Association. The industry is projected to grow to CNY63.4 billion this year and to CNY85.7 billion by 2027.

Editor: Futura Costaglione