Chinese TV dramas popular in Mongolia

Namuundari, a 26-year-old Mongolian woman, is working hard to translate the Chinese TV drama "Stay With Me" in the studio of a Khalkha Mongolian language dubbing center here for Chinese films and TV dramas.

She quietly read the Chinese lines and translated them into Mongolian.

"I have participated in the translation of 24 Chinese TV series and I feel proud," she said, adding that many of her friends had closer contact with China through the plays she dubbed.

Namuundari has been studying Chinese since age six. She returned to her hometown Ulan Bator as a Chinese-Mongolian translator after graduation from China's Beijing International Studies University.

"In recent years, more and more Chinese movies and TV dramas have been dubbed and their Mongolian audience has become larger and larger," she said.

Dubbing Chinese movies and TV plays has become a key area of cultural exchanges and cooperation between China and Mongolia in recent years.

China has decided to provide Mongolia with 25 films and TV dramas for free from 2014 to 2020. Other projects such as "Silk Road Film and TV Project" have also introduced Chinese video products to Mongolia.

The Mongolian Language Satellite TV Channel of China's Inner Mongolia Radio and TV Station set up a translation studio in Ulan Bator in 2015 and then upgraded it as a Khalkha Mongolian language dubbing center in 2016.

Until now, a total of 36 Chinese TV plays and four films have been translated in the center, of which 30 TV dramas and two movies have been broadcast, said Uul, director of the Khalkha Mongolian Language Dubbing Center for Chinese Films and TV Dramas.

The center has cooperated with 27 local TV stations to broadcast these plays, he added.

Ulan Bator TV Station's 2016 ratings data showed that Chinese TV dramas such as "May-December Love," "Ice and Fire of Youth" and "Romance of Our Parents" have been watched more than 100,000 times on average. "May-December Love" has received 550,000 views, setting a new record for foreign TV dramas in Mongolia.

According to Kanter Media's statistics, the market share of Chinese movies and TV plays in Mongolia has increased from less than 7 percent in 2014 to more than 20 percent now.

Li Wei, cultural counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Mongolia, said Chinese movies and TV dramas are full of positive energy and show the goodness of human nature. "They have become an important channel for Mongolian people to better understand China," she added.

The plots of Chinese movies and TV dramas are considered by most Mongolian viewers as closer to the real life and filled with life philosophy.

"The TV play 'Ten Years of Love' is perfect for young people like me," said Bilguun, who works for a company in Ulan Bator. "I feel deeply about the drama's special emphasis on family ties," he added.