Bilibili and Shanghai Animation Film Studio's 'Yao-Chinese Folktales' hits 230M plays

In 2022 Chinese animation turned 100 and Shanghai Animation Film Studio, the studio behind classics such as 'Havoc in Heaven', turned 65. Its leaders wanted a tribute; animation educator Chen Liaoyu had long wanted to produce an anthology of short films by different directors. The two ambitions merged into one project.

Commission ten directors to retell 'tales of the strange' as eight stylistically distinct shorts — ink, paper-cut, stop-motion — folklore itself becomes the brand.

Bilibili co-funded and co-produced the series. Chen recruited directors mostly in their thirties and forties and gave each one a story drawn from classical zhiguai (strange-tales) literature or folk imagination, with full stylistic freedom: 2D ink-wash for 'Nobody', a pig demon as an overworked office clerk; paper-cut for 'Xiaoman'; stop-motion for 'Jade Rabbit'. Eight episodes streamed weekly on Bilibili from January 1, 2023, produced in 4K with 5.1 sound.

In its first two weeks (January 1–14) the series passed 78.2 million plays on Bilibili, drew 3.69 million followers, held a 9.9 in-house score, and scored 9.4 on Douban; a week in, it had already broken 40 million plays. By late February the platform reported 230 million total views. Studio merchandise sold out and had to be re-ordered, and mainstream coverage crowned it 2023's first Chinese animation phenomenon.

In 2022, Chinese animation turned 100, and Shanghai Animation Film Studio — the state studio whose 'art films' such as 'Havoc in Heaven' and 'Calabash Brothers' defined the Chinese animation school — was preparing its 65th birthday. Rather than a single celebratory feature, it chose an anthology: eight independent short films, each directed by a different filmmaker with a different visual language, all rooted in classical Chinese tales of the strange.

Animation educator Chen Liaoyu, named chief director, recruited directors mostly in their thirties and forties and gave them near-total freedom. 'Nobody', the opening episode, sets a minor pig demon inside the Journey to the West universe and turns him into a relatable office worker; 'Goose Mountain' turns a Six Dynasties nesting-tale into an eerie fable; others revive paper-cut and stop-motion crafts that had become commercially extinct. Bilibili funded and co-produced the project, which streamed weekly from January 1, 2023 in 4K with 5.1 sound.

The gamble became a phenomenon: 78.2 million plays and 3.69 million followers in its first two weeks, a 9.9 Bilibili score, and a 9.4–9.5 Douban rating from over 100,000 users. By late February, Bilibili reported 230 million total plays; official merchandise sold out; and the studio's chairman said the 'Chinese little monsters' would not stop at eight episodes, with a second season and an IP universe already planned.

The anthology format made variety the message: eight directors meant eight handcrafted styles, so the collection itself demonstrated the medium's range.

The folklore brief was open-ended ('strange tales'), letting each director speak in a modern idiom — a pig demon with deadlines — instead of doing costume drama.

Giving up a single house style protected the studio's legacy better than imitating it: the 100-year history was the campaign's premise, not its product.

Bilibili's streaming model fit the risk profile: a weekly anthology let word-of-mouth and viewer ratings compound before the season finished.

An institution's strongest move can be giving up its house style: hand the folklore DNA to many distinct directors, and the medium's own history becomes the campaign.

Within a month the series had provoked a national debate about whether animation must be child-friendly, which the creators answered by defending a public, age-aware platform release. The studio and platform confirmed a second season and said each episode would get its own IP development plan, turning the anthology into an ongoing franchise. Industry coverage repeatedly cited it as the proof that Chinese folklore could anchor premium animation, and its English-language press framed it as the Chinese answer to 'Love, Death & Robots'.