22 September 2026 News

Entertainment : Virtual digital humans are becoming deeply embedded in China’s film, television, and short-drama industries. SunWei, founder of Shenzhen-based FeixiangUniverse Gongzuoshi (FeixiangUniverse工作室), led a team that used the facial likeness of 38-year-old veteran actor Chen Yilong as a foundation, capturing his expressions through authorized real-person data collection to generate a virtual digital human, which then “starred” in an AI-generated film set in the Tang Dynasty — an approach designed to avoid the homogeneity problem caused by biases in AI training data. National Radio and Television Administration data shows that in the first eight months of this year, 430,000 micro short dramas went online in China, with AI-produced dramas accounting for more than 90 percent of that total. Meanwhile, a platform called “AI Yiren Ku (AI艺人库)” launched by iQIYI claims to have attracted more than 100 entertainers and to be capable of boosting a real actor’s annual output from four productions to fourteen; however, the studios of Zhang Ruoyun and Yu Hewei, as well as Wang Churan’s fan support club, all issued urgent statements denying that they had ever authorized the use of their AI likenesses, triggering widespread public skepticism, and iQIYI shares subsequently fell. AI actors “Lin Xiyan” and “Qin Lingyue,” launched by Yaoke Media, were exposed by netizens as having facial features that blend the characteristics of multiple real celebrities, sending the story to the top of trending searches. The recent public appearance of veteran actor Chen Baoguo also prompted online commentary comparing him to AI face-swapping and digital-human technology, with observers noting that such tools cannot replicate the raw intensity he brings to a role — famously described as “stuffing buttons into his eyes.” In the virtual idol space, Zhongshi Beifang (中视北方), a majority-owned subsidiary of China Television Media under China Media Group, used three-dimensional animation technology to produce the China Media Group virtual character “Xiao 8”; the “Hong Yuzhou (虹宇宙)” app under Tianxia Xiu (天下秀) has incubated virtual IP influencers such as “Yu Tai Xian” and “Tiancai Xiaoxiongmao.” AI-native digital singer “Yuri” (尤栗) — incubated by Guyu Qiushi’s AI.TALK and generated end-to-end through ByteDance’s “Ji Meng AI (即梦AI)” multimodal model — shared the stage in Shanghai with Ji Meng AI (即梦AI)’s official virtual human “Aura” on a 99-meter giant screen at a live concert, performing “Ye Shanghai” together and releasing a fully AI-generated music video, marking the first time an AI-native idol has moved from online platforms to a large-scale offline live performance.

Marketing : Digital human anchors and virtual guides are being widely deployed across livestream e-commerce, cultural tourism promotion, and exhibition marketing scenarios in China. In digital rural construction, AI digital human anchors provide round-the-clock coverage of e-commerce livestream rooms, promoting distinctive rural agricultural products and showcasing intangible cultural heritage handicrafts. At the 23rd China–ASEAN Expo, multilingual digital human anchors brought goods to market in e-commerce livestream rooms, while tourism exhibition areas introduced AI digital human hosts, real-time multilingual translation, and intelligent itinerary planning to drive cultural tourism digital transformation. Wenzhou “Zhongguo Xie Dou AI+ Chuangyisheji Dasai” (温州"中国鞋都AI+创意设计大赛") video competition first-prize work “The 25th Hour of Running” was completed by creator Shen Xinyi utilizing AI digital humans for narrative. In cultural tourism contexts, Chengdu’s Tumi Changyou Zhineng Keji (Chengdu) (途咪畅游智能科技(成都)有限公司) collaborated with Hanchengshi Wenhua He Lvyouju (韩城市文化和旅游局), leveraging its proprietary “Tumi Binddao” large language model to create a “Sima Qian AI digital human avatar,” enabling visitors to engage in cross-temporal Q&A interactions with the “Grand Historian” while providing digital avatars and referral commission systems for tour guides and travel agencies. Baidu’s full-scenario digital human platform “Baidu Yijing (百度一镜)” partnered with Zhengzhou Bowuguan (郑州博物馆) and Hanwei Luoyang Gucheng Yizhi Bowuguan (汉魏洛阳故城遗址博物馆), using AI script and short animated drama capabilities to let museum collection artifacts “speak and tell stories,” simultaneously launching a business opportunity marketplace for script video supply-demand matching. Taiyuanshi Chayuan Hou Shequ (太原市察院后社区) also organized specialized AI short-video e-commerce training to teach community women skills including AI digital human livestreaming operations to broaden home-based entrepreneurship channels. Additionally, multiple A-share listed companies have deployed digital human platforms as marketing and customer service tools: Tianwei Shixun (天威视讯) launched television AI voice digital human customer service; Guangdong Guangzhou Daily Media launched the “Guangdong Guangzhou Daily Media AI digital human platform” and produced a full-process AI city promotional video “The Legend of the Five Rams”; Hebei Broadcasting and Television Wireless Media completed digital human image capture and modeling, skeletal motion binding and interactive engine development, enabling digital humans to integrate into pan-screen applications such as IPTV set-top boxes; Nuwaai’s “NuwaAI” intelligent agent digital human cloud service platform launched digital human “Li Bai” in Gankeng Ancient Town, Longgang, Shenzhen, achieving poetry recitation, cross-genre rock performances and stand-up comedy interactions while driving offline consumption; Puyuan Cailiao (璞源材料) created virtual character “Boling Yi” with a botanist persona as its brand image.

Enterprise : Enterprises in the financial and real estate sectors are adopting digital twins as tools for efficiency improvement and presentation. Lujin Suo Konggu (陆金所控股) is advancing the establishment of a dedicated consumer finance team while completing rectification and optimizing its management structure, and leveraging the AI tool “digital twin” to empower omnichannel sales and enhance the efficiency of its direct sales team. Changan Xintuo (长安信托) and Kingsoft Office WPS 365 co-created the “Chang’an Smart Engine” intelligent office platform, which relies on the intelligent agent platform, knowledge base, and “digital twin” capabilities provided by WPS Comate to implement five high-frequency business scenarios including process review, risk monitoring, contract management, intelligent office assistant, and intelligent data inquiry, with individual scenarios taking as little as approximately two weeks from co-creation to pilot rollout. In the urban renewal sector, Gao He Ziben (高和资本) executive partner Su Xin delivered the opening remarks at the “2026 Ninth Urban Renewal Asset Management Annual Conference” using his AI digital human, discussing issues such as land tenure renewal, district renewal accounting balance, and asset value enhancement. In manufacturing intelligence, enterprises have deployed “S&OP digital humans” integrated with ERP systems to alleviate insufficient inventory during peak seasons and excess inventory during off-seasons, and to bridge information asymmetries in production-sales coordination.

Cultural : In government affairs and public cultural service scenarios, digital humans are being positioned as local IPs and narrators. Lianjiangxian (连江县) Fujian, led by the National Bureau of Statistics Lianjiang Investigation Team, has partnered with the county statistics bureau, integrated media center, and science association to jointly establish a “Digital Smart Integrated Media Innovation Center,” collectively creating the digital human “Xiaolian” as the county’s original statistics IP and regularly launching “Statistics Science Popularization Mini Classroom” for statistics education. Quanzhoushi (泉州市) Fujian has upgraded the government service digital human “Xiaoquan” to version 2.0 at the administrative service center, constructing a user historical case data model and automatically generating personalized “quick service” recommendation lists, compressing authentication procedure time by over 90 percent. At Nanjingnongyedaxue (南京农业大学)’s 2026 freshman welcome gala, a virtual digital human served as host, making school spirit concrete, personified, and digitalized, performing alongside traditional opera and recitation programs.

Education : Universities are introducing virtual humans into teaching and administrative scenarios. Dongwudaxue (东吴大学) in Taiwan has launched an “Artificial Intelligence Forward-looking Application Center” with support from alumni donations, deploying NVIDIA H200 AI servers and integrating holographic projection technology to create a virtual human “Soochow Avatar Vice Chancellor Zhan” as an AI avatar of Chancellor Chan Chien-lung, engaging with guests in generative AI interactive Q&A sessions at the launch ceremony, and planning to allow students to participate in AI application development through coursework and specialized projects. Xinbeishi (新北市)’s “Smart Technology Literacy and Programming Design Innovation Application Competition” is hosted by Taiwan Xiaoyuan Rengongzhihui Jiaoyu Xiehui (台湾校园人工智慧教育协会), marking the first introduction of an AI digital human to lead the opening and closing remarks of the awards ceremony, with association chairman Wu Bizhong delivering remarks in digital human form, emphasizing that education in the AI era should not focus solely on scores. Huadongshifandaxue (华东师范大学) presented proposals at its undergraduate teaching work conference to construct general education courses and “digital human MOOCs” as key priorities in professional, curriculum, and teaching material development.

Technology : Virtual humans and digital avatars are becoming core showcase content at major technology exhibitions and content production platforms. At Yunqi Conference, Alibaba (阿里巴巴) unveiled “Qianwen Bangong (千问办公),” creating a green octopus-shaped Agent exhibition companion called “Qianzi” that supports attendees in bringing their own Agents (digital avatars) into the venue to obtain exclusive digital identities, marking what is called the world’s first Agent Native technology conference. Director Lu Chuan brought an AIGC short film teaser titled “History·Scene” produced by Shuzhiyuan Yule Keji Jituan (数智猿娱乐科技集团), which reconstructs a Ming Dynasty “Wang Gongchang Incident” scene based on Alibaba’s video generation model. Alibaba (阿里巴巴)’s video generation model technical lead Ge Tiezheng stated that in the future they will continue to enhance Agentic Video capabilities. In AI film and television production vertical tool assessments, Mo Fa You Yan (魔珐有言) focuses on enterprise-grade digital human video creation, with professional accumulation in digital human image generation, lip-sync, and motion driving, suitable for batch production of digital human explanatory and brand promotion videos. iQIYI’s self-developed “Nadou Pro (纳逗Pro)” platform integrates close to 30 models including Seedance 2.5 and MiniMax H3, providing a digital asset library for creator access. Additionally, “Yiqi Jian (一起剪)” AI copywriting-to-video tool provides AI digital human driving functionality, intelligently controlling lip and motion movements to adapt to voiceover scenarios. Guangxian Chuanmei (光线传媒)’s affiliated company Qiwei Keji (七维科技) customized a generative AI toolkit (AI Studio) for it that includes digital human technology for film and television production. Xiaomi (小米) 18 Pro series’ “AI Baibian Beiping (AI百变背屏)” supports users in freely generating with AI custom application cards and cartoon virtual avatars such as cute pets and IP characters displayed on screen, officially called “Hundred-Change Funny Machine,” reflecting the widespread application of virtual images on consumer electronics terminals.

Ethical Contexts : Ethical and regulatory issues brought about by virtual human technology continue to attract attention in China. Netizens posted on Weibo questioning whether the account “就安静的待著” was suspected to be a digital human, citing abnormalities in its posting characteristics, traditional Chinese characters, and Taiwan IP address, which sparked public discussion about the authenticity of social media accounts. AI emotional companionship services targeting minors have become a regulatory focus. Both the “State Council Regulations on Safeguarding the Healthy and Safe Internet Use by Minors (Draft for Public Comment)” and the “Interim Measures for Managing Anthropomorphic Interactive AI Services” that have already been implemented explicitly prohibit network service providers from providing minors with intimate relationship services such as virtual relatives and virtual partners, and from targeting service goals at replacing social interaction or inducing addiction and dependency. On the AI companion hardware manufacturing end, a Guangdong Jinsanwanmei (金三玩美) factory applies open-source large models such as ChatGPT to the MetaBox series of silicone dolls, endowing them with human-like dialogue and emotional response capabilities. Nearly ninety percent of the silicone dolls exported from this factory are sold to overseas markets including the United States, Germany, and Japan, and it supplies Cybrothel, described as Berlin’s “world’s first AI intimate experience space.” On the law enforcement front, Yuyaoshi (余姚市) Public Security Bureau in Zhejiang investigated and solved a case of profiting from generating obscene images using an AI virtual lover application “OchatAI_bot”. Six developers including the initiator, surnamed Zheng, were apprehended and sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment by Yuyaoshi (余姚市) Court on charges of profiting from producing obscene materials. The application featured built-in virtual interactive characters such as flight attendants and white-collar workers and supported users in customizing exclusive virtual avatars. During its operating period, it generated over 370,000 images, with case-related amounts totaling more than 170,000 yuan. The “Food Safety Risk Control Checklist” for online food sales issued by State Administration for Market Regulation also targeted rectification of false promotional practices by a Beijing company utilizing AI virtual humans for live streaming to claim that ordinary food products have health-preserving effects. The “AI-Generated Advertising Compliance Guidelines” released by Chengdushi Shichang Jiandu Guanliju (成都市市场监督管理局) explicitly stipulates that AI-generated synthetic virtual digital images of identifiable natural persons shall not be used for advertising and marketing without consent, virtual digital images shall not be used to provide recommendations for medical treatments, pharmaceuticals, health foods and other products that are not permitted for endorsement, and prominently marked identifiers such as “This advertisement uses AI virtual humans” or “This advertisement uses real person virtual digital images” are required.