Small teams summon big worlds

From online novels to glowing fantasy battles, AI is reshaping how China's short animated dramas are produced and consumed.

Tang Jiancong does not need an army of animators to summon an immortal figure.

In one AI-generated short drama produced by his company, a white-robed master drops from the heavens into an arena where a female martial artist is losing ground to a fighter in an Iron Man-style mecha suit. A glowing shield wraps around the woman. Then the immortal steps forward and declares, "I, your master, will fight for you."