"China Qi Tan 2" came to a successful conclusion! Take root in traditional culture and grow in reality

As the ninth short film "The Great Man" came to an end amid the fireworks in the alley and the warmth of his father and son, the Chinese fantasy animated short film collection "China Qi Tan 2" jointly produced by Shang Meiying, Shang Yingyuan, Bi Li Bi Li and Chen Liaoyu Studio officially came to an end recently. Since it was exclusively launched on Station B platform on New Year's Day in 2026,"China Qitan 2" has continued the core of "Traditional Culture, Contemporary Expression" of the first part of "China Qitan", and has achieved the expansion and upgrading of the "Qitan Universe" with a broader theme vision, more extreme artistic experiments and more in-depth realistic observation.

So far, the number of views of "China Qitan 2" on Station B has exceeded 71 million, the number of followers is nearly 6.8 million, and the total number of bullet screens is nearly 200,000. With the popularity of the series, the series continues to arouse discussion and enthusiasm for secondary creation among users on major social media platforms. Relevant online topics and secondary creation works extensively cover multiple dimensions such as plot interpretation, aesthetic appreciation, and emotional resonance. It is worth noting that the IP influence of the "China Qi Tan" series is accelerating its penetration into offline physical consumption through cross-border marketing, derivatives development, art exhibitions, multi-local cultural tourism and other industrial linkages, marking the leap of the "China Qi Tan" series from "phenomenal works" to "sustainable film and television IP."

A contemporary expression of traditional culture rooted firmly in righteousness

Behind the Chinese fantasy craze, the first thing is the integrity of the two core elements of "China" and "Qi Tan" series in the "China" series.

"Keeping integrity" is reflected in the deep roots of "China" culture and aesthetics-the creative team insists on drawing nutrients from traditional culture and through creative transformation, rejuvenating classical elements in modern animation language. For example,"How to Become Three Dragons" transforms the "texturing method" of traditional Chinese painting into visual grammar and incorporates intangible cultural heritage elements such as Nuo opera;"People in the Ear" is carried out under the framework of "Liaozhai Zhi Yi". The imaginative expansion and innovation;"Paying to the Mountain" provides solid textual research and reproduction of Hakka folk culture; all demonstrate the creators 'deep cultivation and confidence in the cultural roots.

However, keeping integrity is not just about inheritance, but also about a new perspective and new expression for the present. The true charm of "Qitan" narrative lies in using traditional culture and fantasy style as containers to carry the true emotions and practical concerns of contemporary people. The core of "China Qi Tan 2" closely follows contemporary issues such as self-identification, intergenerational relations, ideal pursuit and social belonging, making fantasy stories a spiritual fable that reflects reality. For example,"Zoo Today" uses "survival in the zoo" to metaphor the plight and breakthrough of individuals, reflecting contemporary people's exploration of self-identity; while in "Little Snow", the story uses medical records as a carrier to peel off the subtle boundaries of parent-child relationships layer by layer, showing the coexistence of understanding and estrangement. Audiences will follow the animation into the Chinese fantasy world, re-examine the connection between themselves and others, individuals and society in fables, and see their true emotions.

** Have the courage to explore new * and continue to explore the boundaries of expression in China animation

If "keeping integrity" is the foundation of the series, then "exploring new" is the most significant breakthrough and significance of the second book. It is not limited to the style and path of the first film, but carries out a more experimental artistic exploration with the creative courage and spirit of the above-mentioned beautiful film "not imitating others, not repeating yourself".

In terms of breadth of subject matter, the second book further integrates various genres such as martial arts science fiction, family ethics, magical reality, and mythological adaptations: "Saburo" injects science fiction settings into the desolate desert;"Today's Zoo" uses a pseudo-documentary form to metaphor survival difficulties;"Paying to the Mountain" goes deep into Hakka culture and explores the emotional constraints between people and their hometown in the process of urbanization. This diverse exploration further breaks the audience's imagination of "Chinese fantasy" and proves that traditional culture has huge space to accommodate contemporary and even future narratives.

In terms of art form and animation audio-visual experiments, the second part is a "hundred flowers bloom": the felt full of temperature and texture in "Little Snow", the dark fairy tale style and poetic abstract expression of "Big Bird", and the three-dimensional integration of "Xing Tian". The integration of technology and hand-painted texture, as well as the immersive three-layer sound design of "Man in the Ear", have greatly enriched the audio-visual expression of China animation.

Compared with the first book's "Born Out of the Sky","China Qitan 2" has proved in exploration and practice that a mature and sustainable cultural IP should remain calm and confident, always take artistic exploration as its original intention, and take cultural inheritance as its mission. On the road of integrity and innovation, the connotation of the "Qitan Universe" will be continuously enriched and the expression boundaries of Chinese animation will be continuously expanded.

With full-chain development, Qitan Universe has entered a new stage of long-term IP development

When nine short films with different styles of "China Qi Tan 2" jointly weave a panoramic picture of Chinese fantasy, the influence of the series continues to extend to the broader industrial ecology.

This leap is first reflected in the expansion of content form. In 2025, the first animated film in the "China Qi Tan" series,"Langlang Mountain Little Monster", won 1.719 billion yuan at the box office, setting a record for the highest box office of a two-dimensional animated film in China's film history. It successfully verified the feasible path from short incubation to feature film development and laid a solid foundation for the diversified content layout of "Qi Tan Universe".

In addition to audio-visual content, the commercial value of IP has also gradually gained market verification in cross-border linkage. Yili teamed up with "China Qi Tan 2" to accurately refine the spiritual core of "dragon transformation" and "courage" around the two short films "How to Become Three Dragons" and "Today's Zoo", and create a marketing case that not only suits the brand tone but also deepens the plot texture; and the hot sales of derivatives such as plush, cultural creativity, and gifts in the "China Qi Tan 2" series have accurately captured the consumer aesthetics and emotional resonance of contemporary youth, further narrowing the distance between IP and the audience.

The expansion of offline scenarios has also injected new vitality into IP. In January this year, the "China Qi Tan" Dream-Making Wonderland Art Exhibition was held for the first time in Shanghai. The exhibition breaks through traditional displays and introduces immersive experiences such as interactive light and shadow installations and the linkage of exhibitions and dramas, allowing the audience to personally "enter" the Chinese fantasy world. The shift from "viewing" to "experience" is reshaping the emotional connection between viewers and IP. At the same time,"China Qitan 2" has reached linkage with Xinjiang Cultural Tourism, Heyuan Cultural Tourism, and Beijing Cultural Tourism respectively, steering the fantasy scenes in the animation into a touchable travel experience.

From cross-border marketing to derivative development, from art exhibitions to cultural and tourism linkages,"Qitan Universe" is accelerating its integration into a wider range of cultural consumption scenarios, and using the integration path of "IP+ Cultural, Commercial and Sports Exhibition" to achieve cultural values and diversified business formats. Two-way empowerment and symbiosis and win-win results.

Looking back at the development of the "China Qi Tan" series, its IP development and operation is not a simple commercial realization, but an ecology that takes creation as the origin and gradually extends outward. Since the first work was broadcast in 2023, the full-link development and operation model led by Shanghai Cinema has steadily built a complete IP ecosystem covering short episodes, feature films, online content and offline derivatives. At the creative level, the series is rooted in the "China Animation School" and actively explores serialized and diversified content incubation models, builds an open platform with both narrative exploration and aesthetic experimental values for outstanding China animation creative talents, and continues to broaden the expression boundaries of China animation; At the industrial level, Shanghai Film Element effectively connects creative sources and industrial linkages, extends the IP value chain through multiple paths such as derivative licensing, cross-border cooperation, and real-life entertainment, and promotes the steady evolution of "Qitan Universe" from content creation to systematic IP operation.

On this road of "keeping integrity" and "creating new" parallel, the boundaries of Chinese fantasy are still expanding, and the story belonging to "China Qi Tan" has just written the preface.

"China Qitan 2" is exclusively broadcast on the platform of Station B. The film is jointly produced by Shanghai Art Film Studio Co., Ltd., Shanghai Film Yuan (Shanghai) Culture Technology Development Co., Ltd., Shanghai Kuanyu Digital Technology Co., Ltd. and Chen Liaoyu Studio. Suda and Zhu Benin serve as chief producers, Chen Liaoyu serves as chief director, Wang Jun, Li Zao, Li Ni and Cui Wei serve as chief producers, and Wang Jun, Li Zao, Zhang Shengyan and Cui Wei serve as chief producers.