SW China's Guizhou turns AI-generated content into growth engine

An employee uses AI tools to create a short drama in Yunyan district, Guiyang, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Li Liping)

Li Yunjing, technical director at Guizhou Shengcheng Juming Technology Co., Ltd. (Shengcheng Juming), is putting the finishing touches on the company's first overseas short drama, which is set to premiere on TikTok. The company is based in Yunyan district, Guiyang, southwest China's Guizhou Province.

"The overseas short drama market is a blue ocean. We need to seize the moment," Li said.

Since moving into the district's digital industry park last October, the company has focused on AI film and television production built around themes drawn from Guizhou's intangible cultural heritage and ethnic culture. It now turns out 30 dramas a month, with revenue reaching up to 1 million yuan ($148,000).

Photo shows a provincial-level AI data factory in Yunyan district, Guiyang, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Li Liping)

Guizhou's digital and intelligent industries were worth 299 billion yuan in 2025. The province is home to 56,645 registered data-related businesses, and 13,587 more have been added so far in 2026.

"We have the conditions and the capability to build a differentiated track using our unique resources, driving overall quality improvement in the digital economy through breakthroughs in the data sector," said Zhu Zongyao, head of the provincial big data bureau.

Yunyan district has moved quickly into AI-generated content (AIGC) and the token economy, which is built around the data tokens that power large language models.

Dong Zheng, deputy head of Yunyan district and deputy director of the Yunyan Economic Development Zone management committee, said the park has already built a foundation in data collection, cleaning and labeling. The current priority is building a provincial-level AI data factory, he said, moving the park from storing data to processing it.

Photo shows the first AIGC supply-and-demand matchmaking conference in southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Photo/Gu Lanyun)

Since the beginning of this year, the district has organized four meetings on AIGC, including research sessions and symposiums with local companies, along with three industry events. Among them were Guizhou's first AIGC industry matchmaking conference and a forum on applying AIGC to drive the development of five other sectors.

Shengcheng Juming recently produced an AI promotional video for the 2026 National Roller Skating (Speed Skating) Open in Guiyang, featuring a virtual host skating past Guizhou's famous scenic spots. Viewers commented that the video made them want to visit the province.

Guizhou Yalu Yinghua Digital Technology Co., Ltd. has grown from four or five employees to more than 70 in three months since pivoting to AIGC, said Zou Hailong, the company's deputy general manager. In April, only one or two staff members were capable of producing A-grade short dramas. That number has now risen to 18.

Zou Hailong, deputy general manager of Guizhou Yalu Yinghua Digital Technology Co., Ltd., meets with staff to discuss product ideas. (People's Daily Online/Li Liping)

"China's AIGC market is fiercely competitive, but that competition is encouraging quality content," Zou said.

Over the past six months, the park has signed 49 companies employing more than 2,000 people, with an average age under 25.

Photo shows plaques marking partnerships between universities and Guizhou Yalu Yinghua Digital Technology Co., Ltd. (People's Daily Online/Li Liping)

Photo shows the big data innovation and entrepreneurship demo center of Guizhou Big Data Group in Guiyang, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Tu Min)