HANGZHOU: Up high on a massive snowy mountain, a Chinese Fengshui master battles a Japanese Shinto priest, as dark storm clouds gather.

Armed with a luopan, a traditional Chinese compass, he fends off giant snakes conjured by his opponent - but is ultimately overpowered and thrown off.

The dramatic showdown was not the work of actors, stunt crews or visual effects teams - instead, it was created using generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools by SocialTok, a Chinese digital marketing and AI company headquartered in Nanchang, Jiangxi. 

The two-and-a-half minute video is the first episode of a 61-part microdrama series titled Master of Feng Shui - and amassed 100 million views within 12 hours of its debut on Mar 18, according to local media reports.

It has since garnered more than 1.2 million likes on the short-video platform Douyin.

AI-generated microdramas are taking China by storm. From scheming imperial palace dogs to anthropomorphic fruits looking for romance, these surreal, algorithm-driven productions have been fuelling a booming domestic industry - now valued at around 100 billion yuan (US$14.5 billion) - nearly double the country’s box office revenue, according to industry observers.

Thousands of such productions have been released monthly since the start of this year - but behind their explosive growth lies a deepening concern among actors and creatives: that the same technology driving efficiency and scale is also eroding their rights - and, potentially, their livelihoods.

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