August 2026 News

31 August News

Sports : During the China (Guizhou) Big Data Expo, the cultural tourism business division of Beijing Yinhe Tongyong Jiqiren (北京银河通用机器人) showcased a Galaxy Space Capsule robotic retail point, with a cabin area of approximately 16 square meters, providing fully autonomous service through self-developed robots. The capsule can sell snacks, beverages, coffee, cultural and creative ice cream and other goods, and can explain Guizhou’s local culture to tourists through interactive forms such as dialect and English, serving as a “city culture ambassador.” The space capsule has been deployed at ten core landmarks in Guiyang including Qianling Mountain Park, Qingyan Ancient Town, and Huaguoyuan, and Yinhe Tongyong (银河通用) will further release the world’s first embodied intelligence real-scene real-practice action plan in the cultural tourism consumption field at a China (Guizhou) Big Data Expo China-Thailand digital economy exchange activity, in collaboration with Guian Xinqu (贵安新区) and Guizhou Yidong (贵州移动). The Semi-Automated Offside Technology (SAOT) established high-precision 3D digital twins for 1,263 competing players in the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In case of controversial rulings, the system can generate three-dimensional animations within 3 seconds, intuitively displaying players’ body postures, running trajectories and spatial relationships. Chinese referee Fu Ming, who participated in the refereeing of this World Cup, commented on this technology, emphasizing that the core significance of technology-assisted officiating lies in “restoring fairness to football matches.”

Cultural : At the opening ceremony of the “Fire-Quenched Azure—When Guangzhou Enamel Meets Cloisonné” exhibition at Guangzhoushi Wenhuaguan (广州市文化馆), Lingnanwenhua Da Moxing Shiyanshi (岭南文化大模型实验室) unveiled the digital human “Zhang Jiuling” as AI host, modeled through high-precision facial expression capture and muscle simulation technology, employing a real-time lip-sync driving algorithm based on deep learning to achieve facial expressions and linguistic delivery highly approximating human authenticity; the digital human possesses mature interactive capabilities, allowing audiences to explore topics such as poetry, history, and Lingnan customs through interactive screens, with future expansion into scenario-based tools including intelligent narration, thematic guidance, immersive teaching, and cultural IP operations. At China (Guizhou) Big Data Expo 2026, “City of Music—Virtual Digital Human Music IP Zhengyang” was officially released, the digital human modeled after Li Yang, a Chinese new-generation heavy music artist, integrating heavy metal rock essence with digital technology, possessing a complete original music system and world-building story IP, adopting dual online-offline operational driving, accumulating followers online through short videos, music releases, mini-dramas, and animated series, while offline planning normalized resident performances in virtual theaters, and increasing exposure through Guiyang Aotizhongxin (贵阳奥体中心) exterior facade projection and holographic projection methods; Guiyang Wenhuachanye Jituan (贵阳文化产业集团有限公司), Guizhou Gaosu Chuanmei (贵州高速传媒有限公司), Guizhou Wosi Keji (贵州沃斯科技有限公司) and Li Yang jointly signed a strategic cooperation agreement, with Li Yang providing original music content and industry resources, Wosi Keji (沃斯科技) providing digital human modeling and AI-driven technology, and Guiyang Wenhuachanye Jituan and Guizhou Gaosu Chuanmei forming joint task forces responsible for IP implementation and commercial operations. At the opening of the Beijing Daxing Caiyu Grape Season and inaugural Fashion Carnival, the digital national-style dance “Eternal Happiness·Song Dynasty Charm and Lantern Shadows” was performed with national-style dancers and virtual digital humans sharing the stage, with real and virtual interwoven to present the combination of Song elegance and ancient charm with modern digital creativity; the event also unveiled Caiyu’s exclusive IP digital ambassador “Digital Caiyu Berry (数字采小萄)” and “Fashion Caiyu Berry (时尚采小萄),” completing the opening ceremony through bare-eye 3D technology. A life memorial hall in Chongqing invested 170 million RMB to create “metaverse farewell service,” requiring only a photograph paired with 4 seconds of voice for AI to generate a lifelike “digital human” image, allowing the deceased to bid farewell to relatives and friends in digital human form, equipped with 270-degree immersive panoramic projection technology.

Public Sector and Social Services : Neimenggu Kexie (内蒙古科协) and 13 other units are hosting the 2026 National Science Popularization Month Inner Mongolia Main Venue Activity and the inaugural “Green Orange i Science Popularization” Carnival at Neimenggu Kejiguan (内蒙古科技馆), where Inner Mongolia’s science popularization IP image ambassador AI digital human “Niu Xiaoxing” appears on screen alongside a human host in virtual-real interaction, jointly hosting the opening ceremony and co-presenting the science and technology dance “Wings of the Future” with robots and dance performers. Yunnan’s 2026 Financial Education Publicity Week will officially launch on September 8, with the offline opening ceremony held at Yunnan Shifandaxue (云南师范大学), where scenario sketches, AI consumer protection digital humans, and other forms will be combined with content featuring cross-border labor connections at the Ruili port and warm-sun volunteer services for the disabled to showcase Yunnan’s local characteristics, aimed at enhancing financial consumer rights protection awareness in border regions. At the 2026 State-Owned Enterprise Open Day activity hosted by the China Unicom Shaanxi branch (中国联通陕西省分公司), a “Green Internet·Protect Youth Growth” network protection themed education program targeting minors is simultaneously underway, with on-site interactive experience sessions featuring naked-eye 3D, AI digital humans, and low-altitude economy hands-on activities to popularize network security knowledge to young people through digital technology.

Text-to-Video and Short Drama : The AI short drama “The Girl Who Got Laid Off” virtual lead actress “Fang Taozi” graced the cover of Shishang COSMO (时尚COSMO)’s “COSMO CRUSH” digital column on August 27, wearing Fendi’s fall-winter 2026 ready-to-wear collection and Tiffany jewelry, becoming the first AI actress to unlock covers across China’s five major women’s magazines. The drama has accumulated between 200 million to 360 million views across the internet, and Fang Taozi amassed 400,000 to 510,000 followers within 30 days of debut. Her advertising rates for videos exceeding 60 seconds reached 258,000 yuan, surpassing numerous influencers with millions or even tens of millions of followers. This cover shoot was created by director Feifei Fei’s creative team, which employed high-precision facial details and “living-person realism” design (such as dark circles and facial moles) to avoid homogenized “AI faces.” However, the cover subsequently sparked controversy over “face-blending,” with some arguing that her facial features blended the facial features of real celebrities including Komatsu Nana, Minji, and Hanni. The official Weibo subsequently closed the comment section. Previously, Fang Taozi was removed from shelves and transferred to Chuzhoushi Langyaqu Shichang Jianguanju (滁州市琅琊区市场监管局) for handling after being accused of false advertising while endorsing a Jianguo Li (坚果力) color contact lens brand (contact lenses are classified as Class III medical devices, yet the AI virtual person with no real eyeballs claimed “very comfortable to wear all day”). This incident exposed legal gaps in AI virtual person endorsements regarding legal subject qualifications and liability attribution. Real-life star Qi Wei recently launched her personal official digital avatar “Han Qingxia” and opened up her image for standardized licensing. Through AI technology, she produced a post-apocalyptic themed short drama demo, sparking widespread controversy focused on promotional footage scale, filming decision attribution, and content review responsibility division. Multiple celebrities have previously attempted similar licensing models, including Hong Kong actress Joey Wong (王祖贤) licensing her image for the AI promotional short film “Ethereal Shadow” to interpret the classic characters Nie Xiaoqian and Bai Suzhen, Wu Qihua licensing his 20-year-old image for AI short films, and 92-year-old actor You Benchang licensing his digital image to AI micro short drama “Ji Gong: The Counterfeit Dragon Subduer” while serving as art director himself. The AI short drama “The Accident” went viral for its modeling effect, with audiences praising it as “not looking like AI.” The creators refined the characters’ facial muscle movement and micro-expression changes through tens of thousands of iterations, avoiding the common pitfalls of “stiff expressions and monotonous uniformity” prevalent in current AI short dramas. The drama tells an American high school campus story with character settings as a baseball team captain and a studious good girl, earning praise through meticulous modeling and character aesthetics that align with young audiences’ preferences. In China’s new e-commerce sector, digital human livestreaming has become industry-standard technology. JD.com digital human anchors cost only one-tenth of real human anchors, enabling round-the-clock streaming. They have cumulatively served over 70,000 merchants, with broadcast volume in the first quarter of 2026 surging tenfold year-on-year, and digital human livestream sales transactions exceeding 70 million yuan. However, due to lacking trust and emotional connection, and insufficient complex interaction capabilities (AI customer service can only resolve 20%-30% of pre-sale inquiries), digital humans cannot yet completely replace real anchors, with the industry exhibiting a “digital humans for efficiency, real people for trust” human-machine collaboration model.

30 August News

Character IP and Content Generation : Beijing Nike Juzhen Keji (北京尼客矩阵科技有限公司), as a subsidiary of Kelan Ruanjian (科蓝软件), jointly forms Kelan Ruanjian (科蓝软件)’s AI robot business matrix together with Shenzhen Kelan Jinxin Keji Fazhan (深圳科蓝金信科技发展有限公司), Dalu Yundun Dianzi Renzheng Fuwu (大陆云盾电子认证服务有限公司) and others. The HarmonyOS intelligent high-end cabinet robot “Xiaolan (小蓝)” independently developed by Kelan Ruanjian (科蓝软件) supports digital humans, facial recognition, remote video teller and other features, having already landed applications in bank branch scenarios and improved branch intelligence levels by combining digital currency exchange services. Gege AI (歌歌AI) (located in Yunnan, relying on the Caiyun Hui Sci-Tech Innovation Competition platform), co-founder Wang Shupei shared “AI music creation industrialization pathways” at the Yangtze River Delta divisional semifinal. Its core products support conversational creation, voice cloning, and “creation as distribution” functionality, enabling users to generate personalized voice models from 30-second a cappella singing for use in original performances and digital avatars. The platform is also building a national ethnic music data asset library to advance digital protection and inheritance of Yunnan’s traditional ethnic music. Founder and CEO Long Yongqiang emphasized that creators’ expression rights and revenue rights should not be diluted by technology. Beisen (北森) (Beijing) launched an all-in-one AI HR expert platform Mavens at the Fourth User Hero Conference. Its AI talent officer “distills” CHO (Chief Human Resources Officer) people-viewing logic, constructing a stereoscopic “talent profile” based on employee HR full-lifecycle data, becoming a talent expert and CHO digital avatar that managers can invoke at any time. Beisen (北森) co-founders and CEO Ji Weiguo and CTO and Chief AI Officer Sun Jiang respectively expounded the “carbon-silicon human resources mixed formation” concept of “real HR commanding digital HR.” The platform’s underlying layer relies on SenGPT and SenClaw technologies and integrated HR SaaS and People Science systems. Currently, Beisen (北森) AI customers have exceeded 1,500. Guangdayinhang (光大银行) Vice President Yang Wenhua stated at the bank’s mid-2026 earnings call that Guangdayinhang (光大银行) is extracting expert experience across various fields to build AI digital avatars for professional positions, forming a new human-machine collaborative operational paradigm and advancing “three-new” intelligent banking construction featuring new traffic flow, new services, and new risk control. Pufayinhang (浦发银行) Shenzhen Branch released the “Pusuan (浦算)” series Huawei HarmonyOS ecosystem product service system through “digital humans” at the 2026 HarmonyOS Ecosystem Investment and Financing Forum, providing comprehensive financial services to HarmonyOS ecosystem enterprises. FaceUnity recently obtained a patent titled “GPU Neuron Skeleton Extraction Method Based on Topological Streamlined Trunk Growth,” which relates to underlying algorithms for digital human skeleton modeling.

Digital Assistants and Enterprise Agent Applications : Sike (思科) (Cisco) has made progress in enterprise-level digital twin applications, announcing on August 27 local time the deployment of personal AI Agents MyAgent to approximately 90,000 employees globally. The system evolved from Sike (思科) internal Circuit platform and possesses capabilities including persistent memory, intent-driven operation, and cross-system execution, enabling task coordination across applications such as Outlook, Webex, Jira, and SharePoint. Sike (思科) Chief Operating Officer Thimaya Subaiya stated that its positioning is to extend employee capabilities through personal Agents rather than replace employees. MyAgent has connected over 800 specialized Agents, with Circuit platform’s agentic interactions showing sequential growth approaching 350%. Domestically, Kelan Ruanjian (科蓝软件) disclosed in its 2026 mid-year report that its self-developed “Moju (魔聚)” large model aggregation platform now supports mainstream large models including DeepSeek, Qwen, GLM, and Huawei Pangu integration, and has launched PowerAgent enterprise-grade large model application platform, covering scenarios such as intelligent compliance, inclusive finance, intelligent marketing, and intelligent customer service, forming “Moju (魔聚)+PowerAgent” dual AI engine architecture. The company has also introduced “Intelligent Customer Manager Assistant,” providing relationship managers in banks’ retail business lines with intelligent agent applications integrating customer insights, marketing recommendations, and service support.

Ethics and Regulation : Facial transaction and AI face-swapping technologies have become focal points of public concern regarding financial security risks. A bank employee listed a portrait on the facial transaction platform “Xinzhao (新爪)” and had it purchased seven times by the same advertising company within three days, earning nearly 2,500 yuan after platform commission deduction at 500 yuan per authorization. Xinzhao (新爪) founder Yu Zilin disclosed this case. Domestic representative facial authorization platforms also include Yuanxiang Xinsheng (元相新生) and Mirafans Jingjie (Mirafans镜界). After authorization holders upload portraits, platforms conduct professional collection and packaging, allowing producers to filter and pay for use by dimensions such as gender, age, and style. However, since facial information constitutes biometric information with uniqueness and immutability, risks upon disclosure are extremely high. In a typical case disclosed by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China’s credit card public account, citizen Liu was victimized when fraudsters hijacked the public promotional video image of a bank relationship manager and used AI face-swapping technology to synthesize fraudulent images impersonating bank personnel, using “fund verification” tactics to induce him to download a designated app and enable screen sharing, resulting in credit card theft and losses exceeding 200,000 yuan. Xue Zhihui, expert at the Artificial Intelligence Security Governance Committee of the China Cyberspace Security Association, explained that AI face-swapping fraud typically involves five key steps: facial recognition tracking, facial feature extraction, facial transformation fusion, background environment rendering, and image-audio synthesis. A case reported by Changsha Yuhua District People’s Court in March 2026 showed that university student Wu used AI technology to transform a victim’s static photograph into a dynamic video passable through payment verification, stealing over 50,000 yuan within three months and ultimately receiving a sentence of one year and ten months. In 2024, Fu illegally logged into 23 victims’ financial platform payment accounts through AI face-swapping software and was sentenced to four years and six months. Regarding the AI performer Fang Taozi’s endorsement of colored contacts advertisement, lawyers pointed out that AI virtual persons lack civil subject status and cannot become statutory advertisement endorsers, but the operating companies and advertisers behind them must still bear legal responsibility for advertisement authenticity. The involved colored contacts brand “Jianguo Li (坚果力)” and Anhui Huaxin Qiye Guanli (安徽花信企业管理有限公司) related matters have been transferred to Chuzhou Langya District Market Supervision and Administration Bureau for handling. Beijing Hulianwang Fayuan (北京互联网法院) previously clarified in an AI companion software infringement case that if the overall characteristics of an AI-generated image cause the public to experience emotional resonance with interaction with a specific natural person, it constitutes infringement of personality rights—a determination standard widely cited in analyzing Fang Taozi’s “face-fusion” dispute and AI short drama “face-fusion” infringement risks. Beijing-based advertising actress Ms. Feng discovered that an AI manhua account “Baizhou Yu Jia (白昼与茄)” produced by the media company OST Chuanmei (OST传媒) featured a female protagonist image highly overlapping with her friend’s circle photography, suspecting “face-fusion” and publicly engaging in rights protection. The media company’s account operator “Daytime” denied the allegation and has filed a defamation suit with Chengdu Railway Transport First Court, and as of press time the two parties have not reached consensus. Beijing Xingquan Lvshi Shiwusuo (北京星权律师事务所) attorney Deng Yile pointed out that the core standard for determining AI virtual image portrait infringement is “identifiability”—whether the general public can uniquely and stably correspond the AI-generated image to a specific natural person, while ordinary individuals compared to public figures face greater practical difficulties in rights protection and evidence presentation due to lacking baseline recognition. Sichuandaxue Faxueyuan (四川大学法学院) Professor Wang Zhu predicted at the 2026 annual conference of the Civil Procuratorate Specialized Committee of the China Law Society’s Procuratorial Studies Research Association that personal information disputes, online legal conduct disputes, artificial intelligence disputes, and cyberbullying disputes will become four types of digital domain cases that procuratorial organs will focus on for civil supervision during the “Fifteenth Five-Year Plan” period. He particularly proposed the concept of “digitally-intelligent standard phenotype personality rights protection,” involving misuse risks of online personality identifiers such as faces, usernames, accounts, and virtual images.

29 August News

Entertainment : China’s AI short-drama industry experienced explosive growth and profound restructuring in 2026, with AI actors evolving from characters dependent on individual episodes into independent digital artists with long-term operational potential. The female lead “Fang Taozi” from the AI short drama “The Girl Who Got Laid Off” has become a benchmark case. Created by director Feifei Fei’s team, the character accumulated over 360 million plays on Douyin. After opening an independent social media account, Fang Taozi gained 510,000 followers within 30 days, with advertising rates for videos exceeding 60 seconds reaching 258,000 yuan, surpassing numerous real-person influencers. In August 2026, she graced the cover of the COSMO CRUSH column under a product (时尚COSMO), becoming the first AI actor to unlock covers across China’s five major women’s magazines. However, a contact lens advertisement she endorsed was taken offline following criticism of false advertising due to “AI’s inability to truly experience products,” and her image was alleged to have “face-blended” with real-life celebrities including Chiyawa Matsukana, Minji, and Hanni. The ancient-style AI manhua-drama “Green Plum by the Inkstone” created the character Yan Jiming, drawing inspiration from Tang dynasty calligrapher Yan Zhenqing’s “Sacrificial Letter to My Nephew.” The work exceeded 40 million heat ratings on the Red Fruit platform and collaborated with an organisation (西安碑林博物馆) and an organisation (石家庄文旅) to launch co-created videos, allowing the AI character to carry cultural transmission functions. The AI couple account “Yanxu” formed with Li Youwei maintained continuous interactive engagement. a company (天猫) packaged AI actor Duan Yan as an “AI close friend” in its Qixi advertising campaign, yet faced criticism for model fusion of multiple characters and use of “stolen voices.” Simultaneously, AI short dramas severely impacted real-life actors: actor Li Dongyuan disclosed that male lead roles in short dramas commanded only 200 yuan per day, contrasting sharply with top-tier performer Ke Chun’s daily rate of 80,000 to 100,000 yuan. The number of real-person short-drama productions launched in Hengdian plummeted by approximately 75 year-over-year, with over 70 percent of short-drama actors falling into semi-unemployment. Some have switched careers to street vending or selling cold noodles to make a living. Chengdu has seen the emergence of “face-selling” businesses where AI digital companies purchase facial image rights from ordinary people and actors to input into models. One bank employee had her image rights purchased seven times within three days, earning nearly 2,500 yuan. The Chengdu platform “a product (新爪)” facilitated nearly 70 transactions within two months of launch. a company (虎鲸文娱集团) chairman and CEO Fan Luyuan maintains the “AI is a tool, humans are irreplaceable” approach, nurturing young actors through “a product (虎鲸超越班)” to counter AI’s impact. Beijing-based advertising actress Ms. Feng and the production company a company (OST传媒) of the AI manhua-drama “a product (白昼与茄)” became embroiled in a “face-blending” copyright Rashomon, with both sides filing lawsuits against each other, highlighting real-world difficulties in determining image rights for AI-generated characters. In Hong Kong, the inaugural “Smart Film List” AIGC film and television competition co-hosted by a company (Scene Score AI) and an organisation (ZODA) saw gold-standard manager Huang Baigao serve as a judge. Shortlisted works included “Weird Records—The Jealous Flame” produced by Zhuang Simin and “10 Days Without Going Home,” directed by Tu Tingjun and starring the AI digital persona of actor Shen Zhenxuan. Additionally, AI child-comfort short dramas “Maomao” and “Little Hammer” have gone viral among youth audiences, using gentle narratives to counter traditional satisfying-drama overcompetition.

Cultural Heritage and Tourism : Multiple regions are introducing AI digital humans to cultural and tourism projects to expand immersive experiences and cultural dissemination scenarios. The an organisation (国家海洋博物馆) “Future Ocean” digital-smart exhibition hall in Tianjin Binhai New District has introduced AI digital human guides that, combined with digital twins and interactive light-and-shadow technology, transform marine research achievements into perceptible immersive experiences. Vice Director Wang Long of the hall stated the aim is to guide visitors from “passive viewing” to “active exploration.” In the “Cloud Jizhou” immersive promotional activity in Tianjin Jixian District, AI digital humans delicately present the historical heritage of ancient temples, and together with storytelling and folk ballad formats comprehensively showcase local cultural and tourism appeal. The “Check In Drum West·Stroll Slanted Street” cultural consumption activity in Beijing Xicheng District has upgraded its a product (云鼓西) mini-program, launching a cartoon virtual image “Drum West West” as the street district’s cultural recommendation officer, providing voice navigation and merchant discount inquiry services while telling the hutong stories of Drum Tower West Street. Jiangsu’s “Su Nong Quality Products·Agricultural Sentiments Through Four Seasons” agricultural brand short video collection activity provides excellent shortlisted brands with public welfare experience accounts on digital human short video platforms, guiding agricultural product brand entities in applying digital human short video production and AIGC digital marketing content generation. Heilongjiang has created a an organisation (明水县人民法院) “a product (明法知行社)” digital learning room, with customized AI digital human lectures as its core highlight, exploring digital empowerment in team building. At the Hangzhou Asian Games opening ceremony, over 100 million online users transformed into “digital torch bearers,” converging through blockchain technology into a massive “digital person” that, together with on-site torch bearer Wong Shun, jointly lit the main torch tower, marking the first digital torch bearer relay in Asian Games history.

Marketing and Brand Endorsement : Enterprises and brands have widely adopted AI digital avatars as marketing and content production tools. Casual snack company Qiaqia Food has launched the industry’s first proprietary brand digital spokesperson “Chacky,” positioned as the “Chief Happiness Sharing Officer” and “inheritor of traditional sunflower seed techniques in Sunflower Town,” simultaneously releasing a debut single titled “The World Chachas Together,” and plans to cover five major scenarios including offline showroom interactions, brand craft education, e-commerce intelligent shopping guides, online customer service, and live streaming operations. Apparel brand a company (比音勒芬) disclosed in its first-half financial report that the company has built an “AI content factory” through AIGC images, AI video, digital avatar live streaming, and GEO marketing technologies to enhance brand exposure and awareness, with e-commerce channel revenue increasing 101.93% year-over-year. Yiwu’s “digital female boss” Fu Jiangyan leverages an AI mini-program to generate digital avatar images supporting 36 languages, raising the export proportion of her sock business to 90%, with products sold to over 100 countries and regions. a company (吉林瑞雅国际贸易集团) extends its sales network to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Russia, and the Americas by relying on 200 standardized live streaming studios and a content production foundation composed of AI digital avatars and an AI content factory. a company (中科通量) has launched a lightweight version of a product (OmniMate BOX) AI digital employee, adopting a “distributed edge computing mainframe plus existing screens” modular architecture, providing digital avatar interaction services to offline locations such as telecom business halls, bank branches, and automobile 4S shops, lowering the barrier for enterprises to adopt AI digital labor. a company (京东科技)’s a product (京ME协同办公系统) features an “AI intelligent assistant” that serves as a government-exclusive intelligent assistant in digital avatar form, already applied to Beijing’s government collaborative office platform “a product (京办).” a company (楚天龙) independently developed consultation and guidance robot products, leveraging AI virtual digital avatars and integrated large models to create window AI intelligent agents, applied to smart government solutions.

Corporate and Financial Developments : The A-share market’s virtual digital human concept sector continues to remain active, with the sector index reporting 1237.508 points on August 28, up 2%, and trading volume reaching 18.591 billion yuan. Multiple listed companies have disclosed digital human-related business layouts: a company (粤传媒) launched the Guangbao AI digital human platform and produced a full-process AI city promotional video “The Legend of Five Rams”; Hebei Broadcasting and Television Wireless Media innovatively developed an AI-based digital human interactive system, completing image acquisition and modeling, hairstyle and costume design, and skeleton motion binding, with applications in IPTV set-top boxes and OTT terminals; Xinhuanet established the Xinhua Digital Human Laboratory, committed to comprehensive digital human research and operations; Guomai Culture launched digital intelligent virtual persons “Aileen Irene” and “Xiaolin,” shaped after the general manager and employee representatives as corporate digital spokespersons; a company (恒锋信息)’s AI digital human “Xiaofeng” possesses multimodal perception and intelligent decision-making capabilities; a company (生意宝)’s Wangsheng Building AI digital human live streaming base provides digital human customization and multi-platform live streaming services; a company (润和软件) “a product (润信达)” digital renminbi 2.0 product line released a full-dimensional financial ontology system at WAIC; a company (盛天网络)’s AI music social app “a product (给麦)” launched AI virtual person podcast functionality, while the “a product (带带电竞)” platform plans virtual person real-time voice interaction; a company (世纪华通) disclosed in its interim report game business combined with AIGC technology to create dynamic NPC personalities and digital human IP economic ecosystems. Digital Domain (00547.HK) virtual person service revenue plummeted from 53.453 million Hong Kong dollars to 0.932 million Hong Kong dollars, a decline exceeding 98%, with the company exchanging its virtual person business unit as assets for a company (Crisp Momentum Inc.), and interim losses expanding to 92.72 million Hong Kong dollars. Global Digital Creations Holdings Limited (08271.HK) engaged in animated film and digital virtual human subcontracting businesses, saw its stock price fall 12.5% that day.

Enterprise and Vocational Training : Digital human technology is accelerating its penetration into enterprise training and vocational education sectors. The first provincial party newspaper group’s artificial intelligence application standards mentioned that digital human instructors are being deployed to address pain points in professional training such as scarce teaching resources and lagging feedback, achieving efficient conversion from text lesson plans to structured courses. a company (山东中开数字科技集团) mentioned in provincial data training class sharing that its “Rizhao University Town OPC Entrepreneurship Community” incubates lightweight entrepreneurial projects including AI comics, digital human operations, and dataset processing, driving dual-wheel development of “employment plus entrepreneurship.” In the Jiangsu Yancheng Dongting Yuandian OPC Community, a company (东台市龙辰盛业影视传媒有限公司)’s principal Mo Anchen led a team engaged in AI short drama creation, leveraging computing power voucher subsidies provided by the community to substantially reduce the computational cost of digital human post-production and multilingual dubbing, compressing the production cycle for individual short dramas by 70%. an organisation (河南牧业经济学院) Foreign Language School’s research team visited an organisation (河南省人工智能展览馆), inspecting the AI virtual human exhibition area and intelligent translation screen equipment, believing that artificial intelligence is driving profound transformation in foreign language education and teaching models.

Ethical and Regulatory Contexts : Regulatory authorities are accelerating the construction of a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital virtual humans. The Digital Virtual Human Information Services Management Measures (Draft for Public Comment) an organisation (世界互联网大会数智研修院) released in April 2026 for the first time established specialized regulations for the production, use, and dissemination of digital virtual humans, requiring separate consent for using natural persons’ sensitive personal information for modeling and image generation, and mandating the deletion of relevant information and deregistration of digital virtual humans after natural persons withdraw their consent. Cyberspace Administration of China The Deputy Director of the Internet Management Technology Bureau, Tang Xin, conducted specialized lectures in Beijing on policy compliance strategies in the fields of generative artificial intelligence, anthropomorphic interactive services, digital virtual humans, and intelligent agents. The AI short drama industry faces rampant infringement chaos: Beijing-based advertising actress Ms. Feng discovered that the female lead character in an AI animated drama produced by a certain media company highly resembles her personal photographs, and the two parties became embroiled in a “face fusion” infringement dispute. After mutual complaints proved unsuccessful, the other party filed a lawsuit alleging defamation. Lawyer Deng Yile pointed out that the core standard for determining image infringement by AI virtual characters is “identifiability”—whether the public can uniquely and stably match an AI-generated image to a specific natural person. However, virtual characters trained on massive facial datasets often lack deliberate targeting toward specific natural persons, and ordinary individuals lacking public recognition face difficulties in providing evidence. a product (新爪), founder of Chengdu face authorization platform, Yu Zilin, revealed that the platform adopts a project-by-project authorization model, believing that ordinary people’s faces represent “the largest gold mine of the future.” However, lawyer Wang Guangying cautioned that face authorization involves dual risks of portrait licensing and sensitive personal information processing, and once biometric data is leaked, it is irreversible. In “AI dating” fraud cases targeting middle-aged and elderly groups, criminal gangs generated false “perfect uncle” personas using AI to attract traffic in live streaming rooms and defraud service fees. Chengdu police have dismantled a 28-person criminal gang involving over one million yuan in illicit proceeds.

28 August News

Entertainment : AI actor Fang Taozi officially appeared on the cover of fashion magazine COSMO on August 27, 2026, becoming the first virtual artist to unlock covers across China’s five major fashion magazines, with the theme “After the Prism” and accompanying topic “The Girl Who Got Laid Off,” endowing the cover with deeper narrative on female self-reconstruction; Fang Taozi originates from the AI short drama “The Girl Who Got Laid Off,” created by director Feifei Fei drawing from her personal industry experience from ages 20 to 27, accumulating 360 million Douyin plays across two seasons, far exceeding most live-action short dramas, with her independent Douyin account surpassing 510,000 followers, characterized as an Aries with ESFP personality, posting life vlogs from a first-person perspective, with her operations team employing mature artist strategies for fan engagement activities and brand placements, with 60-second commercial advertisements priced at 258,000 yuan, benchmarking emerging actors in domestic entertainment; concurrently, ancient-style AI manhua series “Green Plums by the Inkstone” takes Yan Zhenqing’s “Sacrificial Text for the Nephew” as its spiritual origin, with the AI character Yan Jiming achieving over 40 million heat on the Hongguo (红果) short-drama platform and over 800,000 collections, sparking large-scale audience visits to Xi’an Stele Forest Museum and Shijiazhuang cultural tourism sites, with Xi’an Stele Forest Museum’s co-created video garnering 90,000 likes, setting the account’s historical high, making Yan Jiming a representative case of AI short-drama characters promoting cultural-heritage and cultural-tourism collaboration; in August 2026, 62% of industry-leading AI short-drama production teams have prepared proprietary AI character asset libraries, with platforms including Douyin and Hongguo launching “digital artist archives” construction, clarifying copyright ownership and revenue-sharing mechanisms; in the AI selection show track, Maiya Media’s (麦芽传媒) AIGC team-produced “12 Constellations Practice” surpassed 200 million plays but showed evident traffic fatigue, while “Star 108” positions 108 AI girls competing for debut slots, essentially positioning itself as an interactive short drama, with both shows failing to cultivate characters with independent fan bases; Bilibili’s “AI Idol Debut Season” attracted nearly 10,000 creator submissions, producing EIKO Aike as a breakout case with circle reputation, with its MV “Performance Improvement Plan” reaching 3.4 million plays; regarding AI short dramas overall, in the first half of 2026 the entire network launched over 221,900 new AI short dramas, with the 100-million-view rate at only 0.47%, AI manhua explosion rate below 0.1%, with over 90% of manhua companies unprofitable, and Bytedance-system platforms controlling primary traffic portals and creation tools including Seedance model and Jimeng AI (即梦); iFLYTEK’s (讯飞) Zhizuo (智作) Video Agent officially launched, allowing users to select built-in digital humans, generate new images via AI or upload photos to recreate digital avatars, supporting intelligent editing and AI-personalized voice cloning, targeting enterprise marketing, e-commerce short videos and self-media dubbing scenarios; regarding AI short-drama overseas expansion, TikTok placement data shows North American placement consumption in May 2026 grew 954% compared to year-start, with China’s AI outbound products including multiple AI character generation and video generation tools, AI video generation applications occupying the most seats in the outbound top 50 rankings, with multiple products including KlingAI and HeyGen on the list; Shengtian Network’s (盛天网络) Daidai Esports (带带电竞) platform has launched AI virtual podcaster functionality and AI virtual companion direction exploration, with its GeiMai app launching AI songwriting, AI image-to-song, AI covers, AI virtual podcaster and other features, with the company’s self-developed VRACEAI platform’s Flow Video AI supporting digital human generation.

Cultural : Yichang Three Gorges Integrated Media Center has created a digital avatar of Qu Yuan, transforming traditional culture into trendy products, with the Temple of Qu Yuan simultaneously employing artificial intelligence and immersive interactive technology to create tangible and perceptible cultural experiences; Yuelu Academy is advancing projects including digital avatar Zhu Xi and a virtual Yuelu Academy, making thousand-year-old culture touchable, perceptible, and experiential; the Fuzhou Tang Xianzu Memorial Museum has launched a digital IP avatar designed based on Tang Xianzu’s self-portrait, integrating Ming Dynasty costume characteristics with cartoonish expression, enabling face-to-face interaction with visitors through interactive large screens; the Sixth Fuzhou Jasmine Flower Tea Culture Festival will commence on September 4, with the AI digital avatar “Fu Duoduo” making a newly upgraded appearance, releasing provincial-level local standards at the opening ceremony and launching complementary interactive content such as emoticon packages; Beijing Xicheng District’s 2026 “Check in Guxi, Stroll Xiajie” cultural consumption activity has launched, introducing the cartoon virtual image “Guxi Xi” as the street district cultural recommendation ambassador, providing voice guidance and merchant discount inquiry services through the upgraded version of the “Cloud Guxi” mini-program, with activities continuing through November; Wuzhen scenic area under China Youth Travel Service has deployed AI digital avatars, live-action performances, and variety show collaborations, with Gubei Water Town launching projects such as the Great Wall Tower light show, integrating culture, tourism, and sports; Guangxi cultural and tourism AIGC innovation task force has integrated digital means including AI digital avatars and visual IP design to empower island cultural and tourism promotion; Lianjiang County Youth League Committee organized the “Youth Intelligence Rural Revitalization Service Team” to conduct an AIGC creativity competition, with participants using AI to generate distinctive copywriting and virtual image design, creating digital IPs for local agricultural products, with cumulative pageviews across the internet exceeding 100,000.

AI Companion : Natural Selection (自然选择), a strategic portfolio company of Kingnet Network (恺英网络), has launched testing of its second AI-native social application “Elys” in 2026 following the rollout of 3D AI digital companion “EVE,” exploring AI avatars and novel social interaction scenarios; the esports platform Daidai under Shengtian Network is leveraging the multimodal generation capabilities of the VRACEAI platform to advance social application exploration from intelligent NPCs to AI virtual companionship; in June 2026, China’s AI virtual character applications reached approximately 16.31 million monthly active users, representing year-on-year growth of 38.08%, with emotional companionship products Maoxiang (猫箱) and Xingye (星野) achieving 30-day retention rates of 74.21% and 66.60% respectively, significantly outperforming industry average levels.

Expert Digital Twins : Economist Fu Peng launched an official AI avatar “Xiaopengpeng” on the Nashnova platform, feeding training data including over 20 years of experience, cognition, logical frameworks, and private corpus accumulated since 1999 such as articles, diaries, research notes, and trading records. Fu Peng personally tested and continuously iterated through questioning and error correction, positioning the evolution from virtual personas that replicate appearance and voice to intelligent agents with knowledge base calling capabilities. Fu Peng stated his vision of having the AI avatar “Xiaopengpeng” host live broadcasts in the future. Stan Shih, founder of Taiwan’s Acer Group, created an AI avatar “Adan,” and at 82 years old remains actively engaged in the AI field, transmitting a lifetime of leadership philosophy through digital avatars for succession, with related content reported in Taiwan media EBC (东森财经) program “International Guide.” Chinese-medicine clinic chain Gushengtang (固生堂) released AI avatars covering multiple core specialties and an AI health assistant Guwa, providing preliminary health consultations for patients and exploring pathways for AI-assisted Chinese medicine pattern differentiation. At a joint research center signing project on energy and AI fusion held in Shanghai, Fudan University and Qiyuan Xindongli (启源芯动力) jointly developed intelligent agents and digital avatars as common technology foundations, conducting joint research focusing on intelligent operation and maintenance and human-machine collaborative services.

Enterprise : SMARCO (中科通量) has launched the OmniMate BOX lightweight AI digital worker, adopting a modular architecture of “edge computing host + audio-video peripherals + existing display terminals.” It connects directly to screens already present at network points via HDMI interface, featuring a domestic RISC-V architecture computing platform with a 12-core CPU and providing INT8 200 TOPS AI computing power. All computation runs in a local closed loop, supporting ad playback during idle time and automatic activation of digital human interaction during busy periods. It can undertake standardized service functions including product explanations, business guidance, and intelligent Q&A, covering scenarios such as telecom business halls, bank outlets, automobile 4S stores, and corporate exhibition halls; Runjian Co., Ltd.’s (润建股份) Quchi (曲尺) platform takes digital humans as one application form, creating the government virtual reception assistant “Xiaoning” deployed in the Nanning Human Resources and Social Security Service Hall, reducing consultation window queue times by approximately 40%; the same platform also launched “Luo’er Lawer,” a China-ASEAN AI legal intelligence agent, applied at the Nanning International Commercial Court; STO Express (申通快递) released the industry’s first intelligent agent platform SClaw, deeply embedding three major scenarios of AI digital customer service, small parcel handler digital avatars, and AI route planning, achieving full AI handling of all work order hotline issues through a “digital customer service + human” collaborative model; Xinhua Insurance’s 95567 official digital human service ambassador can complete product explanations for 16 insurance categories and provide step-by-step guidance for 16 types of online services, serving customers through multimodal video interaction; Venustech (启明星辰) released the “Anxing” intelligent agent product cluster and “Anxing” AI digital human, where Anxing digital smart people undertake repetitive security operations tasks including alert analysis, vulnerability verification, and data compliance inspection, forming benchmark deployment cases in government, telecom operators, and financial industries; Hengfeng Information’s AI digital human “Xiaofeng” supports voice-driven interaction with multi-scenario adaptation capability, used for store guidance and intelligent Q&A, with Liaoning Zhiwei Cloud’s deployment of the Liaoning Human Resources and Social Security digital smart person customer service project reported by the People’s Daily client; Beijing International Human Capital Group’s subsidiary Waiqi Shuke (外企数科) developed digital human images including “HR Miss,” “Aili,” and “Duo Duo Duo,” with capabilities for professional scenario real-time dialogue and body feedback; Rongke Technology’s Shenzhou Shihan Smart Clinic deployed digital human companion diagnosis and AI nursing station display screen innovative functions; Jilin Ruiya International Trade Group Co., Ltd. established 200 standardized livestream rooms in cross-border e-commerce operations, equipped with AI digital humans and AI content factories; Shenzhen Fangzhi Technology Co., Ltd. (方直科技), according to 2024 investor relations activity records, applied emerging technologies including AI digital humans to the education sector, launching AI digitalized training systems and other educational products, with AI digitalized product revenue accounting for 4.70% of main business; Zhenshitong’s (真视通) “Smart Screen” product integrates digital human narration, WeChat robots, and customized knowledge Q&A functions, targeting conference, exhibition hall, trade show, and education industry scenarios; China Tea Haidi (中茶海堤) unveiled the AI digital tea specialist “Hailu” (海鹭) at a new product launch event in Xiamen, supporting voice-driven interaction with multi-scenario adaptation capability, applicable to store guidance, e-commerce livestreaming, and social media, and integrated with large language models for intelligent Q&A; Xiamen food brand Huang Ze He (黄则和) produced approximately 20 AI short dramas for brand traffic acquisition, with recent AI short dramas driving related product sales exceeding 1,000 units; in 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) the “Digital-Friendly Solutions” exhibition area will showcase full-scenario digital human guidance and Q&A solutions, with exhibits from Meituan, Kuaishou, Baidu, and Shumei Wanwu; Shengzhou’s “Fule Si Bianhui” theoretical advocacy activity introduced Doubao (豆包) to debate alongside human debaters, with the activity conducted under the introduction of virtual digital humans presenting human-machine comparative advocacy.

Marketing : Hongxing Co., Ltd. adopts AI digital humans combined with virtual modeling in its R&D and design phase to achieve virtual try-on, completing pattern and fit verification and modification in digital environments. In the marketing content phase, it has implemented AI digital photography and material generation to reduce live-action shooting costs; Meitu’s MVLAND product supports inputting original music and photos with AI automatically matching camera movements to generate cinema-level MVs, with ARPPU reaching 220 yuan, thirteen times that of comprehensive tools; BlueFocus’s (蓝色光标) Blue Universe Digital Technology (蓝色宇宙) possesses benchmark virtual human IPs such as Su Xiaomei and K, providing GEO optimization strategies in scenarios including virtual livestreaming, digital collectibles, and virtual marketing spaces; when outlining four major consumer pitfalls in the beauty and personal care industry, the Beijing Consumer Association pointed out that some merchants utilize AI-generated voice, virtual accounts, and digital human anchors to assume the role of longtime customers in community groups and livestreams, achieving all-day emotional marketing and limited-time promotion, and reminded consumers to guard against such misuse of AI digital humans in fraud scenarios; the Shanghai Digital Advertising Development and Governance Seminar focused on governance issues concerning new models such as virtual digital human endorsements, with Shanghai Market Supervision and Management Bureau Deputy Director Peng Wenhao explicitly listing the refinement of “AI + digital advertising” regulatory mechanisms as an important agenda item; Dexiang Technology’s (得像科技) core product “Smart Teacher Friend” (智师益友) is a training Agent based on AI multimodal practical interaction, integrating digital human technology, and has secured angel round financing.

Ethical and Regulatory Contexts : Hong Kong renowned feng shui master So Man-fung (苏民峰) has been victimized by deepfake videos generated through AI face-swapping and voice-cloning that have proliferated across at least eight YouTube channels. Despite his attempts to file complaints individually, the results have been limited due to cumbersome platform procedures and channels arbitrarily changing names. So pointed out that Hong Kong’s protections for portrait rights and voice copyright are inadequate. YouTuber Ming from Hong Kong also discovered that his voice was replicated by AI for similar content creation and is coordinating with Google to follow up. Lawyer Chan Pak-ho noted that voice infringement presents objective difficulties in legal evidence. The Chengdu facial recognition licensing platform Xinzhua (新爪) has facilitated approximately 70 transactions worth about 40,000 yuan, with platform rules stipulating authorization no lower than 500 yuan per project, adopting a project-based authorization model where purchasers must specify the project name and publication platform, with the platform taking a 30% information service fee. The Guangzhou Internet Court reviewed approximately 700 AI portrait-related lawsuits over three years. In April 2026, the Guangzhou Huangpu Court handed down the country’s first criminal judgment in an AI short-drama infringement case, where two defendants were convicted of copyright infringement for recording and reselling 1,716 AI short dramas. The National Radio and Television Administration has enforced a new mandatory AI micro short-drama filing regulation since April 2026, with Hongguo removing 1,718 non-compliant episodes in the first quarter. The “Micro Short-Drama Development and Management Measures” will take effect on September 1, 2026, implementing a “filing before publication” policy. Qi Wei announced on August 6, 2026, the launch of her personal official AI digital avatar “Han Qingxia,” becoming the first active-duty entertainer in China’s entertainment industry to proactively open her image for standardized AI licensing, adopting a “limited authorization, non-buyout” model where all commercial content requires studio approval, she retains veto power and personally adjusts the avatar’s expressions and movements, with all voiceover done by herself, simultaneously starring in the AI comic series “Last Day Summer,” with controversial scenes in the promotional trailer sparking aesthetic discussions. Joey Wong (王祖贤) licensed her youthful image materials to the game IP “Tianxia” for short films, digital NPCs, and exclusive costumes. Ng Kai-wah authorized his 20-year-old likeness for AI film production. Shenzhen platforms such as ActID have established similar facial recognition trading markets. The “Digital Virtual Human Information Service Management Measures (Draft for Public Comment)” proposes that building models using natural persons’ sensitive personal information requires obtaining individual consent. iiMedia Research’s “2026-2027 China Virtual Digital Human Industry Development and Consumer Behavior Insights Report” shows that China’s virtual digital human market reached 480.6 billion yuan in 2025, with an estimated 935.6 billion yuan by 2030. Multiple celebrities including Kenneth Fok (霍启刚) jointly submitted proposals during the Two Sessions regarding AI deepfake misinformation issues, promoting efforts to rectify the chaos of AI false synthesis. The “Artificial Intelligence Generated Synthetic Content Labeling Measures” took effect on September 1, 2025, requiring AI-generated content to carry corresponding labels.

27 August News

Cultural : Digital human production has been widely applied in China’s cultural, tourism, and celebrity-branding sectors, illustrating both the commercial reach and the ethical friction of virtual persona adoption. Actress Qi Wei launched a personal AI digital twin named “Han Qingxia” (韩清夏), becoming the first Chinese entertainer to openly authorize a standardized AI likeness license, starring in the AI drama “The Last Summer” (末日盛夏); the launch triggered controversy over a “skirt-peeking” camera angle deemed exploitative, prompting Qi Wei to publicly clarify her “limited authorization, not full buyout” model to protect her image rights while acknowledging AI’s advantage in stunt scenes versus human superiority in emotional nuance. In a related controversy, actor Song Weilong’s studio issued a formal statement on August 25 against an AI comic drama that fused his facial features with actress Zhao Liying’s voice into an unauthorized character, citing Civil Code articles 1018, 1019, and 1023 on portrait and voice rights, demanding takedown of content that had already garnered over 100,000 likes. Elsewhere, an AI virtual host named “Fang Taozi,” a character from the AI drama “The Girl Who Got Fired,” faced backlash after claiming in a contact-lens advertisement that the lenses felt “comfortable all day,” prompting legal experts to note that medical device advertising rules bar such AI-generated endorsements and that the ad was removed following public criticism over “an AI with no real eyes claiming eye comfort.” Cultural heritage institutions are also embracing digital humans and AI reconstruction: a project to recreate the ambient street sounds of old alleyways combines multi-track sound sampling, acoustic modeling, and AI synthesis, echoing efforts by Guangdong heritage researchers to digitally “clone” Cantonese opera performers’ vocal techniques and stage movements for preservation. In pop culture, Korean virtual boy group PLAVE announced its 2026 world tour setlist, and IP licensing coverage highlighted a growing wave of “AI virtual person” (虚拟人) collaborations, including a Hanfu-themed brand tie-in between tea chain Chahualong and the virtual music idol group under listening-Chaoge Media (听潮阁传媒), whose members include T.Beiye and T.Jiangtian, and a “Vsinger” collaboration between mobile game Onmyoji and virtual singers Luo Tianyi and Yan He for the game’s tenth anniversary. Judicial and government bodies are using virtual hosts for civic engagement: Panzhihua’s real estate registration center rolled out China’s first fully AI-driven real estate registration agent, “Pan Xiaodeng” (攀小登), which combines a high-fidelity virtual digital human, a dedicated large language model, and cross-department data integration to let citizens complete document reissuance via facial verification and automated form generation without visiting a service counter. Hangzhou’s court system has similarly deployed a virtual anchor, “Hang Xiaofa” (杭小法), for weekly legal-affairs broadcasts, case explainers, and an AI animated video pairing the virtual figure with Song-dynasty poet Su Shi for public legal education, alongside a derivative “Q-version” cartoon mascot. Sichuan’s discipline inspection commission likewise unveiled a virtual host, “Yan Zheng” (严正), appearing as an AI presenter at the launch of the province’s fifth Clean Culture Promotion Month, part of a broader push using VR panoramic displays, AI-generated short videos, and holographic projection to modernize anti-corruption education.

Marketing and Ethical Contexts : Virtual idol commercialization is rapidly formalizing in China’s short-drama and advertising markets, alongside emerging legal debate over AI endorsement liability. AI drama actress “Fang Taozi” reportedly commands a 60-second commercial rate of RMB 258,000, comparable to top-tier human influencers, though MCN agencies suggest actual deals may close closer to half that figure; a competing AI male lead, “Duan Yan” from the drama “Deep Love Invading the Rest of Life,” reportedly drove RMB 2 million in sales from a single clip, with a “Duan Yan same-style” bracelet selling over 10,000 units on Douyin’s e-commerce channel and 5,000 more on Taobao. Lawyer Shi Qi of Guangdong Xingchen Law Firm, commenting on the Fang Taozi contact-lens scandal, explained that under China’s Advertising Law, medical devices (including cosmetic colored contact lenses) cannot legally use any “endorser” — human or AI — to make efficacy or safety claims, and that fabricating a wearing experience for a nonexistent physical body constitutes false advertising; he stressed that brands, not the AI itself, bear legal liability, with penalties reaching three to five times advertising costs or fines up to RMB 1 million, and that the involved brand “Jianguoli,” owned by Anhui Huaxin Enterprise Management Co., is now under investigation by local market regulators. The broader AI drama industry, per DataEye research, is experiencing a wave of “virtual celebrity” branding: platforms like Hongguo have onboarded nine AI performers with independent social media accounts, behind-the-scenes content, and fan communities that mimic real celebrity fandoms, including fan-made “third-person perspective” daily life videos; industry observers caution that this remains primarily a tool for content-production cost reduction rather than a genuine replacement for human celebrities, given persistent brand-safety concerns exemplified by the swift removal of Fang Taozi’s endorsement videos following public backlash.

26 August News

Artificial Intelligence and Industrial Digitalization : Producers and platform builders across China have been consolidating capabilities that underpin digital-human deployment, from provincial infrastructure to specialized AI toolchains. In Xizang, the Nagen Digital Intelligence Research Institute (纳金数智研究院) launched in Lhasa alongside a Tibetan-language large model, “Sunshine Qingyan” (阳光清言), and unveiled a suite of smart-tourism digital products including 3D reconstruction, interactive experiences and “highland digital humans,” positioning the region as a hub for Tibetan-language digital human applications. In Guiyang’s Nanming district, Morena Technology (莫瑞娜科技) established a Guizhou branch focused on AI avatars and “digital employee” services, deploying scalable AI-driven virtual workers for content operations and marketing on behalf of small and medium enterprises; the district also disclosed that Yuanchuang Technology’s (猿创科技) digital-human algorithm became the province’s first to pass national cyberspace administration certification. Guiyang’s Nanming Characteristic Digital Intelligence Industrial Park has built out a 700-square-meter motion-capture center supporting production of virtual-human content, and hosts firms such as Xingyuhe (Guizhou) Technology (星羽鹤), which focuses on AIGC content creation including vertical-industry agents and AI short-drama production. Elsewhere, Zhejiang’s Wenzhou region highlighted “Zhipu Baijing” (智赋百景) initiatives that catalogued over 160 digital-human application scenarios across government affairs, tourism, healthcare and finance, citing cases such as an AI teaching assistant that cut lesson-prep time from six hours to one, and a digital human enabling 24/7 rural e-commerce livestreaming that lifted sales conversion by 35%. In Yancheng, Jiangsu, the “Changsanjiao Digital Audio-Visual Industrial Base” operates an AI short-video workshop where high-speed camera arrays can generate a digital human within minutes, part of a broader short-drama production cluster generating billions of views. Beijing-based Zhilian Technology (知链科技) filed a patent for a multimodal method to drive teaching-oriented digital humans, using acoustic, facial-expression and text-semantic feature fusion to render classroom avatars with improved robustness. Beijing Zhongke Juwang (中科聚网) filed a patent for a digital-human-based intelligent question-answering system that uses knowledge-graph path topology and cognitive trajectory curvature to improve response relevance in human-machine interaction. In Guangzhou’s tech sector, robotics-adjacent firm Hanwang Technology (汉王科技) continues to develop digital employees and virtual human products for government and public-service pilot deployments alongside its facial recognition and text-recognition lines.

Medical Health and Elderly Care Rehabilitation : Digital-human technologies are being embedded into healthcare delivery, medical education and elder care across China. Chuanshen Suwen (Wuhan) Digital Intelligence Technology (传神素问) signed a strategic agreement with Beijing Honyitang Medical Research Center to build a “Palace Medical Lineage—Five-Organ Coordination” intelligent agent, using digital-twin technology to convert the clinical experience of veteran traditional Chinese medicine practitioners—rooted in the late-Qing imperial physician lineage—into an interactive, trainable teaching asset; the underlying Chuanshen Suwen TCM large model has passed a “credible AI” evaluation by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology. In Sichuan, community smart rehabilitation centers have deployed lower-limb rehabilitation robots and digital OT (occupational therapy) interactive systems to support stroke patients’ recovery closer to home, part of a provincial rollout of 50 smart rehabilitation centers. Autism intervention programs in Hubei and Jiangsu have adopted AI eye-tracking assessment tools that compress evaluation time from hours to minutes, alongside systems using virtual characters and immersive classrooms to guide children through joint-attention and social-skill training exercises; a Central China Normal University team has additionally developed an AI mini-program offering home-based rehabilitation guidance drawing on a knowledge graph. In Guangdong, an AI-based accessibility system helps hearing-impaired individuals such livestreaming entrepreneur Liu Jian train speech articulation through personalized recognition models tailored to atypical pronunciation patterns, supporting both livelihood and language rehabilitation goals. ST Yilianzhong (易联众) reported that its “Digital Medicare AI Planner,” “AI Smart Auditing Platform,” and “Medicare AI Smart Query” products—featuring digital-human avatars for natural-language interaction—have been deployed across multiple Fujian and other provincial healthcare platforms, alongside a “Xiaoyi AI Assistant” for electronic medical record generation now live at hospitals including the People’s Hospital affiliated with Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Beijing Yizhi Weilai (医智未来) published peer-reviewed research in IEEE TNSRE on hierarchical biomarker modeling for facial paralysis assessment, developed with the National Center for Neurological Disorders at Xuanwu Hospital, aiming to quantify cranial-nerve motor function through standardized video capture rather than purely subjective clinical scoring—laying groundwork the company says could extend to broader neuromotor measurement applications beyond facial palsy.

Entertainment Industry and Short Drama Ecosystem : AI-generated virtual actors and digital doubles have become central to China’s short-drama and streaming entertainment economy, reshaping production economics and raising new commercial and ethical questions. Actress Qi Wei (戚薇) launched an official AI digital double, “Han Qingxia” (韩清夏), becoming the first active mainland celebrity to open standardized commercial licensing of her likeness for AI use; she stars in the AI comic drama “Last Summer of the Apocalypse” (末日盛夏), retaining final review rights under a “limited licensing, no buyout” model while also voicing the character herself. The launch drew significant controversy over a low-angle “under-skirt” camera shot in promotional material, which critics labeled the “thunder-angle” and accused of gratuitous male gaze inconsistent with the survivalist plot; Qi Wei publicly accepted the criticism and pledged to refine production prompts. AI short dramas featuring virtual leads such as “Fang Taozi” (方桃子) from “The Girl Who Got Laid Off” and “Duan Yan” (段宴) from “Deeply Infatuated, Invading the Rest of My Life” have generated viral fandom, with associated merchandise (such as bracelets) selling in the hundreds of thousands of yuan and commercial rates for a single 60-second video reportedly exceeding 258,000 yuan—surpassing many human influencers. However, Fang Taozi’s contact-lens endorsement was pulled after being flagged for falsely claiming physical comfort a virtual character cannot experience, while voice actor Wu Lei publicly pursued infringement claims against producers of “Deeply Infatuated” for allegedly cloning his voice without authorization. Douyin’s short-drama creator center issued guidelines on virtual-character IP confirmation and an “AI Drama Character Creation Norms” notice banning reuse of photographed likenesses or near-identical facial templates, while Hongguo (红果) short-video platform onboarded nine AI-generated “actors” from hit dramas and published a “Virtual Character Account Operation Guide” encouraging authentic, companionship-style content. AI-driven “CP” (couple) culture has also emerged, with fans shipping virtual pairings such as Duan Yan and Rong Jiqiao, producing fan-generated content, and companies opening dedicated CP social accounts; some productions have proceeded with second and third “pairings” of the same AI actors across different shows. Hengdian World Studios, historically China’s largest real-actor filming base, has pivoted toward offering tourists paid one-day “acting experiences” as AI short dramas erode demand for traditional shoots, with studio occupancy reportedly down nearly 80% and script-to-screen costs for AI productions running roughly one-third of comparable human-cast projects. In Yancheng, Jiangsu, a cluster of three film bases—including virtual-production-focused digital audio-visual facilities—has produced nearly 300 dramas, leveraging AI to cut production costs by 15% and raise short-drama output capacity by 50%. Jiyun Intelligent (杰创智能) partnered with Henan’s Yuxin Electronic Technology Group to build a “Token Factory” targeting Zhengzhou’s AI short-drama and short-video production cluster—home to over 800 micro-drama companies and nearly 40,000 workers—to supply computing resources for script generation, multimodal video generation, digital-human rendering and dubbing. Guizhou’s Huaxi University Town ran a seven-day AIGC short-drama training camp producing 24 original AI dramas, cultivating local creative talent. Separately, an AIGC feature film, “The Code in the Notes,” used AI digital-human technology to digitally “resurrect” late performing artists Li Yalin and Liu Shilong, allowing them to appear together on screen across time.

Industry Controversies and Ethical Standards : The rapid growth of AI virtual performers has triggered debate over copyright, likeness rights, labor displacement and appropriate commercial conduct. Legal experts cited in Chinese media noted that AI-generated likenesses can constitute portrait-rights infringement whenever the public can reliably identify a real person from the combination of facial features, styling, voice and context, regardless of intent, and that commercial use without consent exposes developers and operators to liability including cessation orders and damages. Industry commentary has argued that AI “idols” cannot simply replicate the operating logic of human celebrities, since virtual characters lack an independent life narrative outside their scripted roles and struggle to sustain fandom-style engagement once decoupled from their originating storylines; cases such as Duan Yan and Rong Jiqiao being recast as “actors” in a new unrelated drama reportedly confused fans about the characters’ ontological status. Legal and industry voices have also flagged that AI digital humans do not qualify as advertising endorsers under China’s Advertising Law, which requires natural or legal persons capable of bearing responsibility, meaning liability for problematic AI endorsements likely falls on production companies rather than the virtual character itself—an unresolved gap given the diffuse involvement of data providers, model developers, content producers and platforms. Performers such as He Bing have publicly argued that real human performance retains irreplaceable emotional “temperature” that AI cannot fully replicate, even as AI reshapes entry paths for younger actors. China’s National Radio and Television Administration issued its first AI micro-drama regulatory framework in June 2026, introducing tiered oversight by investment scale and subject matter, and Douyin and Hongguo have each rolled out infringement-prevention tools and monetization-standardization policies distinguishing AI and human-cast short dramas. A seminar at the China Academy of Art in Beijing on “Innovation in Chinese Performance Theory in the AI Era” explored the boundaries of human presence, authorship and responsibility as AI-generated characters and digital humans become embedded in performance practice, signaling growing academic engagement with the governance implications of virtual-being proliferation in Chinese cultural production.

Applications in culture, tourism, and public services : Digital-human and avatar technologies are increasingly deployed in China’s tourism, education and public administration sectors to enhance service delivery. In Hebei, provincial smart-tourism platforms have integrated AI assistants that generate personalized itineraries, alongside “digital human” features enabling immersive participation in mythological storylines and VR-based historical tourism experiences, part of a broader push toward “immersive, intelligent, and personalized” cultural tourism upgrades; the Langfang “Dream of the Red Chamber” theme park has integrated AI across 55 productions and 108 immersive spaces. World Youju Technology (世优科技), a digital-human company, has extended into VR “large-space” immersive entertainment, producing titles such as “Mount Luwu” (based on classical mythology) and “Journey to the West: Rise of the Ape Demon,” where digital-human characters serve as interactive guides that converse naturally with visitors inside VR environments; the company’s VR productions have won recognition including the Golden Rooster Award’s inaugural virtual-reality unit and inclusion in the “Global Metaverse Innovation Demonstration 100” case list, and it has also worked on a digitization project for Cambodia’s Angkor Wat. In education, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics established a “Mentor Development Center” employing digital-human “clones” of instructors capable of handling routine Q&A, paired with VR tools rendering abstract coursework into three-dimensional visualizations and an AI system tracking academic risk across more than 10,000 graduate students. Nanjing Agricultural University hosted a national training program on AI-enabled agricultural education featuring a presentation on “educational digital humans” as a means of overcoming resource and access constraints in rural and specialized instructional contexts. In Jiangxi, the party-history-focused news outlet Dajiang News launched “Red Flag Rolling, Reflecting the Original Intent” (红旗漫卷映初心), China’s first AI short-video column dedicated to party history, using 3D modeling, digital humans and AI scene reconstruction to enhance the immersive appeal of revolutionary-history storytelling; over 120 episodes have been picked up by the Central Party History and Literature Research Institute’s official accounts.

Financial and market performance : Several China-listed companies with digital-human or virtual-human exposure disclosed 2026 half-year results reflecting mixed performance amid AI integration efforts. ST Yilianzhong reported first-half revenue of 182 million yuan, up 11.1% year-on-year, but a net loss of 47.64 million yuan, even as it continued expanding its “digital Medicare,” “digital social security” and digital-human-enabled service lines across government health and welfare platforms. Shandong-based Digital Human Technology (数字人科技), whose core business covers digital-human-based medical education, science-popularization and clinical products, posted first-half revenue of 29.51 million yuan, down 0.75%, with a net loss of 7.98 million yuan versus prior-year profit; the company’s “high-definition digital-human virtual dissection platform” has reportedly achieved sales of over 30 million yuan in 2025 and expanded to trial deployments in more than 50 countries, while its cloud-based STEM anatomy system has been adopted by 364 institutions with over 390,000 registered users. Xiaoying Technology (小赢科技) reported second-quarter loan facilitation volume of 11.63 billion yuan and net revenue of 993.6 million yuan, highlighting its self-developed virtual digital human “Win-Daidai” as the front-line interface for round-the-clock standardized customer inquiries under an “AI-plus-human” service model. Qiaqia Food (洽洽食品) disclosed a brand digital human as part of its first-half marketing overhaul alongside a sunflower-seed-themed IP festival and celebrity cross-brand collaborations, contributing to reported revenue growth of 27.39% and net profit growth of 177.38% for the period, though the digital-human initiative was one of several concurrent brand-modernization efforts rather than an isolated driver. Stock-market commentary tied several Shenzhen- and Shanghai-listed firms—including Hanwang Technology, Liyang Group and China Culture Media—to “virtual digital human” thematic classifications, reflecting continued investor interest in the sector even as individual companies’ core financials showed uneven trends.

25 August News

Entertainment and Short Dramas : China’s AI short drama sector has exploded in scale, with AI-generated dramas now accounting for over 95 percent of the roughly 128,000 micro-dramas released nationally in early 2026, and the value chain shifting from novelty to industrialized production. The AI historical drama “The Greatest Sin of My Life Was Turning People into Demons,” created by a solo producer known as Qingguadan using Seedance 2.5 and GPT Image 2, surpassed 12.7 million views on Bilibili and topped its weekly must-watch chart, while a companion vertical short drama, “Cloud Palace” by Chengdu-based creator Chen Aijun, drew over 5 million views in four days after being shared by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, showcasing Chinese aesthetic sensibilities in AI-generated content aimed at international audiences. The real-person AI drama “The Girl Who Got Laid Off” (被裁掉的女孩), built around the fully AI-generated character Fang Taozi, drew nearly 4 million views within months and made Fang Taozi one of China’s most prominent AI virtual idols; her official account, run in the manner of a real influencer with daily-life vlogs, gained over 300,000 to 500,000 followers and her endorsement rates (168,000 to 258,000 RMB per video) reportedly exceeded those of many real influencers, though a contact-lens endorsement in which she claimed the product “felt comfortable all day” was pulled after public backlash questioning how an AI without eyes could make such claims, and the ad was found to promote a Class III medical device in violation of advertising law. A parallel AI romance drama, “Deeply Infiltrating My Remaining Life With You,” produced by studio Suoyoubu, generated the AI male lead Duan Sedan and female lead Rong Jiqiao, who accumulated large fan followings and were subsequently “recast” as actors in a new unrelated series, causing fan confusion about whether the AI personas were tied to their original fictional world or existed independently; commentary noted that AI idols need distinct operational logic from human celebrities, since they cannot showcase real personal growth or independent lives outside their scripted storylines, and that their core assets are strong personas and plot rather than lived experience. Actress Qi Wei became the first mainland celebrity to actively license a personal AI digital twin, named “Han Qingxia,” for an AI short drama titled “The Last Summer of the Apocalypse”; she personally adjusted the avatar’s facial expressions and movements and provided her own voice, but the release drew criticism over exploitative camera angles and questions about why audiences would watch a digital double rather than the real actress. Actress Wang Zuxian, retired from acting for 22 years, licensed her image from ages 20-30 to NetEase’s “Tianxia” game for an AI-generated short film titled “Silhouette,” recreating her classic roles as Nie Xiaoqian and Bai Suzhen, which drew nearly 3 million views on Bilibili; veteran actors Jackie Chan, You Benchang, and Ng Kai-wah have similarly licensed digitized likenesses for films, short dramas, and brand content, with You Benchang serving as artistic director on an AI short drama titled “Ji Gong: The Fake Dragon Subduer” based on his classic monk character. Industry analysts from CICC highlighted that AI digital doubles of celebrities represent a nascent but commercially promising direction for extending artist IP, alongside AI micro-dramas and IP digital asset development by platforms like ByteDance (leveraging Seedance and Tomato Novel IP) and long-video platforms recycling existing characters into AI spinoffs; risks include unclear regulatory boundaries and viewer acceptance. Beijing-based Shiyou Technology (世优科技) created several culturally themed 3D virtual IP hosts including a “wine unicorn” mascot “Han Han” for Luzhou’s baijiu tourism board and a moose-themed 3D guide for the Hanma Nature Reserve, deploying them across smart screens, holographic displays, and mobile transparent-screen devices for tourism narration and event hosting. In Jinan, Huaiyin District launched an AI animated tourism digital human mascot “Huai Xiaoyou” with four seasonal variant designs, unveiled alongside an AI-themed digital “dazzle building” that visually integrates the mascot into a physical building facade to promote the city’s cultural tourism and digital media industry cluster.

Media, Broadcasting, and Journalism : China Central Television’s affiliate China View Media (中视传媒) created the virtual character “Xiao 8” using 3D animation technology as CCTV’s official digital mascot. Shaoxing Media Group (绍兴市新闻传媒中心) deployed AI digital humans for round-the-clock news broadcasting and used AI-generated illustrations, hand-drawn comics, H5 pages, and 3D modeling to present news content, alongside piloting AI micro-dramas tied to local cultural tourism and industrial storytelling as part of its digital transformation strategy under president Feng Guoqiang. Guangzhou-based Duo’ai International Medical Management launched the “Duoai AI Health Management Digital Platform,” which combines a virtual patient digital human system (developed with Shenggong Bio) and a “Zheng Yuanfang” evidence-based medical AI agent (from Duoai Health) to create realistic simulated patients for training grassroots doctors in respiratory disease diagnosis; the project, which uses multimodal digital human technology to portray patient personas alongside clinical evidence retrieval, won second prize at the National Medical Simulation and Health Sensor Intelligent Perception Competition co-hosted by China’s National Healthcare Security Administration and the Hunan provincial government.

Cultural Heritage and Tourism : Multiple Chinese tourism sites have deployed digital human guides to enhance visitor engagement: Xi’an’s Yongxingfang food street uses an AR scanning mini-program to show virtual food-making scenes to tourists, and various sites have adopted AI digital human tour guides alongside AR navigation and immersive light shows. Chengdu’s Wuhou Shrine features China’s first Three Kingdoms-themed AI digital human “Xiao Zhuge,” which converses with visitors about Three Kingdoms culture, while Chengdu’s Du Fu Thatched Cottage features an ultra-realistic digital human “AI Du Fu” that allows visitors to have face-to-face dialogues about the poet’s life in Sichuan; both were selected as 2025 metaverse exemplary cases by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other agencies, contributing to Chengdu’s digital creative industry revenue of 413.97 billion RMB in 2025. In Yancheng, Jiangsu, the Changsanjiao Digital Audiovisual Industry Base operates an AI short-video production workshop where nearly 100 ultra-high-speed cameras can generate a complete digital human in three minutes, supporting local AIGC short drama production including “Above the Wetland, He Guards Me With His Divine Body for a Thousand Years,” which uses AI to depict the region’s wetland ecology, milu deer, and red-crowned cranes. The “Xunjing Dunhuang” immersive VR exhibition at Mogao Grottoes lets visitors explore Cave 285 in 360 degrees via a mobile mini-program, complementing the site’s regular tour offerings. Shandong Tourism Vocational College demonstrated an AI-powered “red tourism guide” intelligent agent and a digital virtual narrator interactive system at the 2026 Shandong Education Expo, alongside AI-designed dough sculpture art and an AI creative video workshop, all built on the college’s self-developed vertical large language model “Baize,” which has been adopted by 27 tourism enterprises for smart search optimization and cultural product design. Hunan’s 2026 Culture and Tourism Industry Expo featured over 30 digital tourism companies showcasing AI-generated promotional videos, AI photo booths that generate styled travel photos, and MR headset experiences simulating aerial views of Zhangjiajie, part of a broader trend of “AI plus cultural tourism” fusion highlighted across multiple domestic tourism events this summer, including AI digital docents and AI-generated content in museums nationwide.

Marketing and Brand Building : Jinpai Home Furnishing (金牌家居), a Xiamen-based kitchen and wardrobe manufacturer, created China’s first branded home furnishing industry digital human, “Jin Chanzi” (金婵紫), in 2022 as part of a metaverse marketing push aimed at younger, Gen Z consumers. Guangzhou-based automotive platform Autohome (汽车之家) has integrated AI digital employees and “AI digital doubles” (AI分身) into its internal AutoOPC AI-native organizational platform, where digital doubles parse multi-source business data and retain reusable business knowledge while digital employees handle process-driven tasks, improving internal operations and decision-making efficiency. New energy company ENN Group (新奥集团) upgraded its branded IP “Enniu Zhiban” (恩牛智伴) across appearance, interaction, and knowledge dimensions with help from Shiyou Technology, incorporating natural language processing and emotion recognition to serve as chief digital narrator for its “Enniu Wang” industrial intelligence platform, shifting brand perception from “traditional energy supplier” to “smart ecosystem operator.” State Grid Shanxi Electric Power deployed Shiyou’s “Bota” AI digital human system in its exhibition hall with private deployment to protect grid operational data while enabling voice-activated queries of real-time electricity data. Shandong state enterprise Guohui Group commissioned a photorealistic 2D digital human replica of its corporate spokesperson, integrated with multimodal interaction and enterprise knowledge bases for personalized visitor tours based on interest and dwell time, with private deployment for data security.

Digital Human Platforms and Enterprise Deployment : Shenzhen-based Shiyou Technology (世优科技), founded in 2015 and holding over 60 national invention patents, has created more than 2,000 digital human IPs and provided technology for major national events including the Hangzhou Asian Games opening/closing ceremonies and CCTV’s Spring Festival Gala; the company’s “Bota” AI digital human interactive system integrates large language models, voice recognition, and visual understanding to power over 180 facial control points and multiple emotional modes, with end-to-end interaction response times of 1.5 to 2 seconds. Deployments include an AI prosecutor named “Xiao Yi” at Beijing’s Shunyi District Procuratorate, which answers legal questions and guides citizens through case filing procedures using a 2D likeness of a real prosecutor; a digital human at Beijing’s No. 11 School Longyue Experimental Middle School based on campus mascot “Chen Guoqiang,” providing campus tours and interactive science content with motion-capture-synced physical gestures; a multilingual airport assistant “Gui Feifei” deployed across 12 kiosks at Nanning Wuxu International Airport serving flight information and services in seven languages including English, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Thai; digital human kiosks at Ningxi Expressway service areas in Jiangsu that provide voice-activated wayfinding and amenity information to travelers; and a digital AI teaching assistant for the late educator Tao Xingzhi deployed across four kiosks at museums and universities in Chongqing’s Hechuan District, built from historical texts and archival materials to answer questions about his educational philosophy. Guiyang-based startup Molena Technology (莫瑞娜科技) develops an AI digital talent platform enabling small businesses to deploy large-scale “AI doubles” (AI分身) as digital employees for content operations and marketing, headquartered in Shenzhen with a new branch in Guizhou’s Modu Workshop AI industrial park, reporting over 500,000 RMB revenue and 25,000 new registered users within six weeks of launch. Chengdu-based Mingtu Technology (明途科技) promoted its overseas AI agent platform “Wesome AI” at the ASEAN AI Summit in Vietnam, enabling one-click AI digital double (AI分身) generation without programming, and signed a “Digital Human Joint Laboratory” partnership with Tra Vinh University to explore large-model applications in culture and tourism sectors. Fujian-listed company Jinpai Jiaju and Hunan-listed *ST Kaiyuan (through subsidiary Tianhu Education) both maintain digital human R&D labs for producing educational and marketing content using virtual human technology, reflecting broader capital-market interest in “virtual digital human” concept stocks including Suzhou-listed Hanwang Technology, Zhonghe Digital, Wind Language Media, Zhongshi Media, and Guilin Tourism, several of which cite AI digital human integration as part of smart tourism, e-commerce, or customer service offerings.

Education : NetDragon Websoft (网龙), the Fuzhou-based education technology company, had its chairman Liu Dejian deliver a keynote speech in digital human form at the 2026 Global Smart Education Conference co-hosted by Beijing Normal University, proposing an “On-Demand Learning” philosophy for the AI era; he also appeared as a digital human to participate remotely in a UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education board meeting, and used the same digital human format to launch a new co-authored book on demand-based education published open-access by Springer. NetDragon showcased its “Muyu AI” platform, an AI agent ecosystem offering digital human teaching capabilities for real-time Q&A and personalized instruction, and its “EDA” (Edmodo Academy) global lifelong-learning platform at the conference, alongside signing Serbia’s first national-level AI education pilot program with its Ministry of Education. Newcastle University in Australia (referenced for comparison to Chinese higher-education digital human adoption) began using an AI digital double of a course convenor to co-teach an introductory programming class, illustrating a parallel trend, though the core Chinese developments center on NetDragon’s digital human keynote and education agent platforms. Sichuan Agricultural University’s rural outreach team used a “digital IP” called “Qing Xiaoran,” a virtual host character, to deliver red-history science lectures to ethnic Yi children in Liangshan Prefecture, pairing a real teacher with the digital human avatar to explain China’s “Two Bombs, One Satellite” nuclear program history in visually engaging form, part of a “real teacher plus digital human” dual-instructor model designed for rural educational outreach.

Healthcare : At a 2026 forum on digital transformation of traditional Chinese medicine held in Guangzhou, panelists discussed how doctors are creating personal “AI digital doubles” (AI分身) to handle routine patient consultations, freeing up time for complex diagnosis and research; the newly launched “Duoai AI Health Management Digital Platform,” created by Guangzhou-based Duoai International Medical Management in partnership with Guangzhou Mengyitang (a traditional Mongolian medicine practice), enables physicians to build personal AI digital doubles trained on their own clinical case histories, diagnostic experience, and specialized techniques, addressing the risk of medical knowledge disappearing when veteran doctors retire; the platform combines structured knowledge governance, tiered knowledge ontologies, an intelligent agent engine, and blockchain-based rights verification, targeting healthcare institutions, health enterprises, and individual practitioners in specialties including ophthalmology and traditional medicine. State-run outlets reported that Chinese doctors are increasingly producing “AI digital doubles” to improve consultation efficiency, citing this as an example of AI’s practical application in improving cardiac and cancer diagnosis workflows within Chinese hospitals, according to international coverage of China’s AI development referenced in state media commentary. Digital human technology company Digital Human Inc. (数字人), listed on China’s Beijing Stock Exchange, reported first-half 2026 revenue of 29.51 million RMB with a 69.23 percent gross margin from its core “digital human body technology” used in medical education software; its flagship “High-Definition Digital Human Virtual Dissection Table” and “3D-Printed Cross-Sectional Human Models” have been adopted by over 500 medical schools domestically and piloted in more than 50 countries and regions including Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Europe and the US, with the company showcasing its virtual dissection table at the European Society for Simulation Applied to Medicine annual conference in Lyon, France in June.

AI Companionship and Social Risk : A Chinese hiking safety story highlighted an incident in Hangzhou where a man, upset after an argument with his wife, asked an AI system for hiking route recommendations based on his psychological state and physical condition; the AI suggested a route to view a meteor shower on an undeveloped mountain, and the man became lost and stranded overnight, requiring rescue by firefighters, illustrating public concern over over-reliance on AI recommendations for real-world activities without adequate safety verification. A Chinese-language feature discussed the broader trend of AI-based emotional companionship and “virtual romantic partners,” referencing research by scholar Ding Yu documented in a new book, “Virtual Lover,” examining otome games and AI companion apps among Chinese youth; the piece noted new Chinese regulations from 2026 explicitly prohibiting the provision of virtual companion services simulating intimate relationships to minors, reflecting government efforts to regulate AI companionship products amid concerns about emotional dependency and commercial exploitation of user attachment to AI personas.

Regulatory and Legal Developments : Shenzhen’s market regulation authority completed China’s first data intellectual property rights registration for portrait data in the cultural and creative industry, involving Chengdu-based OST Media (成都OST传媒), whose contracted creators’ images, videos, and voice data were registered and confirmed as compliant digital assets; the case, supported by the Shenzhen Institute of Standards and Technology, addresses long-standing ambiguity around portrait data ownership in the AI short drama, digital human, and short video industries, establishing a traceable framework for authorized use and monetization of creator likeness data amid the rapid growth of AI-generated content. Separately, Douyin (TikTok’s Chinese counterpart) released a “Comic Drama Virtual Character Creation and Rights Confirmation Guide,” enabling copyright holders to register and confirm rights over virtual characters appearing in AI comic dramas, part of broader industry efforts to formalize IP protections as popular AI drama characters like those from “The Deep Infiltration” series and “Everyone’s Gathering Basin” begin monetizing through official accounts on platforms including Red (Xiaohongshu) short drama app. Beijing’s Economic-Technological Development Area launched a “sandbox approval” pilot for embodied robot performances, building on an earlier pilot that had granted China’s first commercial performance license and “digital artist card” to a virtual AI idol named YURI, extending the dual technical-safety and content-compliance review model from virtual digital humans to physical robots for entertainment performances. Legal commentary from Beijing-based Huicheng Law Firm highlighted intellectual property risks specific to the entertainment industry involving stage names, virtual IPs, and digital assets, citing a six-year, six-lawsuit case in which the firm represented a celebrity in a dispute with a former talent agency over trademark ownership of the celebrity’s stage name and social media account-linked IP after contract termination, resulting in five wins and one settlement, underscoring the need for explicit contractual provisions regarding digital identity and virtual asset ownership in artist management agreements. Reports on a stalled AI-generated endorsement video for contact lenses by virtual influencer Fang Taozi noted that Chinese advertising law prohibits any endorser, including AI virtual figures, from promoting Class III medical devices or making absolute claims about product safety and efficacy, with legal experts noting the video’s claim of “all-day comfort” was especially problematic since the AI persona has no eyes and could not have any physical experience of the product.

24 August News

Healthcare : Digital human applications in medical education and healthcare have expanded across China. Shandong Xr Digital Technology Company (山东艾克斯尔数字科技有限公司) built an AI virtual standardized patient teaching system for psychiatry, using three-dimensional virtual patients with stable case settings, emotional expression, and language interaction to let medical students practice psychiatric interviews, mental status exams, risk assessment, and crisis communication before facing real patients; the system tracks metrics such as question coverage, risk identification, and empathetic communication for instructor review, and is intended for medical schools, psychiatric residency training bases, and clinical skills centers. Henan University of Chinese Medicine launched a “Zhongjing 3D Digital Human” (仲景数字人) teaching assistant that uses digital human modeling, voice cloning, emotional expression, and lip-sync technology to simulate a Han-dynasty-styled instructor teaching students the classical text Treatise on Cold Damage Disorders, working alongside the “i-TCM” intelligent agent and the school’s self-developed “Digital Intelligence Zhongjing” foundational large model to provide personalized, round-the-clock tutoring and answer clinical reasoning questions. At the 2026 National Medical Simulation Man and Health Sensor Intelligent Sensing Competition in Changsha, Hunan Jianyuan Medical’s AI Traditional Chinese Medicine virtual patient platform, trained on over 100,000 clinical cases, was showcased alongside other medical simulation devices aimed at standardizing grassroots TCM diagnostic practice; the event, organized by the National Healthcare Security Administration and the Hunan provincial government, highlighted AI virtual patients as one of three tracks within the medical simulation category, alongside physical mannequins and nursing embodied robots, with organizers noting such simulated patients can extend to elder care and “digital human eating digital medicine” scenarios. In Wulumuqi, Aier Eye Hospital used AI digital human technology to bring in-person appearances of two Beijing- and Shanghai-based ophthalmology experts to a regional academic conference on refractive surgery, allowing them to deliver presentations remotely via digital avatars despite being unable to travel, illustrating digital human deployment for academic and patient-education outreach when in-person attendance is not feasible.

Government and Public Services : Digital human “civil servants” are increasingly deployed at the grassroots level to streamline administrative processes in China. In Kangbao County, Hebei, China Unicom’s poverty-relief team partnered with the county’s data and government services bureau to launch a government affairs digital human named “Kang Xiaotong” (康小通), which uses voice interaction to help residents complete high-frequency administrative tasks through automated document recognition, information extraction, form-filling, and approval-rule verification, alongside 24-hour consultation, application-progress tracking, and online submission guidance across more than 100 integrated services and 11 municipal departments. In Nanchang’s Honggutan district, the “Dingding Qiangdan” (叮叮抢单) government service model and the “E Jian Bangban” (e见帮办) assisted-service network use AI prediction of resident needs alongside digital human assistance to compress waiting times to under two minutes and reduce document requirements by 40%, allowing enterprises to complete licensing and business changes remotely without visiting government offices. At the 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services (服贸会) in Beijing, several financial institutions plan to showcase digital human customer-service tools, including Beijing Bank’s “Jing Xiaobao” (京小宝) interactive digital human for inclusive finance and convenience services, while the fair’s “future finance experience zone” will feature AI digital human interaction as one of its immersive technology demonstrations alongside digital yuan payment scenarios. In Guangzhou’s Huadu district, an AI legal-affairs digital human platform developed by Guangdong Xiaolv Tongxue Artificial Intelligence Technology Company (广东小律同学人工智能科技有限公司) has been deployed in judicial administration, government hotlines, and mediation centers across Guangdong, Hunan, and Zhejiang provinces, serving over 500,000 people through products including an AI digital human interface for legal consultation and a mediation system for grassroots dispute resolution, with the company preparing to showcase these tools at the 2026 China International Big Data Industry Expo in Guiyang. In Hami, Xinjiang, a “Zuo Gong digital human” (左公数字人) has been created as part of a memorial and educational complex commemorating Qing dynasty general Zuo Zongtang’s campaign to recover Xinjiang; the digital human engaged in real-time interactive dialogue with Zuo’s fifth-generation descendant Liang Xiaojin during the unveiling ceremony for a bronze equestrian statue titled “Zuo Gong Fu Jiang” (左公复疆), and the digital human exhibit is part of a broader “Zuo Gong Culture Garden” (左公文化苑) used for patriotic education and research activities.

Enterprise and Financial Services : Chinese companies are integrating digital human technology into corporate operations and financial services. Ping An Insurance’s parent company China Pacific Insurance (中国人保) and Ping An’s affiliated financial platforms, alongside banks such as Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, China Bank, and China Construction Bank, are showcasing AI-driven customer service and digital human interaction tools at the upcoming Beijing service trade fair, including large-model-powered credit approval systems and smart branch digital assistants. Dingjie’s “Athena Enterprise Intelligent Operating Space” (雅典娜·企业智能运行空间, EIOSpace) launched three new capabilities including a 24/7 digital human executive assistant that converts natural-language requests from senior managers into space services, continuously monitors for data anomalies, and pushes real-time alerts, with routine transactional work delegated to the digital avatar within defined authorization limits. Huamei Holdings (华媒控股), the parent of Hangzhou Daily, disclosed in its 2026 interim report that its media subsidiaries have deployed several digital human products including “Digital Human Wenjie” (数字人文杰), a “Shendian Xin” (审点芯) digital human, and a “Su Dongpo digital human IP” (苏东坡数字人IP) for cultural tourism promotion, while acknowledging that such AI applications remain in early exploration and have not yet generated meaningful revenue contribution. Zhuming Technology (洲明科技), a Shenzhen-listed LED display manufacturer, disclosed in its half-year report that it has built an “Avatar Venue Agent” digital human intelligent-agent product as part of its broader “LED+AI” strategy, collaborating with Moore Threads (魔珐科技) on large-screen AI digital humans and immersive virtual-real interactive spaces, and deploying digital human interactive guides in venues including the Shenzhen Natural History Museum and various government exhibition halls.

Cultural and Tourism : Digital human technology is being widely deployed across China’s cultural tourism sector to enhance visitor engagement. At the 2026 Hunan Digital Cultural Tourism Supply-Demand Matching event in Changsha, more than a dozen technology companies including China Telecom, China Unicom, iFlytek, Hikvision, and Wanxing Technology showcased AI digital human solutions alongside immersive display and AIoT technologies, with iFlytek presenting a tourism-focused large language model paired with AI guide devices, multilingual terminals, and digital human products under a “1+4+1” industry solution framework. In Lhasa, the newly established Lhasa Najin Digital Intelligence Research Institute (拉萨市纳金数智研究院) unveiled a Tibetan-language large model called “Sunshine Qingyan” (阳光清言) alongside digital human and 3D-reconstruction research achievements aimed at cultural tourism applications, developed in partnership with Tibet University under Academician Nyima Tashi. In Xinjiang’s Hami, the “Zuo Gong Culture Garden” (左公文化苑) uses a “Zuo Gong AI digital human” (左公AI数字人) as part of a patriotic-education narrative landscape alongside historical exhibition halls, allowing visitors to engage with a historical figure through AI-driven interactive dialogue during academic research visits and public tours. During summer tourism season, multiple museums and cultural venues across China deployed AI digital human docents and AR navigation tools to enhance visitor experience, with reports noting AI interactive experience halls and digital human commentators becoming widespread in immersive tourism offerings, allowing visitors to “converse” with cultural artifacts and generate customized photo and video content on-site. In Guizhou, the Xiaolanshan Digital Culture Industry Ecological Village (小兰山数字文化产业生态村落) showcased at the China International Big Data Industry Expo has attracted 61 digital enterprises spanning digital audiovisual, AI, and cultural creative sectors, contributing to a broader trend of rural revitalization tied to digital content production including AIGC and short-video creation clusters.

Entertainment and Short Dramas : China’s AI-generated short drama industry has seen explosive growth alongside rising controversy over AI virtual performers. The AI short drama “The Fired Girl” (《被裁掉的女孩》), produced with a single-episode cost of roughly 10,000 yuan, achieved 220 million views and introduced its AI-generated lead character Fang Taozi (方桃子) as an independent social media personality with her own account documenting daily life, drawing nearly 500,000 followers within two months and commanding advertising rates as high as 258,000 yuan per branded video through Douyin’s Juliangxingtu platform; however, Fang Taozi’s endorsement of a Nutnutlook-brand cosmetic contact lens—a Class III medical device—was pulled from platforms after being deemed false advertising, since the AI character has no eyes, corneas, or nervous system and cannot legitimately claim to have “worn” the product for a full day in comfort, prompting a regulatory investigation and highlighting the legal ambiguity of AI virtual endorsers under China’s Advertising Law. Actress Qi Wei (戚薇) launched an official digital avatar named “Han Qingxia” (韩清夏) and released an AI-generated apocalyptic short drama demo titled “Midsummer of the Apocalypse” (《末日盛夏》/《末日盛夏》), retaining rights and creative control as producer while opening her likeness for licensed AI use, a move framed by her team as proactively converting flagrant unauthorized deepfake risk into a legally protected digital asset; the demo drew criticism over sexualized camera angles focused on the character’s body, prompting her team to pledge adjustments to generation prompts. Older-generation performers have also licensed their images for AI content: Wang Zuxian (王祖贤) authorized her 20s-to-30s peak-era screen likeness to NetEase’s game “Tianxia” for an AI-generated promotional short film reviving her classic role as Nie Xiaoqian, appearing as an NPC and in a themed skin, with the credits explicitly noting “Actor: Wang Zuxian (AI)”; Ng Man Tat and other Hong Kong actors similarly licensed younger-era images for AI dramas without needing to appear on set. AI talent shows such as “12 Constellation Training Camp” (《12星练赛》) and “Star Light 108” (《星光108》) have emerged featuring entirely AI-generated contestants competing in survival-format competitions, with fans organizing fan clubs, data-tracking teams, and “anti-black” (anti-hate) groups mimicking real celebrity fandom infrastructure, though engagement metrics for some shows have already declined sharply after initial buzz. Industry data indicate AI short dramas accounted for over 95% of new microdramas released in early 2026 by volume but only about 4% of total viewership, with real-actor productions capturing 96% of viewing time despite being a small fraction of output; real-actor short dramas commanded 2.3 times higher audience payment willingness, attributed to audiences valuing “believable characters and authentic emotion” over technical novelty, with 74% of surveyed viewers explicitly declining to watch AI-led productions due to a lack of what critics describe as “activeness” or lived human presence.

Media and Content Production : Chinese media companies are deploying AI digital human tools to scale content creation and technical journalism. Wanxing Technology (万兴科技), an A-share-listed AIGC software company, showcased its “Wanxing Theater” (万兴剧厂) AI film production platform, “Filmora.TV” AI creative workspace, and “Virbo AI” short-video commerce tool at the 2026 Hunan Tourism Expo, with Virbo AI specifically providing AI digital human capabilities for product demonstration videos targeting regional specialty goods and intangible cultural heritage merchandise; the company also collaborated with Hubei TV and Shenzhen TV on AI-generated cultural content celebrating regional heritage sites. At an AI short drama industry matching event in Hangzhou organized by “Xinwaner” (新腕儿), Shanxi-based Hertz Guangnian (赫兹光年), a subsidiary of Ruichao Xinglong Iron and Steel Group, presented its business focus spanning AI short drama production, AI cross-border e-commerce, and “digital human talent agency” (数字人经纪) services as one of its five core operating tracks. Zhoumingke Technology’s UniAIoT platform integrates a digital human guide interaction feature (“Avatar Venue Agent”) as part of its broader AI-driven display and space-management ecosystem, deployed in venues ranging from natural history museums to political exhibition halls. A separate news report described the creation of AI-generated videos depicting historical scientists “speaking” through AI digital human restoration technology, combining voice cloning, lip-sync generation, and historical photo/video super-resolution reconstruction, with applications spanning science popularization, museum interactive exhibits, and short-video content creation; several Chinese platforms including Tencent Cloud’s Zhiying, SenseTime’s Ruying, and iFlytek offer such services, alongside open-source tools like Sadtalker and MuseTalk for independent developers.

23 August News

AI Short Dramas and the Face-Licensing Economy : AI short dramas and digital face licensing are forming an emerging industrial chain in China. Data from the China Netcasting Services Association shows that roughly 367,000 micro-dramas went online across the industry in the first half of 2026, of which about 275,000 — some 75% — were AI micro-dramas; the AI drama and animated-drama market is expected to exceed 40 billion yuan in the first half of 2026, a year-on-year growth rate of 138%, with the overseas market expected to exceed 4 billion US dollars. iQIYI (爱奇艺) has established an “AI artist library”, with more than a hundred performers already signed for selection by AI film and television projects, among them the actors Chen Zheyuan and Cheng Lei. Several celebrities have opened their digital-human likeness rights voluntarily: Wang Zuxian licensed the peak image of her twenties and thirties to NetEase (网易) for the AI short film “Qianying” (倩影), made for Tianxia (天下); Wu Qihua licensed his likeness at age twenty to an AI film production company; the 93-year-old You Benchang, limited by his physical condition, chose to license his likeness and voice to an AI micro-drama so that the figure of “Ji Gong” (济公) could be recreated in digital-human form; Qi Wei launched her own official digital avatar, “Han Qingxia” (韩清夏), to star in an AI animated drama; and Tang Guoqiang’s digital avatar is used for classroom teaching. Face-licensing platforms have emerged alongside this, such as Mirafans (镜界), which has signed nearly ten bloggers with tens of millions of followers and nearly a hundred with followers in the millions, acting as a “casting agency for the AI era”, with licensing fees ranging from hundreds to tens of thousands of yuan according to a blogger’s follower tier. Homogenisation is nevertheless a prominent problem: central media including the Economic Daily (经济日报) have run a series of articles criticising the “AI face” phenomenon of a thousand people wearing one face, pointing out that some content producers use free, open-source, general-purpose digital-human models to mass-produce near-identical faces, and Hongguo Short Drama (红果短剧) has issued a notice to address homogenisation among AI characters. The virtual AI fashion blogger “Fang Taozi” (方桃子) became a hit after starring in the AI short drama “The Laid-Off Girl” (被裁掉的女孩), gaining more than 400,000 followers in little over a month and commanding 258,000 yuan for a video of 60 seconds or more — though the failure of her “coloured contact lens wearing experience” advertisement also exposed the limits, and the potential compliance risk, of virtual digital humans endorsing products that turn on real physical experience. At the Mogao Caves, AI large models and virtual reality have given “digital avatars” to millennium-old murals and flying apsaras, while the Dunhuang Academy’s “Dunhuang in a Dream” immersive exhibition and “Digital Sutra Cave” database allow the relics to be permanently preserved and newly expressed.

Industry Data and Market Size : Survey data released by iiMedia Research (艾媒咨询) shows that in 2026 the primary purpose of Chinese enterprises using AI digital humans was improving work efficiency and quality, at 33.07%, followed by raising the enterprise’s level of digitalisation (31.52%), lowering economic costs (31.30%) and strengthening customer interaction and experience (30.30%). In related financial-services programming, institutions including the Bank of Beijing (北京银行) plan to show intelligent interactive digital-human products such as “Jing Xiaobao” (京小寶) at the 2026 CIFTIS, applied to inclusive finance and convenience-service scenarios; China Construction Bank (CCB) will present the deep application of AI large models in customer service, risk control and digital-human scenarios within its smart finance space.

22 August News

Healthcare : Ant Group’s Afu digital health assistant (蚂蚁阿福) has expanded its AI physician and family-doctor services across more than 40 Chinese cities including Shijiazhuang and Weifang, pairing “AI agent plus real doctor” models to handle health education, appointment guidance and intelligent follow-up for millions of residents; since February 2026 the platform has also run AI skills training for village doctors in Guizhou’s Pu’an county and Guangdong’s Meixian district, giving rural practitioners tools such as skin-photo analysis for diagnostic support. A separate “Afu Doctor Edition” upgrade introduces two AI assistants — an “AI Avatar Assistant” offering round-the-clock consultation, pre-visit triage and post-visit follow-up, and an “AI Medical Assistant” drawing on more than 60 million medical literature entries for referenced clinical and research support — while Ant’s medical AI lab explores predictive and precision-medicine applications for cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic lung disease and stroke.

Cultural Heritage and Tourism : The Dunhuang Academy has given the Mogao Caves’ murals and flying apsaras figures a “digital double” through decades of scanning, 3D reconstruction and panoramic capture, powering the “Dunhuang in a Dream” immersive VR exhibit that lets visitors fly through Cave 285 and explore 1,400-year-old artwork in detail beyond what is possible in person; AI large models trained on tens of thousands of high-resolution mural images can now detect hairline-thin deterioration for preventive conservation, while generative AI reanimates motifs like the apsara and nine-colored deer into digital illustrations via the “Dunhuang Heart Note” mini-program, and the “Digital Sutra Cave” database has logged over 11,090 digitized scrolls and 72,810 images with more than 250,000 visits from 33 countries. In Hangzhou’s Gongshu district, a new “AI plus Cultural Tourism Pioneer Zone” plan will deploy AI digital-human guides and intelligent interactive narration along the Grand Canal’s Qiaoxi and Xiaohe historic streets, alongside a virtual-reality project tied to the “Jian Lai” novel IP that aims to let visitors “walk inside the story,” backed by “compute vouchers” and DeepSeek-based vertical model development. Sichuan’s Anyang Normal University students built an AI-narrated digital museum and short-video series to popularize oracle-bone and Confucius-related heritage, while Qingdao University of Science and Technology students created a “Confucian Culture” digital-human explainer and micro-program for non-heritage crafts in Qufu, and a rural practice team in Guangdong designed a custom digital human to teach children about soil and water conservation. In Hunan, cultural authorities highlighted the “Cloud Craft” WeChat mini-program, which uses blockchain provenance, AI virtual digital humans and a metaverse exhibition hall to promote intangible-heritage embroidery traditions. In Shenzhen, the “Jinxiu Zhonghua” ethnic folklore park uses a holographic digital-human IP called “Longfeng Wu Zhonghua” to give overseas tourists an AI-driven cultural performance experience alongside multilingual AI guides.

Entertainment and Short-Drama Production : AI-generated micro-dramas have become a dominant force in Chinese content production, with roughly 275,000 of the 367,000 micro-dramas released in the first half of 2026 classified as AI-produced, prompting new regulatory tiers under the Short Drama Development Management Measures effective September 1 and sustained commentary from People’s Daily, Guangming Daily and Economic Daily urging a shift from profit-driven mass production toward “people-centered intelligence.” Notable productions include the fully AI-generated sci-fi drama “Guixu,” which surpassed 100 million views, and Anhui Broadcasting’s AIGC Huangmei opera micro-drama “Da Zhu Cao” (打猪草), which used AIGC digital-human performers, motion capture and real-time rendering to recreate Suisong dialect and tea-picking melodies across 40 three-minute episodes. Beijing’s Huairou district rolled out an AI computing-subsidy scheme (up to 26,000 yuan per production including export bonuses) through the “China Film Capital AI Computing Service Platform” to support AIGC short-drama makers, while short-drama platforms Red Fruit and Douyin launched “high-frequency AI face” governance campaigns limiting repeated reuse of the same AI-generated character models to curb visual homogenization; Douyin’s creator center also added an AI-portrait pre-check tool for copyright and likeness-rights screening. Actress and singer Wang Zuxian (Joey Wong), after 22 years away from screens, licensed her 20s-to-30s likeness to NetEase’s game IP “Tianxia” for the AIGC short film “Thousand Reflections,” reviving her “Nie Xiaoqian” persona through a digital-human avatar under narrowly scoped, project-specific licensing terms; veteran actor You Benchang, age 93, similarly licensed his likeness and voice to recreate his “Ji Gong” character for AI micro-dramas, and actress Qi Wei became the first mainland artist to open a standardized official AI likeness license, launching a personal digital avatar to star in the AI short drama “末日盛夏.” A landmark first: the country’s first景区 (scenic-area) AI short-drama customization center opened at Yunhe Rice Terraces in Zhejiang, letting tourists generate a personalized short film starring themselves against real terrace scenery within about 30 minutes for 98 yuan per minute (subsidized from a market rate of 398 yuan), paired with an AI short-drama creator training base for local youths,民宿 operators and returning graduates. Separately, AI-driven cross-cultural short dramas are becoming an export vehicle, with China’s AI drama market projected to exceed 40 billion RMB domestically and 4 billion USD overseas in 2026, led by works like the fully AI-generated sci-fi drama “Guixu” and cultural tie-ins such as Shanxi tourism’s AIGC video “Mask-Guard Operation,” which used a digital-human “mask guard team” of revived cultural relics to promote local noodle culture, and Sichuan tourism’s AI videos placing Sanxingdui bronze figures, the Leshan Giant Buddha and Sichuan opera face-changing performers together at a shared hotpot table.

Marketing, Advertising and Livestream Commerce : The AI virtual actress “Fang Taozi” (方桃子), star of the AI short drama “The Girl Who Got Laid Off,” became a flashpoint after her first commercial endorsement for a colored-contact-lens brand claimed the lenses were “comfortable all day” despite the AI having no physical eyes; the ad was pulled and Anhui’s Chuzhou Langya district market regulator opened an investigation into potential false-advertising and medical-device endorsement violations, since contact lenses are classified as Class III medical devices in China, where advertising law explicitly bars any endorser — human or AI — from making product-recommendation claims. Fang Taozi’s rapid commercial rise (a 60-second ad reportedly priced at 258,000 yuan within 30 days of debut, reportedly higher than many real influencers) has intensified debate over AI-endorser regulation, with lawyers calling for mandatory AI-identity disclosure and a ban on fabricated “experience” claims. Separately, Mirafans (镜界), a platform under Puguang Xingyi, has emerged as an intermediary “digital-face licensing agency” for short-drama and advertising production, signing nearly a thousand KOLs, near-100 million-follower influencers and roughly ten celebrities to license AI likeness rights for compliant AI-generated video content, with per-video licensing fees ranging from roughly 100 yuan for ordinary people to over 10,000 yuan for top-tier influencers; lawyer Deng Yile, who represented China’s first AI image-generation lawsuit, has helped draft “digital image agency” contracts distinguishing likeness, voice, and biometric-data licensing terms distinct from traditional celebrity endorsement deals. Baidu’s AI digital-human video platform “Yijing” (一镜) reported cutting digital-human podcast production costs by 74% while boosting content expressiveness by 785% and average watch time by 29%, serving over 100,000 clients across 30-plus industries. At the 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services, Beijing’s finance-sector showcase will feature an “AI digital-human interaction” zone alongside smart shopping and digital-yuan payment demonstrations, with Beijing Bank presenting its “Jing Xiaobao” (京小宝) intelligent interactive digital human for inclusive-finance and public-service applications, and China Construction Bank building an interactive smart-finance space showcasing AI large models in customer service, risk control and digital-human scenarios.

Enterprise and Productivity Applications : Baidu’s AI business has scaled substantially, with AI revenue accounting for over 50% of core revenue for two consecutive quarters; its enterprise-facing “Baidu Dazi” (百度搭子) agent achieved a 1,063.79% month-on-month growth in active users and earned China’s highest 4+ rating from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology for trustworthy enterprise-level agent capability, while Wenku’s “GenFlow” (库库AI) productivity platform surpassed 25 million monthly active users. Baidu’s “Yijing” AI digital-human platform serves as an all-scenario avatar solution for enterprise podcast and marketing content, and its “Famou” (伐谋) decision-making agent has been trialed by over 3,000 enterprises in logistics, finance and port-scheduling scenarios. Ding Jie Digital Intelligence (鼎捷数智) launched its “Athena AI” enterprise intelligence platform, introducing an executive “digital avatar” (数字分身) capability that provides round-the-clock monitoring of enterprise data and flags anomalies for senior management, explicitly positioning this not as a replacement for human judgment but as an extension of managerial capacity within its Enterprise Intelligent Operating Space (EIOSpace) framework. Yidian Tianxia (易点天下), an AI-driven advertising technology firm, reported that AI-generated creative content — including digital-human video production — now accounts for over 50% of its internal creative output, with agent-optimized advertising campaigns showing average ROAS gains of 46% across client cases.

Gaming and Virtual Companions : Soul App unveiled its self-developed “SoulX” model suite at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, including “SoulX-FlashTalk,” a real-time digital-human generation model achieving sub-second (0.87-second) latency for 14-billion-parameter digital-human rendering, and “SoulX-FlashHead,” a lightweight model capable of 96-frame industrial-grade real-time performance on a single RTX 4090 GPU; these power Soul’s real-time digital-human demonstrations and its new AI hardware device “B Soul,” while the company maintains a philosophy of “AI as supplement, human-to-human connection as primary,” implementing independent AI-safety review models and mandatory AI-content labeling. Separately, DeepSeek’s community-driven “Whale Girl” (鲸鱼娘) anime-style virtual mascot — originally a fan creation blending a whale-tailed character with DeepSeek branding — was informally adopted by the company as an alternate persona users can invoke, softening the model’s technical image through a distinctive personality (clever but lazy, sharp-tongued) reflecting a broader trend of Chinese AI firms using anime-style virtual characters to humanize their products.

Automotive Digital Companions : Chinese EV brand Qijing (启境), a joint venture between GAC Group and Huawei’s Harmony Intelligent Automotive unit, unveiled its official brand companion character “Feiqi” (飞启), a virtual mascot designed by animator Shen Wei — known for character design work on “Ne Zha” — modeled on the mythical creature “Feifei” from the Shan Hai Jing; the character serves as an emotional-connection touchpoint for users following the June 2026 launch of the brand’s first vehicle, the Qijing GT7.

Ethical, Regulatory and Rights Contexts : Regulators and courts in China are actively defining the legal boundaries of AI virtual-human commercialization: the Fang Taozi contact-lens controversy crystallized concerns that AI digital humans lack legal personhood as advertising endorsers yet can still trigger advertiser liability under false-advertising and medical-device rules, with lawyers calling for a formal “digital human” filing and disclosure system assigning joint liability across brand, MCN operator and platform. Separately, Chinese short-video platforms have moved to police AI-face homogenization and likeness infringement: Red Fruit Short Drama’s “high-frequency AI face” governance limits reuse of a single AI-generated face across productions and Douyin’s creator center introduced pre-publication likeness and copyright screening tools, following a wave of celebrity complaints (including Yi Yangqianxi, Deng Wei, Gong Jun, Li Qin, Zhang Jingyi and Tan Jianci) over unauthorized AI reproductions of their likenesses in short dramas, and iQiyi’s “AI Artist Library,” launched in April 2026, now includes 118 artists who can formally license their images for AI-generated productions under negotiated terms. Legal commentary distinguishes licensed, narrowly scoped AI-likeness deals (such as Wang Zuxian’s and Qi Wei’s) from unauthorized “face-scraping,” emphasizing that post-project data deletion, use-case restrictions and revision rights are now standard contract provisions, even though enforcement against covert data retention remains difficult. Separately, a Beijing Economic-Technological Development Zone (“Yizhuang”) pilot became the first in China to issue “sandbox approval” licenses for embodied-robot public performances, building on an earlier sandbox precedent for AI virtual-idol stage performances (the AI virtual idol “Yuri,” which received China’s first digital-artist commercial performance permit), extending the same dual “technical safety plus content compliance” review framework from virtual digital humans to physical robot performers.

21 August News

Marketing : AI-driven virtual endorsers have become a focal point of controversy in China’s advertising industry, with the AI-generated character Fang Taozi, star of the hit AI drama “The Girl Who Got Laid Off,” accumulating over 450,000 social media followers before her promotion of a cosmetic contact lens brand (Nutnutlook, owned by Anhui Huaxin Enterprise Management) triggered accusations of false advertising, since a virtual human lacking real eyes cannot substantiate claims of “comfortable all-day wear.” A similar controversy struck AI actor Duan Yan from the drama “You Deeply Invade My Remaining Life” after his Qixi Festival advertisement for an e-commerce platform was accused of using a voice highly similar to that of a real dubbing artist without authorization, while his likeness also drove over ten thousand sales of a branded bracelet. Liu Shuangzhou, professor at the Central University of Finance and Economics and director of its Market Regulation Law Research Center, clarified that native virtual humans without real-world prototypes lack independent legal personhood and cannot serve as advertising endorsers, spokespersons, or advertisers under China’s Advertising Law, particularly barring their use for medical device products like cosmetic contact lenses, which require pre-approval and prohibit endorser-based promotion entirely; brands and operators must therefore ensure content truthfulness, apply dual disclosure labels (both “advertisement” and “AI-generated” tags), and secure explicit biometric authorization to avoid liability. Separately, celebrity likeness licensing has emerged as a parallel commercial track: actress Qi Wei launched a fully authorized AI digital double named “Han Qingxia” to star in the AI drama “Summer of the Apocalypse,” actor Faye Wong-era star Joey Wang (Wang Zuxian) licensed her 20-to-30-year-old screen likeness to NetEase’s game “Tianxia” for a two-minute AIGC short film titled “Silhouette” (倩影) recreating characters like Nie Xiaoqian and Bai Suzhen, receiving a reported seven-figure fee for a three-year term, and 93-year-old actor You Benchang similarly licensed his digital likeness for short dramas and brand advertising. A new intermediary market has emerged around these transactions, exemplified by Mirafans (镜界), a platform operated by Puguang Xingyi that has signed nearly ten influencers with over ten million followers, around a hundred with over a million, and roughly a thousand additional KOLs and ordinary individuals, brokering licensing deals where a 60-to-80 minute AI film might cost tens of thousands of yuan for a top influencer, low thousands for a million-follower account, and around a hundred yuan for an ordinary person; iQiyi’s AI actor database has similarly grown to 118 signed performers including Chen Zheyuan, Cheng Lei, and Zeng Shunxi, accessible via its Nadou Pro AI production platform. These transactions raise unresolved legal questions, as highlighted by lawyer Deng Yile, regarding data deletion after project completion, the “identifiability” standard for adjudicating voice or likeness infringement, and the risk that a celebrity’s AI persona could damage their real-world reputation if content strays from their established image.

Entertainment : China’s AI-generated short drama (microdrama) industry has expanded at extraordinary speed, with AI content comprising over 95 percent of the 128,000 microdramas released nationally in Q1 2026 according to the China Netcasting Services Association, yet capturing only about 4 percent of total viewership, a stark mismatch that industry commentators attribute to viewer fatigue with homogeneous “AI faces” that trigger uncanny-valley discomfort due to hollow expressions and rigid emotional range. Leading production houses include Lingju Animation (灵矩动漫), a spinoff from Judian Short Dramas that produces roughly 70 AI comic-dramas monthly at costs as low as 1,000 yuan per minute with over 700 employees; Juwang Technology (巨网科技), a subsidiary of listed company Sanwei Communications that operates a proprietary “Parallel Vision” AI production system and has become a top-tier service provider for AI short dramas and comics; and Aikan Interactive (爱看互动), which partnered with state-backed Huahan International in early 2026 leveraging its digital human application capabilities. Other major players spanning the value chain include Zhongwen Online, which links IP, production and distribution; Zhangyue Technology, strong in AI comic monetization; Kunlun Wanwei, building a global AI short-drama platform; Mango TV, backed by state capital; and SenseTime, advancing AI content-creation technology, alongside Poly Films, Huashi Entertainment and Jiuziyuan AI supporting productions such as “Huo Qubing,” which surpassed 500 million views. Jiangsu-based Julidu (聚力维度), founded in 2016 and backed by a Tsinghua-trained team led by CEO Zhao Tianqi, signed a headquarters agreement in Wuxi High-Tech Zone for its self-developed multimodal 3D video model “SEVA,” claiming the world’s only automated 2D-to-3D conversion technology with over 90 percent market share and a proprietary AI short-drama tool called “Cola AI Short Drama Agent” that boosts single-operator output sixfold, partnering with Tencent, Douyin and Yuewen; its dramas have reached up to 80 million views each. In a landmark regulatory move, China’s National Radio and Television Administration issued classification standards on August 17 distinguishing real-actor, AI-generated, and interactive microdramas by investment tier, requiring national-level review for AI dramas exceeding 800,000 yuan, provincial review for those between 300,000 and 800,000 yuan, and platform-level pre-screening for smaller productions, while Douyin’s Red Fruit Short Dramas platform issued a public notice specifically targeting homogenized “AI faces” and mandating diversity in AI character design. A parallel trend has seen “AI actors” like Fang Taozi and Duan Yan cultivate independent social media personas with content mimicking real celebrity behind-the-scenes footage, fan interactions, and even staged “location scouting” clips featuring crew members, a phenomenon that fooled many viewers into believing the footage depicted real actors, prompting industry commentary that authenticity labeling and clear boundaries between fictional world-building and deceptive impersonation are urgently needed. Traditional media companies have also entered AI-assisted opera production, exemplified by Anhui Broadcasting’s AIGC Huangmei Opera microdrama “Digging Pig Grass” (打猪草), which used AI-simulated digital humans, motion capture, and intelligent scene rendering to recreate a late-Qing-era teahouse opera setting across 40 three-minute episodes, blending AI technology with intangible cultural heritage preservation in a rural tourism context in Susong County, Anhui.

Debate on AI Actors versus Human Performers : A sustained industry-wide debate has crystallized around whether AI actors can replace human performers, with Youku president Wu Qian publicly stating in July 2026 that “AI cannot replace human actors,” pledging that Youku will continue training and employing human actors while limiting AI to efficiency-focused tasks like script pre-visualization, background generation, and post-production, and Beijing People’s Art Theatre president Feng Yuanzheng offering the memorable formulation that “AI’s tears are drawn symbols, while human tears carry body temperature and salt.” Data consistently reinforces this asymmetry: despite AI content comprising over 95 percent of Q1 2026 microdrama output, it captured merely 4 percent of viewership, and surveys by Huanwang Big Data found 51 percent of viewers reported negative reactions to AI-generated real-person dramas, with 95 percent of respondents rejecting the claim that “real-person short dramas are dead.” Performing arts figures including actors Wang Jinsong and Wu Qian’s peers have emphasized that AI struggles to replicate complex, layered emotions—managing only “either fully happy or fully sad” rather than nuanced blends—and lacks the improvisational chemistry and unscripted micro-expressions that define memorable human performances, such as an actor’s unplanned glance or trembling voice. Central University of Finance and Economics legal scholars and entertainment executives alike describe an emerging “human-machine collaboration” model in which AI absorbs standardized, repetitive tasks (such as background actors, stunt doubles for dangerous scenes, and rapid content generation for niche genres like apocalyptic or immortal-cultivation fiction unsuitable for real-world filming) while human actors retain authority over emotionally complex lead roles; this bifurcation is already visible in cost structures, with premium AI short dramas costing as little as 200,000 yuan (roughly one-tenth of comparable live-action productions) and basic AI dramas costing as little as 3,000 to 5,000 yuan per episode. The real-person drama “Nine Gates” (九门), which aired during summer 2026 and became a viral counterpoint to AI content, generated the trending phrase “after watching Nine Gates you can never go back to AI dramas,” reinforcing industry consensus that human performance retains a durable commercial and emotional advantage even as AI production tools proliferate throughout the value chain.

Regulatory and Ethical Contexts : China’s National Radio and Television Administration’s Network Audiovisual Department issued a formal classification and tiered-review notice on August 17, 2026, establishing distinct investment-based review thresholds for real-person, AI-generated, and interactive microdramas, with the highest tier (covering politically sensitive topics or investments exceeding 300 million yuan for real-actor dramas and 80 million yuan for AI-generated dramas) requiring national-level licensing, a mid-tier requiring provincial review, and lower-investment productions subject only to platform-level pre-screening and episode numbering; interactive dramas are classified according to whether their content originates from real filming or AI generation. Central University of Finance and Economics law professor Liu Shuangzhou, in an extended interview regarding the Fang Taozi cosmetic contact lens controversy, articulated detailed compliance requirements for native AI virtual humans in advertising: they cannot serve as legal advertising parties (advertisers, agencies, publishers, or endorsers) due to lacking independent legal personality and biological sensory capacity, must avoid first-person experiential claims like “I tried it and it feels great,” must rely solely on verifiable objective data and certified test results rather than fabricated user reviews or efficacy guarantees, and must implement dual labeling—marking content as both “advertisement” and “AI-generated image”—to protect consumer awareness; medical device advertisements, including cosmetic contact lenses classified as Class III medical devices, are additionally barred from using any endorser, real or virtual, and require pre-publication regulatory approval. Separately, China’s national personal information protection campaign, coordinated by the Cyberspace Administration, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the Ministry of Public Security throughout 2026, has reviewed over 20,000 apps and SDKs, mandated compliance corrections for over 4,000, and publicly named more than 1,100 violators, with enforcement actions including forced removal of over 400 non-compliant products—context relevant to the broader data-handling practices underlying facial and voice data collection for AI digital human creation. Public commentary in state media, exemplified by a Economic Daily commentary titled “‘AI Faces’ Draw Public Ire, But the Fault Lies Not with AI,” argued that homogenized, uncanny-valley AI character models stem from irresponsible content producers using free open-source generic digital human templates rather than from AI technology itself, calling for regulators to establish quality-inspection standards for AI-generated audiovisual content and blacklist template-based, low-effort character designs, while noting Douyin subsidiary Red Fruit Short Dramas’ notice restricting homogenized AI face reuse as a positive industry self-regulation step. Legal experts further noted that unauthorized AI recreation of ordinary individuals’ likenesses—as occurred when a hanfu-styling blogger known as “Baicai” discovered her image had been scraped and repurposed without consent in the AI drama “Peach Blossom Hairpin”—represents a systemic risk given the difficulty ordinary citizens face in detecting and pursuing infringement claims across thousands of daily-uploaded microdramas.

Technology and Industry Infrastructure : Baidu’s AI digital human platform “Yijing” (一镜) has maintained the top market share position in China’s AI digital human sector for two consecutive years according to Sullivan and IDC assessments, serving over 100,000 clients across more than 30 industries, and in July 2026 launched a digital human video podcast solution featuring breakthrough micro-expression technology; the platform is integrated into Baidu’s broader AI advertising ecosystem through Youdao’s competing product iMagicBox, which similarly integrates over 2,000 globally localized digital human personas leveraging Youdao’s trillion-parameter translation model to enable native-level multilingual polish across text-to-image, image-to-video, and video dubbing workflows, reducing advertising material production costs by roughly 70 percent compared to manual methods with 100 percent localization pass rates. JD.com’s digital human product JoyAvatar has served over 80,000 merchants, with livestreaming account numbers tripling and daily active broadcasting accounts increasing sixfold year-on-year, while livestream duration and transaction volume during the 618 shopping festival both grew more than fourfold. In the value-added services and government-adjacent sector, Shenyang’s Heping District launched a digital human named “Hezhi Xuan” (和智宣) integrated into a commercial complex’s “Ledeng Julebu” (Leisure Club) initiative, providing voice-interactive queries about cultural activities and community services specifically optimized for elderly users with larger interface fonts and adjusted speech pacing. In Zaozhuang’s Shanting District, judicial administration authorities deployed an “AI digital human lecture hall” for legal education targeting enterprise compliance topics including contract management and labor employment, distributing over 80 pieces of enterprise-focused legal content. Taian’s human resources department introduced a 3D digital virtual human named “Tai Xiaohui” (泰晓惠) as part of its “no-certificate” human resources service initiative to streamline employment registration and unemployment assistance procedures. In the securities and financial data sector, multiple listed Chinese companies maintain digital human business lines as disclosed in routine stock market analyses, including Zhewen Internet (concept stocks spanning virtual digital humans, AIGC, and metaverse), Zhongwen Online (virtual digital human and AI large-model concept stocks), Huace Film & TV (virtual digital human and AI video concepts), Fengshang Culture (which operates a “virtual performance cloud platform,” virtual digital human operator business, and virtual artist management division, having participated in projects like the Migu World Cup Music Gala and a “cyberpunk” metaverse concept scene called J WORLD), Huashu Media (which unveiled its metaverse virtual human “Aijia” at the 10th China Network Audiovisual Conference), Zhongshi Media (whose subsidiary Zhongshi Beifang produced the virtual character “Xiao8” for China Central Television using 3D animation technology), and Sichuan-based Chuanwang Media (whose virtual anchor “Xiaoya” integrates AR, AI, and motion capture for livestreaming and product endorsement applications).

Cultural and Tourism Applications : Digital human technology has become a recurring feature in Chinese cultural heritage and tourism revitalization projects, most notably at the Luoyang Bridge and adjacent Qiaonan Old Street historic district in Quanzhou’s Luojiang district, part of the UNESCO-listed “Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China” heritage site, where the Caixiang Academy (蔡襄书院), reopened in June 2026, allows visitors to practice calligraphy, experience Song-dynasty tea ceremonies, and engage in cross-temporal dialogue with an AI digital human representing historical figure Cai Xiang; the broader district has integrated immersive experience pods, fully intelligent travel photography machines, and AI digital humans as part of a strategy that has helped restore over 20 historic buildings with a 75 percent activation rate and drove 345,000 visitors during the 2026 Spring Festival period, a 17.7 percent year-on-year increase. In Zaozhuang, Shandong, the “Huanyu Lelin Julebu” elderly-services initiative similarly deployed a digital human “Hezhi Xuan” within a commercial complex, extending AI companion technology into community and retail integration for senior citizens. Separately, a poignant application emerged in Jiangxi’s Yudu County, where a 108-year-old widow named Duan Guixiu, who had waited nearly a century for her husband Wang Jinchang—a Red Army soldier who died in 1953—was reunited with a digital human recreation of him in May 2026, allowing her to finally hear him respond to her decades-long vow of fidelity, illustrating a memorial and historical-commemoration application of digital human technology tied to Long March-era revolutionary history.

20 August News

Cultural Heritage and Tourism : Digital human and AIGC technologies are increasingly being used to revive traditional Chinese culture and animate museum and tourism experiences. In Anqing, Anhui, the country’s first AIGC Huangmei Opera micro-drama “Beating the Piglet Grass” (打猪草) was produced by Anhui Broadcasting Television using AIGC simulated digital humans, motion capture, and real-scene intelligent rendering to recreate a late-Qing-era teahouse and opera stage, with the project combining “AI plus opera plus rural tourism” to promote intangible cultural heritage among younger audiences. In Suzhou, Anhui province, the Suzhou Museum launched an AI digital human Q&A system allowing visitors to converse with recreations of historical figures including Bai Juyi, Su Shi, and Empress Ma, alongside a mascot character called Suwa for tourism and cultural information. Daqing Sitech Media (大庆思特传媒科技有限公司), based in Daqing, Heilongjiang, has spent 16 years building AI digital human “narrators” for museums nationwide, including a woolly mammoth character “Xiao Mangmao” at Daqing Museum with a custom-built knowledge base of local lore, as well as digital humans “Xuebaobao” in Xuexiang and “Hebo shi” at Qiqihar’s Wanjuange, alongside a “Dialogue with Scientists” system featuring AI recreations of Einstein and Marie Curie capable of emotion recognition. In Qingyu village, Zhejiang, and other regions, students and tourism promotions have used AI digital humans and VR to animate stone inscriptions such as the Tang-dynasty “Da Tang Zhongxing Song” at Moya Cliff Digital Museum. Beijing’s Daxing district Caiyu Grape Festival will feature a holographic digital human “Cai Xiaotao” for real-time voice interaction alongside an AI camera generating a dynamic “smiling wall” from visitor photos. Guangdong province’s lifelong learning initiative has introduced a digital human interactive course featuring historical figures as part of its “AI plus education” development plan for 2026-2028.

Enterprise and Productivity Applications : Chinese technology companies are embedding digital human and AI avatar capabilities into workplace and enterprise tools. Baidu’s AI-native marketing product “Yijing” (一镜) launched a digital human video podcast solution in July, achieving breakthroughs in micro-expression technology, and has been recognized by Sullivan and IDC as the top digital human platform in China for two consecutive years, serving over 100,000 clients across 30-plus industries with reported improvements including a 29% increase in livestream conversion rates and 63% reduction in production costs; Baidu also disclosed that a major Chinese internet company expanded its digital human livestreaming deployment to roughly 2.5 times its previous scale. Postal Savings Bank’s consumer finance arm, China Post Consumer Finance, partnered with a university to develop a virtual digital human named “Youxiaobao” (邮小宝) providing round-the-clock customer service, loan review, and financial literacy education, achieving 98% customer intent recognition accuracy. Lu.com (陆金所/陆控), the Hong Kong-listed consumer finance platform, reported deploying AI “digital doppelgangers” (数字分身) for its client managers to pull real-time customer histories, simulate scripts, and auto-generate post-loan outreach content as part of its consumer finance expansion. Beijing-based Digital Zhongzhi Technology (数字众智科技) unveiled a “community digital human” product offering round-the-clock policy consultation and administrative guidance as part of a broader community services platform exhibited at the 2026 China International Big Data Industry Expo in Guiyang. AlphaClaw, a legal AI agent from iCourt (albeit more an intelligent agent than avatar), lets senior lawyers build a persistent “digital doppelganger” to encode decades of case-handling experience for succession purposes. Cover News Technology (封面传媒科技), invited by Huawei to exhibit at BIRTV2026, showcased its “AI Digital Employee Matrix” enabling journalists and editors to create customized “AI digital doppelgangers” for personalized newsroom workflows. Bang Yan Technology (邦彦技术), listed on Shenzhen exchange, operates “NuwaAI,” a digital human cloud platform offering zero-barrier digital avatar creation tools for enterprise and consumer use, and staged a digital human recreation of the poet Li Bai at a Shenzhen tourist site during New Year’s celebrations. Guofa Media (国脉文化) has developed virtual digital human spokespeople “Irene” and “Xiaolin” modeled on its general manager and staff to represent corporate branding and 5G-related services.

Entertainment, Short Dramas and Virtual Idols : AI-generated short dramas featuring digital humans and virtual actors have exploded in China’s content industry, alongside growing controversy over authenticity and commercial exploitation. According to the China Netcasting Services Association, AI-generated micro-dramas made up over 95% of the roughly 128,000 micro-dramas released nationwide in Q1 2026, with the figure reaching 153,000 out of 239,000 in Q2. DataEye data shows 221,900 AI dramas and comics were released on Douyin alone in the first half of 2026, though only 0.48% surpassed 100 million views and just 1.3% crossed the 50 million view profitability threshold. Chinese actress Qi Wei became the first mainland entertainer to proactively license her AI digital persona, named “Han Qingxia,” starring in the AI comic drama “Midsummer of the Apocalypse” (末日盛夏) on Hongguo short drama platform, adapted from a Tomato Novel story; the promotional trailer drew criticism for a suggestive camera angle, prompting Qi’s team to promise revisions. Actress Joey Wang (Wang Zuxian), who retired from film 22 years ago, licensed her youthful image to NetEase for the game “Tianxia” (天下), appearing in the AIGC advertising short film “Qian Ying” (倩影) — reportedly China’s first gaming AI ad using full AIGC technology with celebrity licensing — produced with NetEase’s DM Monet team and ByteDance’s Volcano Engine Seedance 2.0 technology, with the three-year licensing deal reportedly worth seven figures in RMB. Hong Kong actor Ng Kai-wa (吴启华), 62, licensed his 20-year-old image for use in an AI film, calling the experience satisfying. Actor Betty Yeung (Betty游本昌), 93, licensed his digital human based on his “Ji Gong” (济公) character for a micro-drama titled “Ji Gong’s Fake Dragon Subduer” as well as an elderly-care brand advertisement titled “At 93, I Got My First Robot,” while retaining script and final-cut approval rights. The AI virtual actress “Fang Taozi” (方桃子) from the drama “The Girl Who Got Laid Off” gained over 450,000 followers on her own social media account and reportedly commands advertising rates up to 258,000 RMB for spots over 60 seconds; her endorsement of a colored contact lens (a Class III medical device under Chinese regulation) drew scrutiny for using first-person claims of comfort despite having no real eyes, and the ad was ultimately removed. Similarly, the AI male lead “Duan Yan” (段宴) from “Your Deep Affection Invades My Remaining Life” secured a Tmall Qixi Festival brand collaboration and sold over 10,000 units of a “Duan Yan” branded bracelet, but faced accusations of using a voice resembling a real voice actor without authorization and of visually resembling a character from another popular game. Chinese entertainment company Yaoke Media (耀客传媒) signed AI virtual artists “Lin Xilan” and “Qin Lingyue” as its first AI-native performers, with productions costing between 1/100 and 1/300 of comparable live-action short dramas; Lianhui Pictures followed with similar signings. AI singing competition variety shows have also emerged, including “Star Competition 108” (billed as the world’s first global AI virtual idol audition show) and “12 Constellation Training Competition” (12星练赛), which drew over 100 million total views and 200 million topic views on Douyin, alongside Hunan TV’s planned all-AI singer variety show “Phantom Voice Singer” featuring nine virtual AI vocalists. Beijing Internet Court has issued rulings establishing “recognizability” as the key legal standard in AI likeness infringement cases, ruling against short drama producers who used AI face-swapping to superimpose a well-known actor’s likeness onto characters, and awarding voice actress Ms. Yin 250,000 RMB in China’s first AI voice infringement case after her voice was cloned without authorization; the China Radio and Television Association’s actors committee has stated that AI face-swapping or voice-mimicking content referencing identifiable performers constitutes infringement regardless of “non-commercial” or “personal remix” labeling.

Regulatory and Compliance Developments : Chinese regulators and platforms have moved to tighten oversight of AI-generated digital human content, particularly in commercial and livestreaming contexts. The National Radio and Television Administration published a “Micro-Drama Development Management Method” specifically regulating AI technology and algorithmic models used in micro-drama production. A short video platform implemented an “AI Application Standard for Livestream Commerce Scenarios” requiring creators to actively label AI-generated content in livestream sales videos, with unlabeled violating accounts subject to distribution restrictions; the policy responded to cases of digital humans impersonating real people to fabricate product usage results and AI face/voice-swapping to fake celebrity endorsements. WeChat Channels (视频号) began enforcing mandatory AI-content labeling for livestream commerce starting August 10, 2026, covering AI-generated product displays, AI digital human hosts, AI-generated posters, and AI-generated video imagery; China’s State Administration for Market Regulation reported removing over 2,000 unlabeled violating accounts in a first-round enforcement sweep targeting AI virtual “experts” impersonating professors and researchers for product endorsements. Legal experts interviewed by Southern Metropolis Daily clarified that AI virtual humans without real-world counterparts cannot serve as legal advertising endorsers under China’s Advertising Law, and that AI-generated first-person claims of product experience (such as “I wore these contacts all day and they felt comfortable”) may constitute false advertising, with liability falling on advertisers, operators, or platforms.

19 August News

Entertainment : The virtual-being economy in China’s short-drama and digital-human sector saw explosive growth alongside high-profile controversy in mid-2026. Fang Taozi (方桃子), an AI virtual actress from the AI drama “The Fired Girl” (被裁掉的女孩) produced by MCN agency “My Film & Television” (我的影视), became the first breakout AI performer, amassing nearly 500,000 Douyin followers within two months and commanding ad rates of up to 258,000 yuan for a 60-second video via Juliangxingtu; however, her first commercial endorsement for a colored contact lens (美瞳) brand was pulled after backlash over an AI figure claiming physical “wearing comfort” it could not possibly experience, prompting a market-regulation investigation and legal scrutiny under China’s Advertising Law (which bars endorsers from claiming medical-device efficacy since colored contacts are classified as Class III medical devices). Real celebrities followed with more cautious, authorized approaches: actress Qi Wei (戚薇) launched her officially licensed AI digital double “Han Qingxia” (韩清夏) to star in the AI comic-drama “End of Summer” (末日盛夏), emphasizing “limited authorization, no buyout” terms; Wong Cho-lam (吴启华) and actor You Benchang (游本昌, known for playing Ji Gong) licensed their images and voices for AI video and micro-dramas; and Hong Kong actress Joey Wong (王祖贤), retired since 2004, authorized her 20s-30s peak-era AI likeness exclusively to NetEase’s game “Tianxia” (天下) for its 18th-anniversary AIGC short film “The Shadow” (倩影), stating “we use AI, we are not used by AI.” Other studios, like Yaoke Media’s AI idols Qin Lingyue and Lin Xiyan, failed to gain traction due to face-resemblance controversies and public resistance, underscoring the unpredictability of AI-star success. A parallel “face-renting” market has emerged, where agencies charge ordinary people around 1,000 yuan to generate a 3D digital human from six photos, splitting subsequent licensing revenue, while celebrity likeness licensing can command six-figure fees per use; Douyin’s short-drama center introduced a “Comic Virtual Image Creation and Rights Confirmation” guideline on August 12 to formalize copyright and reduce infringement risk. Tmall also signed four AI short-drama male leads (Duan Yan, Fu Yanshen, Lu Chuan, and Yi Chenze) for Qixi festival campaigns, though these ads drew criticism for alleged face-blending and voice-cloning infringement, including a public complaint from voice actor Sanshi. Separately, an AI-generated Japanese-style romantic short film “The Other Self,” themed around AI digital doubles standing in for real dates, went viral in China for its near-indistinguishable resemblance to real dorama footage, reflecting rapid advances in AI video realism for romantic narrative content.

Short-Drama Industry and AI Digital Humans : China’s micro-drama industry underwent a dramatic AI-driven boom-and-correction cycle in 2026: AI micro-dramas comprised over 95% of the 128,000 new titles released in Q1, dropping to 64% in Q2 as real-actor production rebounded from 6,000 to 86,000 titles, reflecting market correction after unsustainable “quantity over quality” AI production; per DataEye, over 221,900 AI dramas/comics launched on Douyin alone in H1, with only 1,055 (0.48%) surpassing 100 million views and just 1.3% breaking even at a 50-million-view threshold. Leading platforms and IP holders like Yuewen Group (阅文集团) capitalized on this shift, reporting short-drama and AI-comic revenue up 2.3x to 430 million yuan, with AI comics such as “Three Thousand Guardians” (三千庇护) surpassing 3 billion views and driving original novel sales; Yuewen launched overseas comic platform ToonScroll and domestic platform Qidian Theater to vertically integrate IP-to-AI-video pipelines. Regional governments actively promoted AI-driven micro-drama industries for cultural export: Guangxi’s Party Secretary Chen Gang and government chief Wei Tao both visited Nanning-based Shanhai Xingchen (山海星辰) Culture Media Group, a micro-drama company with over 1,000 titles and monthly box office of 350 million yuan, whose domestic “Shanhai Short Drama” and overseas “Stardust TV” brands support China-ASEAN cultural diplomacy; Nanning offers subsidies up to 4 million yuan for micro-drama production, and Guangxi cloud company showcased a “Liu Sanjie” digital human video to Chen Gang. Xiamen’s century-old brands like China Tea Haidi (中茶海堤) launched AI digital human “Hai Lu” (海鹭) for tea culture promotion and e-commerce livestreaming, while Huangzehe (黄则和) food company produced roughly 20 AI short dramas that boosted product sales past 1,000 units, and Cai’s Lacquer Carving explored NFT-style digital collectibles. Weifang municipality’s “AI Empowerment Action Plan (2026-2027)” targets 100 billion yuan in related industry scale, funding VR/XR immersive tourism content like the Feng Zheng (kite) culture VR film “Weifang Kite Chronicle” by Goertek (歌尔), alongside AI+micro-drama development at the Fangzi Town film base. Financial analysts at CICC (中金公司) and Zhongtai Securities (中泰证券) noted that high-quality 3D AI content costs have fallen to about 1,300 yuan per minute (from 2,000-5,000 yuan a year prior), and AI live-action drama costs remain a fifth to a tenth of traditional filming, though industry insiders like Nashi Culture’s chairman Sun Jian and creators Li Rang and Pan Yuxi stressed that technology lowers usage barriers but raises creative barriers, with true storytelling ability remaining the scarcest asset as the market shifts from “chasing hits” to “cultivating IP.”

Marketing and Advertising : The commercialization of AI virtual humans in advertising triggered significant legal and ethical debate in China during August 2026, centered on the Fang Taozi colored-contact-lens controversy, where legal experts including Beijing DeHeng law firm’s senior partner Ma Lihong clarified that while AI virtual humans lack independent civil legal personality and cannot be classified as legal “endorsers” under China’s Advertising Law, the advertiser, content producers, and platforms remain jointly liable for truthfulness under Article 28, since claiming a fictional “wearing experience” constitutes false advertising, compounded by the fact that colored contacts are Class III medical devices barred from any endorser promotion under Article 16. Similar precedents include a Wuxi MCN fined over 190,000 yuan for a colored-contact livestream lacking ad disclosure, and backlash against virtual idol “Ling” for claiming lipstick “moisturizing” effects it could not physically verify. Industry figures like Jinan University’s Zheng Huanzhao and Chuangyi Technology (operator of virtual human Liu Yexi) CEO Liang Zikang argued that virtual humans should be confined to brand imagery, scene placement, and aesthetic display rather than product efficacy claims requiring real human sensory experience. Beyond entertainment, financial institutions accelerated AI-driven marketing: Chinese brokerages including Guoxin Securities, Kaiyuan Securities, Guojin Securities, Huaxin Securities, Guoyuan Securities, Everbright Securities, Guotai Haitong (whose AI-native app “Lingxi” served 83 million users with over 90% monthly retention for smart investment tools), and Zhongtai Securities deployed AI digital human anchors for market commentary, investor education, and customer service during the “818 Wealth Management Festival,” though Zhongtai and Kaiyuan explicitly noted regulatory limits since Chinese financial livestreaming requires licensed human hosts, restricting digital humans to non-advisory educational content. Meanwhile, listed company Zhewen Internet (浙文互联) delayed its “AI Intelligent Marketing System” and “Livestream and Short Video Smart Marketing Ecosystem Platform” projects to 2028, citing unresolved bottlenecks in virtual human commercialization, unstable underlying technology, high costs, lack of industry standards, and regulatory uncertainty around data and personality rights for virtual digital humans in livestreaming contexts.

Enterprise and Financial Services : Chinese technology giants embedded digital humans into enterprise-facing AI infrastructure and financial services throughout mid-2026. Baidu (百度) reported that AI business comprised 50% of core revenue for the second consecutive quarter, with its “Yijing” (一镜) digital human video podcast solution achieving breakthroughs in micro-expression technology and ranking first in China’s AI digital human market share for two consecutive years per Sullivan and IDC certification; Baidu’s AI office suite also unified into “Baidu Dazi,” “Kuku AI,” and “Miaoda” products. Tencent Cloud (腾讯云) was named the top provider in IDC’s inaugural “China AI Video Cloud Market Share, 2025” report for both online media processing and AI real-time interaction, with its WAND audio-video AI solution processing over 800 million minutes of video daily and covering 90% of leading short-drama and comic-drama clients, while its TRTC-powered AI digital interview product “Duomian·Doris” from recruitment platform Liepin served 6,500 enterprises and 400,000+ candidates. Ant Group’s Alipay unveiled a “full-stack agent commerce infrastructure” with super-agent “Abao” completing AI-based integration of over 10,000 services across five phone brands and 16 automakers, alongside the industry’s first agent interconnection protocol “AHA” involving Qwen, Huawei, OPPO, vivo, Honor, BYD, and Geely. ByteDance’s AI assistant Doubao (豆包) added remote PC-control capability via mobile “work task” mode. Enterprise digital human tools proliferated: Lenovo’s “AI Presenter” tool enables single-photo generation of high-fidelity 2D digital humans for corporate presentations and training; Beijing International Human Capital Group (北京人力) deployed digital humans “HR Sister,” “Aili,” and “Zheng Duoduo” for government service scenarios; and China Telecom’s “Xiaoyi Housekeeper” app, surpassing 300 million registered users, plans a 7.0 version centered on AI-driven digital human development. In Zhengzhou, the “Zheng Hao Ban” digital human handled over 410,000 consultations at 98.5% accuracy in government affairs services, while Xiongan Library deployed librarian digital human “Tu Xiao’an” for book navigation and smart shelving. Sichuan-based Mingtu Technology (明途科技), an AI agent “chain leader” enterprise in Tianfu New Area, built a “digital human cluster” platform called WorkBrain/WorkChat for intangible-heritage creators and cultural tourism, generating 4.3 million agents and orders exceeding 138 million yuan, with plans to export standards to Hong Kong and Southeast Asia via a Hong Kong-based OPC talent-sharing center.

Cultural and Public Sector Applications : Chinese state and cultural institutions expanded digital human deployment for heritage preservation, tourism, and rural education. In Ningbo’s Changjie town, Zhejiang Mobile built a 1,066-square-meter “Cultural Vein Cloud Corridor” featuring a mascot-based 3D digital human named “Chengzi” (razor clam) as an interactive guide with a localized knowledge base covering Ninghai history and folklore, alongside AI-restored historical photographs and 720-degree drone-view immersive village tours. Zhejiang’s Qingzhou Museum built a 1,000-square-meter “metaverse smart cultural exhibition space” and plans to launch digital human guide “Xiaozhi” in 2026, alongside a France-China cultural exchange “Little Prince” immersive exhibition. Weifang’s AI empowerment plan funds digital human tour guides at major museums alongside VR Mars-themed halls and kite-culture attractions. In Sichuan’s Liangshan region, Xichang University’s “Tongsheng Tongyin” project deployed AI virtual figures “Ayimo” and “Aniuye” to teach Standard Mandarin to preschoolers in ethnic minority areas like Xide County, aiming to bridge educational and language gaps for poverty alleviation. In Wenzhou, a “Social Security Card AI Image Spokesperson IP” competition produced 16 finalist AI-generated digital human mascots such as “Alu Mai” (based on a white deer with intangible-heritage paper-cutting motifs) and “Ou’an,” intended for eventual deployment in social security livestreaming and smart customer service. The 2026 China (Guizhou) Big Data Expo (数博会) will feature Chengdu-based Yuanmeng Space (元梦空间) showcasing an “AI super intelligent agent” digital human with long-term memory and emotional interaction capabilities, alongside a 3,000-square-kilometer metaverse world “Yuanmeng Big World.” China Tea Haidi’s “Hai Lu” digital human exemplifies “old brand” (老字号) revitalization, part of a broader Xiamen municipal initiative supporting AI transformation across traditional food, footwear, and beauty industries. Guangxi’s state media company produced a “Liu Sanjie” digital human video reviewed by regional leadership as part of AI-driven cultural industry development tied to China-ASEAN cooperation.

Ethical and Regulatory Contexts : The rapid commercialization of AI virtual humans in China has triggered sustained regulatory, legal, and ethical scrutiny. Beyond the Fang Taozi advertising scandal, commentators like Cheng Zhenwei argued that AI digital human licensing “cannot rely on passive-income thinking,” emphasizing that human trust and accountability cannot be outsourced to algorithms, and that stars like Joey Wong and Qi Wei who impose strict usage boundaries on their digital doubles represent a more sustainable model than open-ended commercial exploitation. A separate critique published via NetEase and Sohu highlighted the “thousand-dramas-one-face” problem, where AI actors across different productions share nearly identical facial features due to reliance on limited template libraries, triggering “uncanny valley” discomfort; per DataEye’s 2026 H1 report, over 221,900 new AI dramas launched with widespread homogenization, prompting Douyin to introduce copyright pre-screening tools and rules banning cross-drama reuse of similar facial templates, though critics noted platform bans alone cannot solve the problem without upstream tools enabling more original, lower-cost character generation. Legal scholars and industry figures underscored that broadcast regulator requirements now mandate AIGC content labeling, and China’s National Radio and Television Administration has pushed for unified oversight of both real-actor and AI-simulated micro-dramas emphasizing quality over volume. In a related global context but with direct China relevance, ByteDance signed a memorandum of understanding with the Motion Picture Association in August 2026 to strengthen IP protections in its Seedance video-generation and Seedream image-generation models (used via TikTok, CapCut, and Dreamina), following earlier disputes with Disney and Paramount over alleged unauthorized use of copyrighted footage in training data; ByteDance’s Seedance 2.0 subsequently suspended real-person reference features, now requiring identity verification for digital-double creation and disabling generation of recognizable IP characters like Disney properties. Separately, a New York City mayoral video featuring fluent Mandarin was widely suspected by Chinese-speaking audiences of being an AI deepfake, prompting an official denial from the mayor’s office confirming it was authentic real-person footage, reflecting growing public skepticism toward synthetic media veracity in cross-cultural political communication involving Chinese-language content.

18 August News

Entertainment : AI-generated virtual actors and digital doubles have become a defining trend in Chinese short-drama and film production during 2026, with major domestic celebrities licensing their likenesses to authorized AI ventures. Retired actress Joey Wong, absent from public life for 22 years, appeared at NetEase’s Tianxia (天下) 18th anniversary event in Guangzhou to endorse an exclusive AI likeness deal covering her 20s-to-30s peak-era appearance, restricted to the AIGC short film Qianying (倩影), in-game NPCs, and themed costumes; the film, voiced by Su Baili and produced with NetEase’s DM Monet canvas and ByteDance’s Volcano Engine using Seedance 2.0, recreated her classic roles such as Nie Xiaoqian and Bai Suzhen, with Wong declaring “we use AI, we are not used by AI.” Actor Wu Qihua (吴启华) licensed his 20-year-old likeness for a single AI film project under a limited, contractually restricted agreement, while 93-year-old actor You Benchang authorized his likeness and voice for the AI microdrama Jigong zhi Maopai Xianglong and an elder-care brand ad titled At 93, I Got My First Robot, retaining artistic director authority over scripts and final cuts. Actress Qi Wei became the first active mainland celebrity to formally open her AI likeness for licensing, launching digital double “Han Qingxia” as producer and voice performer for the AI comic drama Modern Summer of the End Times, though a promotional clip featuring a low-angle “thunder shot” under a skirt sparked public backlash over gratuitous framing, prompting the studio to revise prompts and re-edit the footage. Commentators noted a sharp contrast between well-received cases like You Benchang’s, where personal artistic oversight preserved character “soul,” and mixed reception for Wong’s and Wu’s likenesses, criticized as visually polished but emotionally hollow. Beyond celebrity likenesses, wholly AI-native virtual characters are also achieving independent fame and commercial traction: Fang Taozi, star of the AI drama The Girl Who Got Laid Off, amassed nearly 500,000 followers within two months and commanded advertising rates of up to 258,000 yuan for videos exceeding 60 seconds, though her eyewear endorsement was pulled from platforms after being flagged for false advertising since a virtual character cannot substantiate genuine product experience; meanwhile Duan Yan, male lead of the AI drama Qinru Shenqing Qinru Yusheng, secured a Tmall Qixi festival brand partnership and drove over 10,000 unit sales of a tie-in bracelet, but faced accusations from voice actor Sanshi of unauthorized AI voice cloning and earlier claims that his character design plagiarized the game Love and Deepspace. AI-driven “idol audition” shows such as 12 Star Idol Competition and Star Light 108 attempted to replicate fan-economy dynamics with virtual contestants, though engagement metrics declined sharply after initial buzz, reflecting a broader industry challenge in sustaining originality once technical production barriers are lowered. Regulatory responses have followed swiftly: Hongguo Duanju issued a notice targeting “high-frequency AI faces” and homogenized character designs after viewers complained multiple unrelated characters across different shows shared identical facial templates and expressions, while Douyin’s short-drama creator center launched a pre-screening tool on August 3 to detect portrait-rights and copyright risks before release; separately, Douyin’s short-drama unit issued a “Virtual Character Creation and Rights Confirmation Guide” for AI comic dramas to address likeness, voice, and artwork rights disputes.

Marketing and Advertising : Chinese brands and financial institutions are increasingly deploying AI digital humans and virtual spokespeople across advertising, livestreaming, and customer service, alongside a parallel wave of unauthorized celebrity-likeness advertising schemes. Ant Group’s medical platform Ant Ahfu Doctor Edition added an “AI Digital Double Assistant” letting physicians create personal AI clones offering round-the-clock pre-consultation, health advice, and follow-up summaries, part of a broader AI health push that has surpassed 100 million users. In financial services, brokerages including Guotai Haitong, Zhongtai Securities, and Kaiyuan Securities expanded digital-human video anchors for market commentary and short-video distribution on Douyin and Xiaohongshu during the “818 Wealth Management Festival,” though firms cautioned that compliance rules requiring licensed human presenters for live financial broadcasts still constrain digital-human deployment in regulated advisory contexts. E-commerce and retail campaigns have embraced AI spokes-characters at scale: Qiaqia Foods launched its snack industry’s first AI brand ambassador “Chacky” (洽可儿) with multimodal interaction for livestreaming, customer service, and in-store engagement, while JD.com’s home appliance division produced a joint promotional short film featuring AI digital doubles of executives from Haier, Midea, Ronshen, Meiling, Panasonic and Siemens; JD’s broader “JoyAvatar” digital-human tool served over 80,000 merchants with livestreaming account activity up several-fold year over year. Shenzhen’s Shuibei jewelry district deployed a “Shuibei digital human anchor” for e-commerce livestreaming during a promotional event. However, a darker side of AI-driven marketing emerged: an underground market has developed for renting celebrity AI face-licenses for e-commerce advertising, with brokers reporting individual celebrities earning up to 3 million yuan monthly from such deals, while ordinary background actors in Hengdian have had their likenesses bought outright for as little as 100-1,500 yuan for building digital-human asset libraries, raising exploitation concerns. Separately, investigative reporting documented a wave of AI-generated advertisements using low-quality, exploitative, or misleading tactics—including Supor-licensed retailers producing bathroom-intrusion “shock” scenarios and babysheep amplifying menstrual shame narratives to sell hygiene products—prompting scholars to call for platform-level accountability and stricter brand oversight of AI-generated marketing content.

Gaming : NetEase’s flagship IP Tianxia (天下), active since 2008 with a Classic of Mountains and Seas (山海经) mythological setting, became the centerpiece of the year’s most prominent celebrity AI-licensing deal, using AI to recreate actress Joey Wong’s classic screen persona for its 18th-anniversary campaign; the resulting short film Qianying, deployed alongside in-game NPCs and costume tie-ins, was described by industry observers as China’s first fully AI-generated advertising film built on a licensed celebrity likeness for a game property, and it stimulated wider discussion of AI’s role in reviving dormant entertainment IP within gaming.

Enterprise and Financial Services : Chinese brokerages are integrating AI more deeply into wealth management operations during the tenth annual “818 Wealth Management Festival,” shifting AI’s role from a marketing gimmick toward core advisory infrastructure while continuing to expand digital-human applications. Guoxin Securities, Kaiyuan Securities, Guojin Securities, and Huaxin Securities each described AI moving from front-end engagement tools into embedded functions across client management, transaction services, and account diagnostics; Huaxin Securities termed its integrated AI service robot a “super brain” for investment advisory delivery, while Guotai Haitong reported its “Lingxi” AI-native app served 83 million users by mid-2026 with month-over-month retention above 90% among users of its intelligent investment service. Adoption metrics showed meaningful traction: Guoxin’s smart conditional order tool signed 32,500 accounts representing over 15% of active clients with cumulative trading volume near 50 billion yuan, while Guoyuan Securities reported one in ten active trading clients now uses intelligent advisory products with strong retention. Digital-human livestreaming remained constrained by regulatory requirements mandating licensed human presenters for live financial broadcasts; Guotai Haitong, Zhongtai Securities, and Huaxin Securities deployed digital humans for pre-market briefings, market commentary, and short-video investor education content on Douyin and Xiaohongshu, but firms including Zhongtai and Kaiyuan explicitly noted that digital humans cannot yet satisfy platform licensing and real-time interaction requirements for live investment advice, limiting their use to educational and promotional contexts rather than direct advisory delivery.

Ethical Contexts and Regulation : China’s AI virtual-being ecosystem faced intensifying scrutiny over authenticity, likeness rights, and content standards throughout mid-2026, prompting new regulatory and platform-level interventions. The National Radio and Television Administration’s Measure for the Development and Management of Micro-Dramas (Order No. 16), effective September 1, 2026, introduces the country’s first dedicated regulatory framework for micro-dramas amid explosive AI-content growth—AI-generated works comprised over 95% of the 128,000 micro-dramas released in Q1 2026 alone. Comparative case studies of celebrity AI licensing highlighted stark reputational divergence: 93-year-old You Benchang’s AI “Jigong” digital human, which preserved his personal artistic oversight and decades of performance nuance, was broadly praised as indistinguishable from genuine performance, while Joey Wong’s AI-recreated youthful likeness and Wu Qihua’s licensed 20-year-old persona drew criticism for lacking authentic emotional resonance despite technical polish, illustrating that AI likeness quality depends heavily on the original artist’s active involvement rather than pure rendering fidelity. Legal commentary emphasized that AI virtual humans are not classified as “advertising endorsers” under China’s Advertising Law, creating regulatory gray zones exposed by the Fang Taozi false-advertising controversy for a Class III medical device (colored contact lenses), which was ultimately pulled from Douyin following public and prosecutorial criticism that “AI actors cannot provide genuine product experience.” Platform governance responses accelerated: Hongguo Duanju’s public notice on regulating AI drama character creation targeted rampant “high-frequency AI face” homogenization—where unrelated characters across dozens of dramas shared identical facial templates and expressions, triggering “uncanny valley” discomfort among viewers—while explicitly banning unauthorized use of others’ copyrighted likenesses, costumes, and artistic designs; Douyin’s parallel predictive screening tool, launched August 3, targets AI drama copyright holders and directing studios to flag portrait-rights violations before publication. Separately, Shenzhen completed China’s first data intellectual-property registration for portrait/likeness data in the cultural-creative sector, involving Chengdu-based MCN agency OST Media’s contracted creators, establishing a standardized compliance pathway for likeness data collection, cleansing, and commercial licensing amid widespread concerns about ambiguous ownership and unauthorized commercial exploitation of performer likenesses industry-wide. Legal analysts and industry figures, including actors Mao Kuanren and Yu Shutian, debated the ethics of “selling one’s face” to AI systems, contrasting negotiated, scope-limited celebrity licensing deals with predatory practices targeting lower-tier performers who sold permanent likeness rights for as little as 100 yuan, effectively foreclosing future career opportunities; a related investigative feature documented “gray-market face theft,” where AI models are trained on scraped social-media photos without consent to generate convincing but unauthorized synthetic videos.

17 August News

Cultural and Tourism Applications : On 14 August Chengdu launched the third themed event of the 2026 Chengdu Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Innovation Application Competition, titled “Smart Tourism Cool Summer · AI Roaming”, at Tianfu International Animation City, jointly organised by the Chengdu Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology, the Chengdu New Economy Commission and the Chenghua District Bureau of Economy, Science and Technology. More than ten technology companies put humanoid robots, robot dogs, delivery robots and holographic digital humans into live cultural-tourism settings for practical testing: the Dexforce W1 PRO humanoid robot worked as a “2D barista” producing customised latte art for anime fans, while Chengdu Mingtu Technology (成都明途科技) showed a holographic warehouse digital human and Xinglanxing Digital Technology debuted a naked-eye 3D holographic intelligent screen. The Tangpa robot carried a 19-inch screen for brand display and user-profile collection, and the Yuefan Innovation Xiangdi Ultra delivery robot, the Yushu Technology (宇树科技, Unitree) and Sichuan Zhongke Yuyi G1 humanoid robot, a Chengdu Lingsu Intelligent Technology quadruped, and the Hongde Boyu ice cream robot together formed a “Made in Chengdu” robot team. The event uses a “scenario evaluation” closed-loop mechanism in which visitor feedback drives product iteration, part of Chengdu’s positioning as a global city for innovative AI application scenarios.

AI Startup Communities and Virtual IP Incubation : The Chengdu AI Ecosystem Partner Conference and the Kemeng OPC Community (科梦OPC社区) opened on 14 August at the Chengdu Media·Bailuwan Science and Technology Innovation Park, described as China’s first “one-person company” startup community combining science-fiction IP with artificial intelligence. The initial phase covers roughly 2,500 square metres, has attracted over 400 registered teams, and selected a first batch of 15 projects spanning virtual digital IP, AI creative design and digital art. At the opening ceremony AJ, initiator of the open-source community WaytoAGI, held a dialogue with Zhao Hanqing (赵汗青), founder of the first AI digital human team in China to receive official identification, whose AI virtual idol “Yuri” is the first officially certified virtual idol in China and has been tested in smart cockpit and virtual assistant applications. Ecosystem partners include Alipay AI (支付宝), Qunhe Technology (群核科技), Baidu Miaoda (百度秒哒), MiniMax, Alibaba Cloud AI (阿里云) and Jieyue Xingchen (阶跃星辰), with showcases in virtual digital IP, AIGC film and television production and virtual digital human performance, building on Chengdu’s animation and game industry base.

Digital Human Public Services : At the 2026 National Ecological Day event and the Yantai Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality Forum, Yantai in Shandong launched “Yan Xiaoqing” (烟小青), a smart question-answering digital human for green and low-carbon development, developed in-house by the “Green Yantai” studio of Jiaodong Online (胶东在线) under the Yantai Municipal Media Convergence Centre, and used as the event’s intelligent guide. The digital human runs a two-layer “general large model plus dedicated knowledge base” architecture, integrating speech recognition, speech synthesis and image-driven technologies for real-time synchronisation of lip movement, expression and gesture; at the same conference Yantai released its first city-level scenario capability and scenario opportunity lists, framed as media transformation through “technology + content + city IP.” Separately, Hefei in Anhui opened “AI Companion” digital human service opportunities across cultural tourism and hotel scenarios, using spatial positioning to deliver intelligent guiding and explanation services, with Hefei Cultural Tourism Group proposing cooperation on service robots and whole-room voice interaction for the hotel industry.

Enterprise and Medical Applications : At the 2026 University-Enterprise Cooperation Exchange Conference in Shenzhen, Ping An Insurance (中国平安) launched “Cheng Xiao’an” (橙小安), an AI digital avatar for campus recruitment offering 24/7 intelligent job recommendation, recruitment progress tracking and alumni dialogue as part of its “Technology + Human Touch” recruitment service system, alongside Ping An Technology’s “NOVA Rising Star Talent Program” focused on integrated finance and healthcare/elderly-care scenarios. In healthcare, Ant Group’s “Ant Doctor Edition” (formerly “Good Doctor Doctor Edition”) added “AI Medical Assistant” and “AI Avatar Assistant” functions allowing doctors to create their own AI avatars for 24/7 pre-diagnosis, health consultation and post-diagnosis follow-up, with over 300,000 registered doctors connected to the platform. Alipay also launched the “Immunity Encyclopedia” (免疫百事通) intelligent agent, jointly developed by Ant Health and Good Doctor Online (好大夫在线), combining immunity self-assessment, intelligent Q&A and interaction with AI avatars of named physicians from top-tier hospitals nationwide. In logistics, LuGe (路歌) has embedded its self-developed AI digital human “LuGe Tingjie” into its scenario-based service system, applied to uses such as anti-fraud identification in the high-value freight sector.

Entertainment and Short Dramas : Hong Kong actress Joey Wong (王祖贤), retired from acting for 22 years, attended the 18th anniversary player ecosystem conference for NetEase’s “Tianxia” (天下) in Guangzhou on 15 August and addressed the licensing of her AI image for the first time, saying “we use AI, not AI uses us.” She licensed her peak-era image, from her twenties to thirties, to the PC game, and with support from NetEase Interactive Entertainment’s DM Monet canvas and Volcano Engine (火山引擎) technology a fully AI-generated short film “Qianying” (倩影, voiced by Su Baili) recreated classic characters including Nie Xiaoqian and Bai Suzhen, feeding in-game digital NPCs and the exclusive costume “Qianying Youhun.” Wong did not appear in the film or in offline promotion and the licence was limited to this single project, treated in the industry as the first landmark case of a Hong Kong star fully licensing AI facial features commercially. Earlier cases include 62-year-old actor Wu Qihua (吴启华), who licensed his twenties-era image for an AI film, and 93-year-old You Benchang (游本昌), who starred as a digital avatar in the short drama “Jigong: The Imposter Dragon Slayer” (济公之冒牌降龙) while serving as art director and also filmed an elder-care brand advertisement titled “At 93, I Own My First Robot.” Actress Qi Wei (戚薇) launched her personal AI digital avatar “Han Qingxia” (韩清夏) in the AI comic series “The Last Summer,” insisting on “limited authorisation, no buyout” with final review rights, and said she would adjust trailer scenes after controversy. The domestic AI drama and comic market is projected to reach 40 billion yuan in 2026, with Douyin (抖音) adding 221,900 new AI micro-dramas in the first half of the year; the female lead “Fang Taozi” (方桃子) of the AI short drama “The Girl Who Was Laid Off” (被裁掉的女孩) gained over 400,000 followers and 30 million likes and accepted a 258,000 yuan colored contact lens advertisement, which drew false-advertising complaints because the virtual human cannot have a real wearing experience, prompting regulators to investigate the brand “JianGuoLi” (坚果力), operated by Anhui Huaxin Enterprise Management Co., Ltd.. Hangzhou self-media bloggers such as “Tiaohemei07” have published AI-avatar content, and agencies including Yuehua Entertainment (乐华娱乐) have made “robot + AI + IP” a strategic direction, creating AI digital avatars of artists such as Bi Wenjun (毕雯珺) for livestream e-commerce, which some fans argue dilutes the image of the real performers.

Education and Government Affairs : Shanghai Normal University (上海师范大学) has developed a large-scale teacher-education model called “Zhiyuan Classroom”, combining large language models, computer vision and digital human technology to create nine intelligent student agents able to see, hear, think, speak, move and express emotion, simulating different student response types as an immersive training environment for teacher trainees; it covers nine teacher-training majors, 23 courses and more than 2,300 students across four cohorts and has been selected as an application scenario for the 2026 World Digital Education Conference. Research from Jiangxi Tourism and Commerce Vocational College (江西旅游商贸职业学院) proposes a four-dimensional AIGC mechanism — “intelligent content production, immersive scene construction, precise emotional transmission, collaborative value guidance” — in which virtual digital human technology recreates historical scenes and creates characters such as “Jiangxi Development Guides” for university ideological and political education. The Jinggangshan (井冈山) red tourism scenic area has introduced AI-powered intelligent navigation, digital human explanation, AR spatiotemporal restoration and a red gene database, experienced and recorded by practice groups from universities including Jiangnan University. Guangdong launched an “Artificial Intelligence Training for Every Household” campaign showcasing real-time interactive virtual digital humans in its AIGC Creative Experience Zone to raise public digital literacy, while a volunteer team from Guangdong University of Foreign Languages and Arts combined digital human technology with revolutionary drama at a community summer camp for teenagers.

Ethical, Legal, and Regulatory Contexts : Responding to disorder in AI virtual human endorsement, legal scholars from China University of Political Science and Law (中国政法大学) and Nankai University (南开大学) reiterated that AI digital humans have no independent legal personality and cannot act as advertising endorsers, and that first-person fabrication of a real experience — such as claiming a product is “very comfortable to wear for a day” — is suspected of violating the Advertising Law, with liability falling on operators and advertisers; the colored contact lens advertisement fronted by “Fang Taozi” has been removed and is under investigation by local regulators. The National Radio and Television Administration’s “Administrative Measures for the Development of Micro-Dramas” take effect on 1 September, regulating the micro-drama industry through administrative regulation for the first time and covering content classification and filing, eleven categories of prohibited content, and mandatory labelling of AI-generated content, aimed directly at inconsistent quality and frequent infringement in AI short dramas. On 14 August WeChat’s “Coral Security” (珊瑚安全) removed dozens of illegal micro-dramas and acted against illegal mini-programs. In commentary, outlets including the People’s Political Consultative Conference Daily (人民政协报) noted the aesthetic paradox of AI virtual actors deliberately retaining pores and acne scars in pursuit of realism while real actors present a “perfect mask” through excessive skin smoothing, calling on the industry to abandon “beauty worship” for a script-centred approach. Police also issued a warning about a “street number recitation” scam in which criminals use AI to capture facial dynamics and voiceprint information simultaneously for identity theft, underlining the urgency of protecting personal biometric information.

16 August News

Healthcare : AI-driven medical and health services continued to expand across several Chinese platforms and institutions, with some incorporating virtual human interfaces. Alipay (支付宝) launched an AI agent called “Immune Encyclopedia” (免疫百事通), jointly developed by Ant Health and Good Doctor Online (好大夫在线), offering immunity self-assessment, AI question-answering, and interactions with AI-based digital clones of named physicians from tertiary hospitals across oncology, respiratory, and general practice departments; users can escalate to booking consultations with real doctors within the same app. JD Health (京东健康) reported that its AI doctor “Dawei” (大为) added a long-term health-record memory function and saw user numbers grow nearly fourfold during the 618 shopping festival, while a collaboration with Guangzhou Medical University-affiliated First Hospital produced an AI digital human that conducts automated pre-consultation intake for respiratory patients, syncing structured case histories to physician workstations before in-person visits. Zhejiang University’s Second Affiliated Hospital (浙大二院), partnering with Huawei, unveiled a “Global Digital Intelligent Healthcare Benchmark Site” combining telemedicine, AI-assisted diagnostics, and drone-based cold-chain medication delivery, alongside a white paper on AI-driven remote healthcare; the hospital also introduced full-vascular digital human modeling for surgical planning and AI-enabled pathology processing. In Heilongjiang, the AI-powered psychiatric hospital Harbin Baiyupao (哈尔滨精神专科白渔泡医院), supported by China Telecom’s TeleAgent platform, deployed AI systems for operational analytics and automated patient follow-up, while a 5G network upgrade at the Chinese Baroque Historical District in Harbin enabled AR digital human tour guiding alongside crowd-monitoring applications.

Cultural and Tourism Applications : Virtual human and digital avatar technologies are increasingly embedded in Chinese cultural tourism and heritage sites to enhance visitor engagement. In Jiangxi, Nanchang’s Tengwang Pavilion (滕王阁) scenic area deployed a VR experience recreating Tang-dynasty banquet scenes alongside a virtual digital human “Wang Bo” (王勃) that scores visitors’ recitations of the classical essay “Tengwang Pavilion Preface” and provides guiding and route-planning services. In Hunan, Yuelu Academy (岳麓书院) in Changsha uses a “Digital Human Zhu Xi” (数字人朱熹) allowing visitors to converse remotely with a virtual rendering of the historical Song-dynasty philosopher, complementing livestreamed lectures and a “mobile ideological education classroom” that has reached over 100,000 visitors. In Heilongjiang, Harbin Polarland (哈尔滨极地公园) is completing installation of what it calls the world’s first AI-interactive digital media “giant sphere,” featuring 8K glasses-free 3D visuals and AI-driven digital humans representing beluga whales, penguins, and polar bears that engage visitors in real-time voice conversations; the project is expected to open to the public by late August. In Guizhou, a company called Guizhou Qianshengtengwei Technology (贵州乾圣腾威科技有限公司) launched the “Bansmeng Zhixing” (伴梦智行) project using AIGC to generate personalized digital souvenirs, short films, and AI-driven content for visitors at red tourism sites and the Guiyang Yunyan urban district, with plans to expand into performance venues such as “Colorful Guizhou Wind” (多彩贵州风) and mountain tourism sites. In Shenzhen, the Shuibei jewelry industry livestream season featured a “Shuibei digital human host” (水贝数字人主播) integrated with Taobao Live’s “City Tour” livestreaming format. In Yantai, Shandong, a municipal event unveiled a digital human named “Yan Xiaoqing” (烟小青) to announce the city’s first list of green and low-carbon application scenarios. In Jiangxi’s broader “follow the poetry, take a trip” tourism trend, digital and virtual elements including VR and AI-generated content are being layered onto sites tied to classical Chinese literary works to deepen visitor immersion.

Entertainment and Short Dramas : AI-generated virtual actors and digital humans have become a significant commercial force in China’s short-drama and entertainment industry. The AI-generated virtual human “Fang Taozi” (方桃子), star of the AI short drama “The Girl Who Was Laid Off” (被裁掉的女孩), amassed over 470,000 followers and generated more than 2.2 billion views across platforms; her per-episode production cost was a fraction of traditional filming costs. Fang Taozi’s commercial advertising rates reportedly reached RMB 258,000 for videos over 60 seconds, rivaling top human influencers, but a colored contact lens (美瞳) advertisement in which she claimed the product “felt comfortable all day” sparked nationwide controversy and regulatory scrutiny, since she has no physical eyes and colored contacts are classified as Class III medical devices in China, for which representative endorsements are legally prohibited; the ad was subsequently removed and local market regulators in Chuzhou, Anhui province opened an investigation. Legal experts including Zhu Wei of China University of Political Science and Law and Liu Xiaochun of the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences clarified that AI virtual humans lack independent legal personality and cannot serve as legal “endorsers” under China’s Advertising Law, with liability instead falling on the operating company and advertiser. Separately, AI virtual character “Duan Yan” (段宴) from the drama “Yu Ni Shenqing Qinru Yusheng” drove over RMB 1 million in sales of a themed bracelet and was named Tmall’s Qixi Festival “AI companion,” but voice actor “Sanshi Bugou Xian” publicly alleged his voice had been cloned without authorization for related advertising content. ByteDance’s Douyin platform introduced a “Manga Drama Virtual Image Creation and Rights Confirmation Guide” (漫剧虚拟形象创建与确权指引), allowing rights holders to register AI-generated virtual characters—whether based on real people, existing IP, or original creations—to reduce infringement disputes; Hongguo (红果) short-drama platform has extended equal onboarding treatment to virtual actors, including official promotional materials and induction ceremonies akin to human performers. In a related but distinct wave, veteran and legacy performers including Wang Zuxian (王祖贤), You Benchang (游本昌), Wu Qihua (吴启华), and Qi Wei (戚薇) have authorized official AI likenesses for commercial use: Wang Zuxian licensed her 20s-to-30s peak-era image (via NetEase’s DM Monet team and Volcano Engine’s Seedance 2.0 technology) exclusively for the “Tianxia” (天下) game IP, including an AI advertisement short film “Qianying” (倩影) and in-game NPC content; You Benchang, 93, authorized his classic “Jigong” (济公) monk persona for a microdrama on Hongguo titled “Jigong: The Fake Dragon Subduer” (济公之冒牌降龙) and an elder-care brand AI advertisement titled “At 93, I Got My First Robot” (93岁,我拥有了人生第一个机器人); actor Wu Qihua licensed his 20-year-old likeness to an AI film company for a single feature film; and actress Qi Wei launched an official AI digital clone named “Han Qingxia” (韩清夏) with an independent post-apocalyptic persona, serving as producer for the AI comic-drama “Midsummer Apocalypse” (末日盛夏, adapted from the novel “Reborn in Apocalypse: Stockpiling to Wealth”), retaining final content approval rights and limiting licensing to specific approved projects rather than outright image sale. Additionally, Chengdu-based media company Jiuzhou Culture (嘉兴九州文化传媒有限公司) reported that AI-content creation roles now account for 60% of its roughly 9,000-person workforce, with specialized positions such as AIGC director, AI script writer, and AI “card-drawing” video generator commanding average monthly salaries around RMB 30,000 for video-generation roles and RMB 22,500 for AI directing roles, alongside a claimed reduction of single AI short-drama production costs to RMB 30,000–50,000, a decrease of over 90% versus traditional live-action dramas.

Marketing and Advertising : Virtual digital humans and AI-generated spokesmodels are increasingly deployed across Chinese corporate marketing and livestream commerce. Jinpai Home Furnishing (金牌家居), a Xiamen-based cabinetry company, was an early industry adopter, launching in 2022 what it called the sector’s first digital human, “Jinchan Zixia” (金婵紫), to engage younger consumers, and the company’s stock is tagged under the “virtual digital human” investment concept. Guizhou Tire (贵州轮胎) registered copyright for a new digital human IP mascot called “Lunbao” (轮宝). Guomai Culture (国脉文化), a Shanghai-listed digital media company under China Telecom, developed virtual digital human figures “Irene” (艾琳) and “Xiaolin” (小琳) as corporate spokes-avatars modeled on its general manager and employee representatives, alongside AI-generated short dramas exceeding 200 episodes. Lenovo (联想) launched a self-developed digital human platform called “Lenovo AI Presenter,” designed around PPT-based presentations for both recorded online courses and real-time human-machine co-presenting, featuring proprietary low-cost real-time 2D digital human technology with millisecond-precision synchronization between voice, body movement, and slide transitions, offered under a free-tier-plus-scalable pricing model. JD.com’s (京东) digital human product JoyAvatar has served over 80,000 merchants, with livestreaming account activations up threefold year-on-year and daily active broadcasting accounts up sixfold; during the 618 shopping festival, digital-human livestream duration and transaction value both grew more than fourfold year-on-year, and the service remains free for merchants. JD also produced a cross-brand “digital human joint short film” featuring virtual likenesses of executives from Haier, Midea, Konka, Meiling, Panasonic, Siemens, TCL, Dreame, Xinfei, and Xingxing to jointly promote new refrigerator energy-efficiency standards. Shenzhen’s Shuibei jewelry district livestream season introduced a “Shuibei digital human anchor” for Taobao Live’s city-tour livestream format. An IT industry analysis (published via ITHome) profiled six Chinese digital-human livestream service providers—Baidu Xiling (百度曦灵), JD Yanxi (京东言犀), Silicon-based Intelligence (硅基智能), Shiyou Technology (世优科技), Xiangxin Technology (相芯科技), and Leqi Group (乐其集团)—noting that Leqi, servicing over 150 global brands across 300 stores in categories like beauty, maternal-infant products, and food, integrates digital-human livestreaming into a broader AI-driven e-commerce operations suite including livestream monitoring, content generation, and data analytics tools branded FreeAI.

Enterprise and Industrial Applications : Chinese enterprises and government bodies are integrating digital human and virtual-assistant technologies into administrative, industrial, and customer-service functions. The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, alongside three other national bodies, issued an implementing opinion on advancing “AI+ human resources and social security” applications, explicitly calling for digital-human livestream job recruitment, remote hiring, smart interviews, and a multimodal “smart social security assistant” offering 24/7 “digital clerk” services with scenario-based guided processing for administrative tasks; a related national 12333 hotline smart customer-service knowledge base is also being developed. In Heilongjiang, the Provincial Digital Government Operations Center’s “Longzheng Zhishu” (龙政智数) government AI large model created over 80 government-service AI agents while cutting computing infrastructure requirements by roughly 90% compared to dispersed builds. In Zhejiang, Zhejiang Construction Vocational and Technical College (浙江建设职业技术学院) and Hangzhou Tongxingren Technology (杭州同行人科技有限公司) filed a patent for a “multimodal interactive digital human intelligent service system,” designed to synchronize voice, facial expression, and body movement through a semantic coordination architecture, aiming to overcome “spatiotemporal mismatch” flaws in digital human interaction. Zhengzhou’s Zhengdong New District established an AI-focused “One-Person Company” (OPC) innovation community incorporating JD Cloud’s Lingjing AI, the Blobi AI comic-drama platform, and virtual digital human services as discounted offerings for solo AI entrepreneurs. Securities brokerages including Guotai Junan (国泰海通), Caixin Securities (财信证券), and Caida Securities (财达证券) are rapidly rolling out standardized “AI Skills” modules—packaging research methodologies, data interfaces, and workflows into AI-callable functions—with China International Capital Corporation (中金公司) launching an “Analyst Skill” enabling institutional clients to converse with distilled “digital clones” of senior analysts’ research frameworks; as of July 2026, 32 brokerages had completed algorithm and model filings.

Gaming and Digital Content Platforms : The Chengdu Kemeng OPC Community (成都科梦OPC社区), described as China’s first science-fiction-IP-integrated AI “One-Person Company” community, opened in Chengdu’s Bailuwan Media Science and Innovation Park, jointly built by Chengdu Media Group and the global AI open-source community WaytoAGI; the community focuses on sectors including AIGC film production, virtual digital human performance, and AI agent applications, with its first cohort of 15 vetted teams spanning virtual digital IP, AI creative design, digital art, and AI-sports analytics. Notably, entrepreneur Zhao Hanqing (赵汗青), founder of what was described as China’s first AI digital human team to obtain official government-issued identification, presented his AI idol “Yuri,” and announced plans to launch new Chengdu-based ventures combining IP, gaming, and quasi-film/animation content. Additional confirmed participants included Seede AI founder Long Jiawen, Woyin AI founder Leng Yi, AIGC digital art studio Blindart founder Zhu Wenxu (Ivy), sports-data platform Yundong Zhenying Alano founder Chen Lei, and inclusive AI brand Xingyun founder Huang Keyun. Ecosystem partners Alipay AI, Baidu Miaoda, Alibaba Cloud AI, and MiniMax showcased new product launches at the opening event. Separately, in Zhejiang’s provincial “20 Rules for Livestream Economy” policy document, authorities explicitly encouraged using livestreaming and digital-human technology to expand the reach of cultural heritage, animation, gaming, and performing-arts IP monetization, while Guizhou’s rural e-commerce training programs and Heilongjiang’s cross-sector AI rollout both referenced digital-human tools as part of broader livestream-commerce skill development.

Ethical, Legal, and Regulatory Contexts : Chinese regulators, courts, and industry bodies are actively working to define legal and ethical boundaries for virtual human commercialization amid rising disputes. Shenzhen’s Municipal Intellectual Property Office facilitated what was described as China’s first data intellectual property registration for portrait/likeness data in the cultural-creative sector, allowing a Chengdu-based OST Media-affiliated creator to register facial features, dynamic expressions, voiceprints, and body-language video clips as a protected “digital personality asset” using a “three-dimensional rights confirmation model” spanning biometric, creative, and ownership layers, with blockchain-based judicial-chain synchronization intended to serve as preliminary evidence in future AI-face-swap or virtual-human impersonation disputes; the case was reportedly cited by the National Intellectual Property Administration as a flagship 2026 case and presented at a WIPO digital-governance forum. Legal scholars clarified that under China’s Civil Code Article 1023, protection of an individual’s voice is applied by analogy to portrait-rights protections, meaning unauthorized AI cloning of a voice actor’s voice constitutes infringement if the resulting synthetic voice is identifiable as belonging to a specific individual; a landmark case in 2024 saw a court award RMB 250,000 in damages plus a public apology to a voice actor whose voice had been cloned without consent, and multiple voice-acting professionals, including one associated with dubbing studio Bian Jiang, have since organized collective actions against unauthorized AI voice cloning. On the Fang Taozi controversy, Anhui provincial market regulators in Chuzhou’s Langya district opened a formal investigation after the colored-contact-lens advertisement was removed, with legal commentary (including from lawyer Yu Zhenhong of Beijing Huayi Law Firm and legal scholars cited by Xinhua-affiliated outlets) emphasizing that AI digital humans, lacking independent legal personality, cannot serve as statutory advertising endorsers, but that operators and advertisers remain fully liable for false-advertising violations, especially given that colored contact lenses are classified as Class III medical devices for which representative endorsements are explicitly barred under China’s Advertising Law. Separately, Shanxi’s provincial consumer protection association issued a public warning about AI-enabled scams involving face-swapping, voice cloning, and virtual-human livestreaming used to impersonate celebrities or experts for fraudulent product endorsements, while multiple Chinese cities reported a new scam in which fraudsters use real-time AI face and voiceprint capture during video calls—prompted by requests to “read out a string of numbers on camera”—to generate deepfake digital replicas capable of passing facial and voice verification on lending platforms, leading to victims being fraudulently registered for loans without their knowledge.

15 August News

Healthcare : Ant Group upgraded its physician-facing application “Good Doctor” into “Ant Fortune Doctor Version” (蚂蚁阿福医生版), positioning it as China’s first medical AI workstation covering online consultation, patient management, and research, featuring two modules: an “AI Medical Assistant” and an “AI Digital Avatar Assistant.” The avatar assistant lets physicians upload information to create a personal digital assistant available 24/7 to conduct pre-visit triage, answer patient questions, and generate follow-up summaries synced to patient health records, while the medical assistant provides searchable access to over 60 million pieces of medical content. The platform links with the consumer-facing Ant Fortune app, which has surpassed 100 million users and already runs an “AI Q&A plus doctor review” service in dermatology and 16 other departments with over 90% consistency between AI analysis and physician review; Ant Health has also partnered with Wolters Kluwer and DeepTech (深势科技) for content and literature-search support. Separately, researchers at Xidian University’s School of Artificial Intelligence, led by Professor Gou Shuiping, developed an “AI Time Mirror” system that converts lumbar spine MRI scans into dynamic, quantifiable aging biomarkers, introducing “Age Delta” and “Age Selta” indices to measure how far a patient’s spinal degeneration deviates from normal aging, building on earlier work including the 2022 ARDA model for craniofacial aging analysis from a single low-cost skull X-ray and a 2024 meniscus injury grading technique with visual explainability, together forming a technology chain from joint degeneration quantification to whole-body aging risk prediction, with findings published in npj Digital Medicine and clinical translation underway with multiple hospitals.

Cultural and Educational Contexts : At the Shanghai Book Fair’s Jing’an venue inside CITIC Pacific Plaza, CITIC Bookstore’s Cognitive Lab (中信书店·信睿Lab) created an “AI Reading Rubik’s Cube” exhibition exploring four dimensions of AI-publishing integration, including an “Agent” pavilion built with Second Me that lets readers create digital avatar walls of authors and translators and chat directly with the digital doubles of writers and translators about their creative process, alongside a Skill collaboration with Xiaohongshu Technology turning books into conversational tools and an AIGC short-film workshop themed on Calvino’s “Invisible Cities.” In an unrelated education demonstration, a Chinese education platform used actor Tang Guoqiang’s AI digital avatar, reconstructed as his character Zhuge Liang from the 1994 TV adaptation of “Romance of the Three Kingdoms,” to deliver an immersive lesson on the classical text “Chu Shi Biao” (Memorial on Setting Out) for middle school students, generating enthusiastic online reaction; a professor from a Chinese “985” university’s AI teaching project noted that while cloning a historical figure’s face is straightforward, cloning their mode of thought is far harder, and that such celebrity-face lessons risk becoming gimmicks that distract from core content rather than genuinely aiding comprehension. At Beijing City Library, a “metaverse experience hall” features a digital human with “childlike and futuristic” characteristics that uses large language models to converse with young visitors about reading and daily life topics, drawing large crowds during the summer tourism season alongside other digital exhibits at museums and science centers across China.

Entertainment and Short Dramas : Actress Qi Wei became the first mainland Chinese entertainer to proactively open her image for full commercial AI licensing, launching a personal digital double named “Han Qingxia” (韩清夏) that starred in the AI short drama “The Summer at the End of the World” (末日盛夏), with Qi Wei stating she wants to be “the one holding the steering wheel” rather than being pushed by technology, though the drama’s promotional trailer drew criticism over an upskirt camera angle later revised after backlash; her studio confirmed her deep involvement in shaping the digital human’s look, voice, and production. Following earlier announcements from actors Wu Qihua (吴启华) and Wong Cho Yin (王祖贤), who each licensed AI-generated youthful versions of themselves for commercial films and advertisements, and Yau Bun Cheung (游本昌), the 93-year-old actor famous for playing “Ji Gong,” who authorized use of his AI likeness in advertising, a wave of veteran performers is embracing licensed digital doubles as a new income stream separate from live acting work. AI short dramas and comics (“manju”) are proliferating rapidly: the fully AI-generated intangible-heritage themed drama “Peach Blossom Pool Chronicle” (桃花潭记), backed by the Anhui Provincial Party Committee Publicity Department, aired on Anhui TV and CCTV’s streaming platform; independent creators produced hit AI dramas such as “Void” (归墟, created solo by a father using AI for roughly 200,000 yuan) and “Plum Blossoms by the Inkstone” (砚边青梅, created by a single blogger, inspired by calligrapher Yan Zhenqing’s “Requiem to My Nephew”), while the AI-narrated drama “The Girl Who Got Laid Off” (被裁掉的女孩), created by director-writer Feifei Fei, drew over 200 million views on a single platform and its AI lead character “Fang Taozi” (方桃子) commanded a reported 258,000 yuan for a 60-second ad. Talent-agency Chuanying Group (传影集团), a longtime AIGC studio whose CEO Xiang Shuiliu predicts up to 90% of future film and TV production could be AI-led, produced the AI drama “The Water Monster” (水怪) and its own digital lead character “Qian Qiu” (芊秋), and is in talks with veteran Hong Kong actors about licensing their younger AI likenesses. In Changchun, a youth-oriented AI film innovation center taught a young woman with no prior experience, Sun Jinxi, to independently produce an AI-generated manju (漫剧, animated/comic-style drama) that surpassed 100 million views and earned over 100,000 yuan within 30 days, part of the city’s broader push combining traditional film incentives (up to 35 million yuan in subsidies) with new microdrama support policies, exemplified by Mango TV’s hit microdrama “Cloud Above the Blue Sky” (云上蓝天), which surpassed 500 million total views after being filmed at a newly built 41-set microdrama production base in Changchun.

AI Short-Drama Industry and Overseas Expansion : According to the “AI-Driven Global Micro-Drama Innovation and Development Report” compiled by the National Radio and Television Administration’s development research center, China’s micro-drama market reached roughly 14 billion USD in 2025, representing 77.78% of the global market, with Chinese companies contributing about 90% of the non-China overseas market’s 3.6 billion USD scale and dominating the top ten highest-grossing overseas micro-drama platforms. A fully AI-generated Chinese micro-drama “The Persian Revenge” (波斯复仇记), produced for only a few thousand yuan in computing costs, earned 500,000 USD within three days of launching on the overseas platform YourChannel, drawing coverage from MIT Technology Review on Chinese micro-drama companies embracing generative AI for unprecedented production efficiency; DataEye reports AI micro-dramas and comic-style dramas will see the overseas market grow sixfold, from roughly 100 million USD in 2025 to a projected 650 million USD in 2026, with a Guangzhou-based micro-drama company reporting a fivefold increase in overseas AI-drama orders in the first half of 2026 and an expected 50-fold annual increase. AIGC producer Wang Zhuoting, whose team released “Frozen Three Kingdoms” (冰封三国) on iQIYI and “Ryukyu Blood Soul” (琉球血魂) which garnered about 37.35 million engagement on TikTok, emphasized that localization requires more than translation, citing an example where AI-generated facial close-ups meant to convey restrained grief were interpreted by North American audiences as “not caring much,” illustrating cultural gaps AI cannot yet bridge; Wanxing Technology (万兴科技) founder and chairman Wu Taibing launched a “Global Drama Outreach Venture Program” partnering with roughly ten production, overseas distribution, and investment firms to support projects with computing tokens and creative tools. Challenges include rising customer-acquisition costs exceeding 100% year-on-year even as production costs fell about 90%, and growing competition from platforms like India’s KukuTV and Ukraine’s Holywater along with traditional Hollywood players entering the space; Communication University of China professor Zhao Hui warned Chinese firms risk losing narrative control to encroaching foreign capital and urged industry consolidation. Separately, jobs data shows explosive growth in AI-film-related hiring: at Jiuzhou Culture Media (嘉兴九州文化传媒), AI content-creation roles account for 60% of the roughly 9,000-person workforce (up from 3,000 a year earlier), with specialized positions including AIGC director, AI audio scriptwriter, AI image generator, and AI “card-draw” (video generation) specialist; recruitment platform Maimai reported AI-film job postings grew about 247% year-on-year from January to July 2026, with average monthly salaries around 30,000 yuan for AI video generation roles and 22,500 yuan for AI director roles, while Jiuzhou has compressed single AI drama production costs to 30,000–50,000 yuan (over 90% cheaper than traditional live-action dramas) with production cycles shortened to a few days.

AI Virtual Idols and Commercial Controversies : The AI virtual character “Fang Taozi,” lead of the drama “The Girl Who Got Laid Off,” became one of China’s most prominent AI virtual idols after her independently run social account amassed 470,000 followers and over 30 million likes through lifelike daily-life content (cooking, exercising, dancing), commanding a reported 258,000 yuan for a 60-second ad; however, her endorsement of a colored contact lens (“meitong”) brand, in which she claimed in first person that “wearing it all day feels comfortable,” sparked major controversy and was removed from platforms after critics noted an AI with no physical eyes cannot have genuinely experienced product use, and that decorative contact lenses are classified in China as Class III medical devices, whose advertisements are explicitly barred by Article 16 of China’s Advertising Law from featuring any endorser recommendation, real or virtual. Legal experts including China University of Political Science and Law associate professor Zhu Wei and Chinese Academy of Social Sciences University’s Liu Xiaochun clarified that AI virtual humans lack independent legal personality and cannot serve as advertising endorsers under Chinese law, though virtual humans created with real celebrity authorization (as with Qi Wei, Wu Qihua, and Wong Cho Yin’s licensed AI images) are treated as the celebrity’s own endorsement with liability resting on the real person; legal responsibility for unauthorized or purely synthetic AI virtual endorsers falls to the operating company and advertiser rather than the AI character itself. Separately, the AI comic drama couple “Fang Taozi” and love interest “Zhou Yiheng,” and another AI-drama couple from “Plum Blossoms by the Inkstone,” have begun operating fan-facing social accounts and receiving branded content deals (including from Tmall for Qixi Festival promotions and merchandise tie-ins generating over a million yuan in sales for one AI drama’s branded bracelet), while dubbing artists including “Sanshi” (三石) and Shi Zekun (史泽鲲) publicly accused Tmall’s Qixi AI advertisement and multiple AI dramas of using AI voice-cloning technology to replicate their voices without authorization, prompting lawsuits and calls from voice actors Ji Guanlin and Ye Qing for industry-wide protection against unauthorized AI voice cloning, which has formed a “grey industry chain” from voice-data scraping to AI content generation to monetization.

Regulatory and Legal Responses to AI Virtual Beings : Following the Fang Taozi controversy, Chinese state media (Xinhua-affiliated commentary and China Consumer News) argued that “content generated by AI” cannot serve as a liability shield, criticizing brands for outsourcing advertising entirely to MCN agencies and AI tools while abandoning content-review responsibilities, and calling for a full regulatory chain holding advertisers, technology developers, MCN operators, and platforms accountable, mandatory “AI-generated” labeling on realistic AI advertisements, and a hard rule against fabricating consumer experience claims for virtual endorsers. The Shanxi Provincial Consumer Council issued a consumer alert in August 2026 warning of six categories of AI-enabled consumer scams, including virtual-celebrity livestream sales of counterfeit goods, AI-exaggerated product marketing with fabricated reviews, AI voice cloning of relatives’ voices to solicit fraudulent transfers, AI “get-rich-quick” training course scams, AI customer-service platforms disclaiming responsibility for bot promises, and AI-fabricated product review rankings, recommending consumers verify identities through multiple channels before financial transactions and protect biometric data from being scraped online. In a parallel regulatory development, Douyin (TikTok’s Chinese counterpart) issued a “Comic Drama Virtual Character Creation and Rights Confirmation Guidelines” allowing copyright holders to register and confirm ownership of AI-generated virtual characters through three pathways—real-person-based adaptation (requiring the person’s ID and consent), adaptation from existing IP (requiring proof of original IP ownership), or wholly original characters (requiring only a certificate submission)—aimed at reducing character plagiarism disputes and copyright infringement risk across the booming AI drama sector; the Hongguo (红果) short-drama platform has similarly begun granting AI virtual actors formal onboarding ceremonies and promotional treatment equivalent to human actors. Separately, legal commentary in Legal Daily discussed the need for a formal “registration” system for digital characters modeled on the “Digital Artist Card” (数字艺人卡) issued to virtual idol Yuri in June 2026 under Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area’s “sandbox approval” pilot program for new-quality productive forces, which requires proof of identity/ownership and passing large-model content-safety review, aiming to clarify ownership, authorization scope, and liability chains for different types of digital characters (fully original, real-person digital doubles, or digital recreations of deceased persons).

Enterprise and Marketing Applications : JD.com (京东) reported that its digital-human livestreaming tool JoyAvatar has cumulatively served over 80,000 merchants, with the number of accounts livestreaming via digital avatars up threefold year-on-year in Q2 2026 and daily active broadcasting accounts up sixfold; during the 618 shopping festival, digital-avatar livestreaming duration and associated transaction value both grew more than fourfold year-on-year, and the tool is offered free to merchants as infrastructure rather than a paid upsell, part of JD’s broader “physical AI” strategy that saw R&D spending rise 53.2% year-on-year in H1 2026. JD also produced a first-of-its-kind industry short film for the refrigerator sector featuring digital-avatar likenesses of executives from Haier, Midea, Ronshen (容声, part of Hisense), Meiling, Panasonic, Siemens, TCL, Dreame, Xinfei, and Xingxing speaking in unison about new energy-efficiency standards following China’s updated national refrigerator energy standard effective June 1, 2026, marking the first platform-organized joint digital-human campaign across multiple appliance brand executives. Separately, iQIYI’s data (referenced in AI-drama coverage) noted over 100 celebrities have signed AI consent agreements to join its “Nadou Pro” AI-artist library, while Lenovo launched “AI Presenter,” a lightweight 2D digital-human presentation tool for corporate PPT briefings, employee training, and exhibition-hall greeting/tour-guide functions, enabling users to clone a presenter’s likeness and voice from a single photo and short audio clip, sync automatically with uploaded PowerPoint/PDF slides, and support both pre-recorded video generation and real-time interactive Q&A-capable livestream presentation modes; Beijing Huarui Viewpoint (北京华锐视点) markets an AI virtual sign-language news anchor and general AI virtual-human anchor products combining big data, speech, NLP, and computer vision for 24/7 broadcast-style content delivery, and Shanghai Chewei Shi Technology (上海车卫士科技) obtained a patent for an “AI virtual-human-based intelligent livestream interaction method and system.”

Digital Humans in Retail, Logistics, and Industrial Applications : Silk Road Visual Technology (丝路视觉), via subsidiary Silk Road Innovation, offers digital-human production and development technology integrated into its “Smart Palace” VR education products and immersive digital content solutions across education, smart manufacturing, and cultural tourism sectors, with its affiliate Ruiyun Technology (in which Alibaba holds a 20% stake) having provided rendering support for the film “The Wandering Earth.” Zhongke Jincai (中科金财) invested 8 million yuan for a 10% stake in AI Avatar Technology (爱化身科技, Beijing), a metaverse content-technology firm focused on virtual digital humans and virtual-scene development already deployed in banking, cultural tourism, sports, and automotive sectors, while Zhongke Jincai itself developed a “digital human content production engine” and metaverse scene-development tools as part of its “Miji” (觅际) metaverse marketing platform. Wuxian Media (无线传媒, controlled by Hebei Radio and Television) built an AI-driven digital-human interaction system with facial modeling, hairstyle/costume design, skeletal rigging, and multimodal-model-driven interaction engines for seamless integration into IPTV set-top boxes, OTT platforms, and smart terminals. Tianxiaxiu (天下秀) operates the “Honnverse” (虹宇宙) 3D virtual social app enabling virtual identities, avatars, and NFT-based digital collectibles, having partnered with brands like Dunhuang cultural heritage sites and hosting virtual-IP influencers; the company is also beta-testing a new social metaverse product offering highly customizable virtual homes, items, avatars, and virtual friends. In the hospitality and tourism-technology sector, Guangdong Baolun Electronics (itc保伦股份) offers “digital human interaction systems” as part of comprehensive smart cultural-tourism lighting and immersive-experience solutions deployed across more than 100,000 projects globally, including digital-form exhibition halls using multimodal human-machine interaction and digital-human elements for museums and corporate showrooms. Absen (艾比森), an LED display manufacturer, deployed an AI virtual digital human named “Xiao Ai” for multilingual Q&A, guided tours, and emotional interaction in exhibition and tourism venues, alongside an “AI digital clothing-change” feature turning LED advertising screens into interactive shopping-guide terminals. At Shandong Port Rizhao’s container terminal, a newly launched “digital twin” system for container operations was described in local reporting using the term “digital double” (数字分身) to characterize the virtual mirroring of physical port equipment and containers into a digital space for real-time monitoring and dispatch optimization.

Gaming, IP, and Cultural-Creative Sector Digital Humans : Wong Cho Yin (Joey Wong, 王祖贤) licensed her peak-era AI likeness for commercial use in NetEase’s game “Tianxia” (天下), appearing in an AI advertising film “Silhouette” (倩影) recreating classic on-screen characters including Nie Xiaoqian, Bai Suzhen, and a spirit fox. Guangbo Media (光线传媒) disclosed early-stage investment in the micro-drama sector and noted its affiliate Seven-D Technology (七维科技) provides digital-human technology as part of its virtual-reality product offerings, alongside its broader IP-derivative business spanning film, animation, and merchandise. In Chengdu, at the “Smart Tour · AI Ramble” event held at Tianfu International Animation City, ten companies showcased humanoid robots, holographic-pod digital humans, and smart glasses in an anime-district setting; Mingtu Technology (明途科技) demonstrated a holographic digital human, alongside humanoid robots from Crossverse Intelligence (跨维智能), Chengdu Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, and quadruped robots performing obstacle courses, part of Chengdu’s broader strategy to position itself as a hub for embodied AI and digital-content creation with over 160 key enterprises in the sector.

OPC and AI Entrepreneurship Ecosystems Featuring Virtual Beings : Chengdu launched China’s first “sci-fi IP plus AI” OPC (One-Person Company) community, the “Kemeng OPC Community” (科梦OPC社区), jointly built by Chengdu Media Group and the global AI open-source community WaytoAGI at Chengdu Media’s Bailuwan Science and Innovation Park, spanning roughly 2,500 square meters and designed to house over 100 OPC teams; the community focuses on AIGC film production, cultural IP operations, web-literature creation, AI toy production, and virtual digital-human performance, among other verticals, and received over 400 applications with 15 initial projects selected covering virtual digital IP, AI creative design, and digital art. A keynote speaker at the launch, Zhao Hanqing (赵汗青), creator of Yuri, described as China’s first AI idol and the first AI digital human to receive an official government-recognized identity credential (part of Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area’s “sandbox approval” pilot for a “Digital Artist Card”), announced plans to launch new IP, gaming, and quasi-film/animation ventures in Chengdu, alongside fellow founders including Seede AI’s Long Jiawen, Woyin AI’s Leng Yi, AIGC digital-art studio Blindart’s founder Zhu Wenxu (Ivy), sports-data platform Yundong Zhenying Alano’s founder Chen Lei, and inclusive-AI brand Xingyun’s founder Huang Keyun. WaytoAGI founder AJ, whose global open-source community has over 9 million users across 52 cities and 8 countries, praised Chengdu’s creative energy and openness to novel AI applications as ideal conditions for OPC entrepreneurship, while representatives from Baidu’s “Miaoda” (秒哒) no-code platform noted it has already helped over 50,000 developers earn combined revenue exceeding 50 million yuan, with plans to help over 1 million developers monetize AI applications within three years; the broader policy backdrop includes Chengdu’s “Action Plan for Building a New Highland for AI OPC Innovation and Development (2026–2027),” targeting 20 AI OPC communities and 100 pilot products/scenarios by end-2027. Separately, Baidu Smart Cloud announced a 200-million-yuan, three-month OPC support program at a Chengdu superintelligent-agent conference, providing Agent product credits (via Baidu’s “Dazi,” Wangpan Enterprise Edition, Hogee, and Miaoda platforms) targeting content-industry applications including short dramas, animation, AI music, and digital-human marketing, in partnership with ecosystem players including OiiOii, Kunlun Wanwei, and OST Media.

Ethical and Legal Analysis of AI Virtual Beings : Legal scholars addressing the “Fang Taozi” controversy in detail (via Economic Observer and other outlets) clarified that decorative colored contact lenses are legally classified in China as Class III medical devices—not to be confused with Johnson & Johnson’s trademarked “Acuvue Define” (“美瞳”) product line—and that Article 16 of China’s Advertising Law imposes an absolute ban on any endorser, whether human, corporate, or AI-generated, recommending or certifying medical device advertisements, with no exceptions; violations expose advertisers to fines of one-to-five times advertising cost or 100,000–1,000,000 yuan under Article 58, while the false-advertising violation (fabricating a wearing experience the AI character cannot physically have) triggers separate liability under Article 55, with penalties up to 2,000,000 yuan for repeat or severe violations, following the “one act, no double penalty” principle that typically results in the harsher false-advertising penalty being applied. A related academic and industry discussion on the case “From Luo Tianyi to Fang Taozi: the evolution of 2.5-dimensional idols” (钛媒体) proposed a “dimensional spectrum” framework distinguishing between AI-drama characters (deemed “1.5-dimensional,” ephemeral to a single work) and sustained virtual idols like Luo Tianyi, Hatsune Miku, and Fang Taozi (deemed “2.5-dimensional,” persistent digital beings that interact continuously across platforms and accumulate audience emotional investment), arguing this distinction explains why audiences readily embrace certain virtual personas while rejecting others despite similar underlying AI generation technology. Separately, the National People’s Congress-related commentary on Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area digital governance proposed cultivating cross-border “AI digital human” (AI数字人) matrices as culturally resonant, algorithmically-boosted content carriers (using themes like Hanfu, e-sports, and Chinese pop culture) to counter algorithmic bias in mainstream social platforms and combat deepfake-driven disinformation targeting youth in Hong Kong and Macao, illustrating a state-level policy interest in virtual-human deployment for cross-border ideological and cultural engagement.

14 August News

Healthcare : Ant Group upgraded its physician-facing application “Haodabu Doctor Edition” (好大夫医生版) into “Ant Alpha Doctor Edition” (蚂蚁阿福医生版), introducing two AI assistant modules: an “AI Digital Twin Assistant” and an “AI Medical Assistant.” The AI Digital Twin Assistant allows physicians to create personal AI avatars that operate 24/7 to handle pre-consultation intake, patient follow-up, and health record summarization, while the AI Medical Assistant aggregates over 60 million medical documents, clinical guidelines, and 140,000 drug information sheets for evidence-based decision support. The platform partnered with Wolters Kluwer (for authoritative clinical content, including exploring integration with UpToDate) and DP Technology (深势科技), whose Bohrium Science Navigator provides structured scientific literature retrieval. The system links to the consumer-facing Ant Alpha app, which has over 100 million users and processes more than 10 million daily health inquiries; an “AI-answers-first, doctor-verifies” model already used in dermatology has been expanded to 16 departments including obstetrics, gynecology, and ENT, achieving over 90% agreement between AI and tertiary hospital physician judgments. Ant Alpha Doctor Edition also opened enrollment to internet hospitals as institutional entities, with Guangzhou Women and Children’s Medical Center among the first hospitals to integrate. Separately, in Hong Kong, mainland Chinese TCM chain Gushengtang (固生堂) opened four clinics (Shau Kei Wan, Prince Edward, Tuen Mun, Wan Chai) as part of its overseas expansion, and the company has deployed AI digital twins of 15 senior TCM experts, including “guoyi dashi” (national TCM masters), which practitioners in Singapore can consult in real time during patient visits for diagnostic and prescription support.

Entertainment and Short Dramas : China’s AI-generated short drama (AI短剧) sector expanded explosively in 2026, with AI-produced dramas comprising about 95% of the roughly 128,000 microdramas released in Q1, though real per-episode production costs (accounting for labor) typically ran 50,000-200,000 yuan versus 500,000-2,000,000 yuan for live-action dramas; despite the volume, over 99% of AI titles found little audience, with fewer than 150 titles surpassing 100 million views and the top 5% of projects capturing 70% of profits. Independent Chinese creator Jiang Lan single-handedly produced the AI short drama “Guixu” (《归墟》), a post-apocalyptic drama that surpassed 100 million views despite computing costs of roughly 16,000 yuan per 8-minute episode. Youku president Wu Qian publicly argued AI cannot replace real actors, citing data showing AI microdramas captured 95% of listings but only 4% of viewership, while live-action dramas retained 96% of viewership with 2.3 times higher user payment willingness and 41% higher completion rates; Youku launched the “Whale Surpass Class” (虎鲸超越班) to cultivate young actors with stable income. Actor Dong Yong criticized AI dramas as “upgraded cartoons.” Separately, veteran actress Qi Wei became the first active mainland celebrity to formally authorize an official AI digital twin, named “Han Qingxia” (韩清夏), intending it as an independent commercial IP for use in AI comics, virtual livestreaming, and interactive content; however, a promotional clip for her AI-driven work “Modern Summer Apocalypse” (《末日盛夏》) drew criticism for an upskirt-style camera angle, prompting legal experts (including lawyer Li Zhenwu and Zhao Liangshan) to warn that portrait rights cannot be “bought out” and that AI digital twins blur accountability when content crosses ethical or legal lines. Chengdu’s Huya (虎牙) livestreaming platform released its self-developed real-time multimodal digital human model VAM 1.0, aiming to reduce reliance on human streamers and lower content production costs, while continuing to integrate AI tools into games like Delta Force and League of Legends; Huya’s overall Q2 revenue grew 11% year-on-year, driven by game publishing (revenue up 54.1%) even as livestreaming revenue fell 4.48%. Chinese AI-generated influencer/actress “Fang Taozi” (方桃子), from the AI drama “The Girl Who Got Laid Off” (《被裁掉的女孩》, over 200 million views), amassed over 460,000 followers and commanded advertising rates up to 258,000 yuan per 60-second video—higher than many real influencers—but her first commercial deal, promoting “Jianguoli” (坚果力) colored contact lenses with a first-person claim of “comfortable all day,” was removed from platforms amid public backlash and scrutiny; legal experts noted that under Chinese advertising law, AI virtual humans without legal personhood cannot serve as advertising endorsers, and the false claim of physical product experience constituted a violation of false advertising rules governing Class III medical devices, exposing the brand, MCN agency “Wo De Yingshi,” and platforms to potential liability. AI selection/talent shows using zodiac-themed virtual idols, such as “12 Star Training Competition” (《12星练赛》) and “Star Light 108” (《星光108》), generated early buzz (peaking near 760,000 likes) driven by fan-culture behaviors like vote-brigading, but engagement dropped sharply within weeks as viewers cited difficulty distinguishing between similar AI faces and lack of authentic unpredictability; meanwhile AI-assisted content like “100,000 Challenges” (《十万个挑战》), which uses AI for game-based challenge videos rather than idol-building, retained steadier growth and brand sponsorships. Longstanding artists including Wang Zuxian (王祖贤), Endy Chow (吴启华), You Benchang, and Jackie Chan have licensed AI-generated or de-aged digital likenesses for games and short films. Chinese short video creator group “Haojiahuo” (郝家豁) from Xi’an, known for recreating Chinese textbook stories with live actors and physical sets rather than AI, surpassed 4.8 million followers on Douyin, explicitly rejecting digital humans and AI-generated scenes in favor of authentic performance for their historically grounded content. In Wuhu, Anhui, the country’s first AIGC-produced red-heritage short drama “An Du” (《暗渡》), depicting a 1949 Yangtze crossing intelligence story, was produced using the “OneStory” AI creation platform (developed by Anhui Chuangyao Technology) with local Wuhu computing infrastructure for rendering, digital human performance, and voiceover, and premiered as part of a broader red-tourism MR immersive experience project. AI-generated content is also reshaping film/TV labor markets: reports describe traditional actors, including one Central Academy of Drama graduate, being displaced by “digital human” productions and returning to rural work such as vegetable selling, while script-to-screen AIGC workflows (as demonstrated by director He Bi and studios in Changchun) have compressed production teams from about 50 people to roughly 5 and shortened production cycles from a month to about a week; Changchun has built an “AIGC film ecosystem” spanning theatrical films, TV series, microdramas, and AI solo animated comics, supported by government subsidies and youth-oriented “one-person company” AI training programs (OPC innovation center).

Digital Human Public Services and Government Applications : State Grid’s Jinzhou Electric Power Supply Company (国网锦州供电公司) in Liaoning deployed an interactive digital human system in its customer service hall to provide round-the-clock guidance for bill payment, invoice issuance, and electricity usage inquiries, supplementing human staff and operating overnight for basic consultation services. China Unicom’s Liaoning branch showcased smart elderly-care solutions and AI applications during a series of “State-Owned Enterprise Open Day” events across 14 cities in Liaoning province from July to August 2026. In Xinjiang, Xi’an Jiaotong University’s Digital Cell team is developing “digital twin cells” combining single-cell omics, spatial multi-omics, and AI modeling for precision medicine, though this work is research-focused rather than consumer-facing. Zhangwu village-level “digital cultural stations” in Zhejiang’s Jiaxing/Hangzhou collaboration used AI robots and digital humans in a joint “civilization co-construction” event between Hangzhou’s Binjiang district and Wenzhou’s Taishun county, featuring an intelligent robot named “Xiaobin” performing crosstalk comedy alongside human presenters at a public theoretical outreach event. Xi’an’s public library (Beijing City Library branch, referenced for comparative context but centered on Beijing) has a “metaverse experience hall” digital human designed with a “childlike and futuristic” persona for interacting with readers via large language models. Wuxiang County (Shanxi) produced an AI-generated promotional video for tourism featuring “digital twins” of visitors exploring guerrilla-war historical sites and local attractions. In Yuexiu (Changsha) and Guiyang, cultural heritage sites are deploying AI digital humans: Yuelu Academy in Changsha created a digital human avatar of Confucian philosopher Zhu Xi, enabling visitors to interact via smartphone in a virtual recreation of Song-dynasty lecture halls, alongside a “China Academy Digital Museum” IP, drawing over 5 million study-tour visitors in 2026. In Guiyang, Guizhou, an AIGC tourism project “Ban Meng Zhi Xing” (伴梦智行) by Guizhou Ganshengtengwei Technology Company creates personalized AI-generated souvenir content (photos, short videos, digital keepsakes) for visitors at red-tourism sites and Guiyang’s Yunyan urban district, with plans to expand to performance venues like “Colorful Guizhou Style” and mountain tourism sites. Shaanxi province’s official policy plan (issued August 2026 by three provincial departments) calls for building 20 “metaverse consumption demonstration scenarios,” developing virtual attraction experiences, and creating digital/metaverse artworks based on Terracotta Warriors and ancient city walls, alongside AI digital human-hosted livestream marketing for regional brands; concrete projects already underway include immersive XR experiences like “Zhang Qian’s Journey” and VR productions “Great Tang Time Travel,” “Great Qin Chronicles,” and “Dream Back to Shimao” at sites including Qianling Mausoleum and Yulin’s Shangu Museum.

Retail, Livestreaming, and Marketing : Chinese e-commerce and livestreaming platforms are integrating digital human hosts at scale: JD.com’s Q2 2026 earnings report disclosed that its digital human livestreaming tool “JoyAvatar” has served over 80,000 merchants, with digital human livestream accounts tripling year-on-year and daily active livestream accounts up sixfold; during the “618” shopping festival, digital human livestream duration and transaction value both grew more than fourfold year-on-year. In Guangzhou, China Unicom and Vipshop (唯品会) jointly launched China’s first “10-gigabit smart livestreaming” e-commerce base, integrating AI livestream assistants (automated narration and interaction), AI data analytics tools, and smart digital human generation into a 120,000-square-meter e-commerce production and livestreaming hub in Guangzhou’s Liwan district. Snack food company Qiaqia Foods (洽洽食品) launched “Chacky” (洽可儿), described as the snack food industry’s first brand-exclusive digital IP, complete with an AI-generated debut single, and integrated it across livestreaming, smart customer service, guided shopping, and branded short dramas within days of launch — positioned as a lower-cost, always-available alternative to celebrity endorsement deals amid pressure on Qiaqia’s core sunflower seed business. State-owned publisher Liaoning Chubanchuanmei (辽宁出版传媒) has deployed “AI book digital humans” using a “one book, one model” approach to provide reading companionship and Q&A for educational publications like “Mathematics Weekly.” WeChat’s public account platform (owned by Tencent) opened its native “AI Digital Twin” (AI分身) feature to hospitals, enabling 24/7 automated patient inquiry responses without requiring hospitals to code custom solutions. Actress Qi Wei’s digital twin “Han Qingxia” also represents a marketing/IP case, discussed above under Entertainment, given her stated intent to create an open licensing framework for use in advertising, virtual livestreaming, and interactive commercial content. Chinese cultural export companies in Jiaxing, Zhejiang—including Haohao Jianghua Culture Technology and Jiuzhou Culture Media—are using AIGC tools and digital human technology to accelerate localization and overseas distribution of web novels, web dramas, and web games (“new three items” of Chinese cultural export), compressing short-drama production cycles to 7-10 days and building AIGC-driven industrial parks in Jiaxing’s Yunhe Bay Digital Culture Industrial Park, home to over 110 audiovisual technology companies integrating AIGC, digital humans, and virtual production.

Enterprise and Financial Services : Chinese enterprise software company Yonyou (用友) launched its “YonSuite” AI-native enterprise platform featuring a unified brand character “yowo” (读作"有我"), representing customized “digital employees” for different business functions such as finance, sales, procurement, production, and HR; the system categorizes AI agents into “digital doubles,” “digital employees,” and “digital teams,” with lifecycle management (onboarding, authorization, token quota, performance evaluation, retirement) for digital employees deployed across manufacturing client Shanghai Phoenix Bicycle, tea brand 700CC, and pastry brand Luxiangyuan. Ant Group’s Alpha Doctor platform (detailed under Healthcare) exemplifies AI digital-twin deployment in enterprise/financial-adjacent healthcare services. Chinese entrepreneur Chen Tianqiao’s venture EverMind/EverMe launched a personal AI memory product in beta, featuring a “digital twin” module allowing users to consolidate personal data across files, knowledge tools, and various AI agents into a continuous personal memory asset for use across multiple AI services.

Cultural Heritage and International Exchange : Beijing Institute of Graphic Communication (北京印刷学院) led the creation of a digital art exhibition “Forbidden City: 600 Years of Mystery” at La Cité de l’Histoire in Paris, France, marking the second anniversary of the Beijing Central Axis’s UNESCO World Heritage inscription; the exhibition used AIGC technology to generate stylized digital renderings of Ming/Qing-era court officials integrated into UE5 real-time rendered historical scenes, alongside a 360-degree immersive panoramic film guided by three European visitor perspectives (Matteo Ricci in the 16th century, French painter Jean-Denis Attiret in the 18th century, and a contemporary traveler), with digital human elements created via AI-driven motion generation and style transfer techniques layered onto photorealistic 3D-rendered environments of the Forbidden City and Beijing’s fourth ring road area.

Ethical, Regulatory, and Public Discourse Contexts : The “Fang Taozi” AI virtual influencer controversy (detailed under Entertainment) became a flashpoint for broader debate on AI virtual human advertising regulation in China; legal commentary from the Economic Observer (经济观察网) and other outlets clarified that under China’s Advertising Law, only natural persons, legal persons, or organizations can serve as advertising endorsers, meaning purely AI-generated virtual humans like Fang Taozi cannot be legally classified as endorsers—though authorized digital twins of real people (such as Qi Wei’s “Han Qingxia”) retain the legal liabilities of their real-world human originators; commentators called for mandatory AI-content labeling, clearer rules distinguishing “original AI virtual humans” from “authorized human digital twins,” and accountability frameworks assigning liability to brand owners, virtual IP operators, and platforms rather than allowing “virtual” status to be used as a liability shield, particularly for regulated categories like Class III medical devices (including decorative colored contact lenses, commonly mislabeled as “meitong” despite that being a registered Johnson & Johnson trademark). Separately, a Xinmin Evening News commentary titled “Do You Hate ‘AI Faces’?” reflected on growing public “physiological disgust” toward homogenized, uncanny AI-generated faces proliferating in Chinese short dramas and short videos, criticizing the industry’s use of AI facial generation as a cost-cutting shortcut that produces “assembly-line” aesthetics lacking emotional depth, while acknowledging legitimate uses of digital humans, virtual humans, and AI animation when creativity retains a human core. Guangzhou Daily commentary “Performers Can Be ‘Copied,’ But Acting Cannot Be ‘Pasted’” (演员可"复制",演技难"粘贴") examined the trend of licensed actor digital twins (including Qi Wei, Wang Zuxian, Endy Chow), arguing that while proactive licensing gives performers more control than passive “face theft” by unauthorized AI operators, clear rules are needed regarding licensing scope, usage duration, retraining rights, revenue sharing, and creator review/rejection rights, and warning that treating digital twins as mere low-cost traffic tools risks producing content with polished faces but no soul. Amazon’s newly enforced “Synthetic Performer” disclosure policy—requiring metadata tagging (contains-synthetic-performer) for AI-generated realistic human figures in product listings, including partial body parts like hands or arms—was reported by Chinese cross-border e-commerce media (Cifnews/雨果跨境) as a compliance requirement directly affecting Chinese sellers on the platform, prompting detailed Chinese-language guidance on manual and batch tagging procedures using tools like ExifTool.

13 August News

Healthcare : Ant Group upgraded its physician-facing medical application from Haodaifu Doctor Edition to Ant AFu Doctor Edition (蚂蚁阿福医生版), positioned as China’s first medical AI workstation covering online consultation, patient management, and research in a single platform, one year after Ant Group’s acquisition of the veteran online medical platform Haodaifu Online (好大夫在线). The upgraded platform integrates two AI assistant modules—an AI Medical Assistant and an AI Avatar Assistant—into a physician workflow serving hundreds of thousands of registered doctors nationwide. The AI Avatar Assistant allows physicians to create a personalized digital double by uploading their professional information; this avatar operates 24/7 to handle pre-consultation triage, patient Q&A, and post-visit follow-up, automatically compiling case summaries into patient health records for physician review, effectively extending a doctor’s presence beyond limited clinic hours. The AI Medical Assistant provides physicians with free, real-time, traceable knowledge retrieval, aggregating over 60 million medical papers, clinical guidelines, top-tier journal resources, and more than 140,000 drug package inserts; Ant AFu has also formed strategic partnerships with Wolters Kluwer (威科集团) for authoritative clinical content, including exploring integration with UpToDate, and with DP Technology (深势科技) to leverage its Bohrium scientific literature search capabilities. The platform maintains a “Doctor in the loop” principle, ensuring AI outputs are reviewed and confirmed by licensed physicians, with previously reported human-AI answer consistency exceeding 90% in specialties such as dermatology, now expanded to 16 departments including obstetrics, gynecology, and ENT. The physician platform is deeply integrated with the consumer-facing Ant AFu App, which has surpassed 100 million registered users and handles over 10 million daily health inquiries, connecting more than 5,000 hospitals and 300,000 licensed doctors; eight academicians and over 2,000 physicians have launched their own AI avatars on the Ant AFu platform. The upgrade also opened the platform to internet hospital registrations from institutions nationwide, with Guangzhou Women and Children’s Medical Center among the first to sign on, allowing hospitals to consolidate online consultation, follow-up management, and electronic medical records under a single account. Separately, in the fintech-adjacent healthcare space, China Post Consumer Finance (中邮消费金融) deployed a virtual digital human named “Youxiaobao” (邮小宝), developed with a university partner, to provide round-the-clock customer service, loan pre-review interviews, and financial literacy education, achieving a 98% customer intent recognition accuracy rate.

Entertainment : AI-generated short dramas have become a dominant force in China’s content industry, with AI-produced dramas accounting for over 95% of new short-drama releases in early 2026 (roughly 122,000 of 128,000 titles), though they capture only about 4% of total viewership and a hit rate below 0.5%, reflecting a stark mismatch between production volume and audience engagement. The breakout case is virtual AI character Fang Taozi (方桃子), the lead of the hit AI drama “The Girl Who Was Cut” (被裁掉的女孩), produced by director Feifei Fei and streamed via ByteDance’s platforms including Douyin and Hongguo Duanju; the character amassed over 45.4 million followers, generated more than 300 million views across two seasons, and commanded advertising rates up to 258,000 yuan for a 60-second video—surpassing many human influencers with millions of followers—before her endorsement of a Jianguoli (坚果力) colored contact lens brand was pulled offline within a week due to backlash over an AI character claiming first-person physical comfort she could not possibly experience, prompting intervention from market regulators in Anhui province. Actress Qi Wei (戚薇) became the first active mainstream Chinese celebrity to officially authorize a regulated AI digital double of herself, named Han Qingxia (韩清夏), unveiled August 6, 2026, with an independent persona, storyline, and world-building distinct from her own identity; the avatar is set to star in the apocalyptic-themed AI drama “Last Summer of the Apocalypse” (末日盛夏) later in the year, and Qi Wei cited excitement about ByteDance’s Seedance 2.5 video generation model as a technical catalyst. Other Chinese entertainment companies have pursued AI actor commercialization: Ciwen Media (慈文传媒) unveiled an “Yingdian” (影殿) AI actor label at the Pingyao International Film Festival with four AI drama titles and eight commercial AI actor projects, including actor Liang Tian (梁天) confirming authorization of his facial and vocal data for AI digital double use in the drama “Chang’an Illusory Night” (长安幻夜); veteran actresses and actors including Wang Zuxian (王祖贤), who licensed her 20s-to-30s likeness to NetEase’s game “Tianxia” (天下), Wu Qihua (吴启华), who sold rights to his 20-year-old likeness to an AI film production company, and 93-year-old actor You Benchang (游本昌), who authorized his likeness and voice for the AI micro-drama “Jigong: The Fake Dragon-Subduing Monk” (济公之冒牌降龙) while serving as artistic director, have all monetized archival or youthful likenesses via AI. Actor Jackie Chan appeared in the film “The Legend” using AI to recreate his 27-year-old appearance for over 70% of his on-screen performance. Chinese streaming platform Youku, via its parent Whale Entertainment Group (虎鲸文娱), publicly committed to prioritizing real human actors over AI performers, with President Wu Qian citing that despite AI dramas comprising over 95% of Q2 2026 content volume, they captured only about 4% of total viewership; Youku’s real-actor productions such as “The Nine-Gated City” (九门), starring Chen Weiting (陈伟霆) and Zeng Shunxi (曾舜晞), and “Unsolved Case” (悬案), starring Wang Chuanjun (王传君), were highlighted as evidence that nuanced human performance remains commercially and critically superior; the company also operates a “Whale Surpassing Class” (虎鲸超越班) talent incubator offering full-time employment to emerging actors. AI drama production companies such as Chuangxiang Shuwei (创想数维), in partnership with Aotuo Sports Culture Investment and Sony China, released the XR-and-AI hybrid drama “Shh! She Is a Dream Ferryman” (嘘!她是渡梦师) using its self-developed MetaBox XR virtual production system paired with the Coruscant rendering server and Vormir AI creative toolkit, reducing scene production costs by roughly 60% while retaining real human actors for performance authenticity; Wanxing Technology (万兴科技) showcased its Wanxing Studio (万兴剧厂) platform at the Dongguan International Animation Expo, supporting AI-assisted script analysis, IP asset management, and cinematic-grade storyboarding for productions such as “Genius Mecha Master” (天才机甲师, over 300 million views) and “Fortune Delta Force” (气运三角洲, over 270 million views), and became among the first platforms to integrate ByteDance’s Seedance 2.5 model. Talent agency and IP operator You You Tech (创壹科技), which manages digital human Liu Yexi (柳夜熙), reported deliberately declining brand deals requiring simulated physical product experience (such as food or cosmetics) for its AI personas, citing legal and ethical risk awareness lacking among newer, less experienced AI drama production teams. Meanwhile, actress and startup figure discussions noted that mid-tier and background human actors in short-drama production hubs like Hengdian have faced sharp declines in bookings and daily wages amid the AI drama surge, with commentators including Hu Xijin publicly opposing the expansion of AI-generated content into feature-length cinema on grounds of preserving traditional performing arts.

Marketing and Advertising Ethics : The “Fang Taozi” contact lens advertisement controversy has triggered widespread regulatory and legal scrutiny over AI virtual human endorsements in China. Legal experts, including Zhao Zhanling (赵占领) of Beijing Jiawei Law Firm and Zhang Dezhi (张德志), deputy secretary-general of the China Advertising Association, noted that decorative colored contact lenses are classified as Class III medical devices under Chinese regulation, and China’s Advertising Law explicitly prohibits the use of any endorser—human or otherwise—to make recommendations or endorsements for medical device products; the ad’s claim of “comfortable all-day wear” was flagged as fabricated experiential testimony given the AI character’s lack of physical senses, constituting a potential violation of Article 28 (false advertising) and Article 16 of China’s Advertising Law. Because AI virtual humans lack independent legal personality under Chinese law, responsibility falls to the brand owner, the IP operating company, and content platforms rather than the AI character itself; commentary in Xinhua-affiliated and China News Service outlets called for AI-generated content labeling requirements, a digital human registration/filing system, and clearer joint-liability rules among brands, MCN agencies, and platforms. The Guangzhou Panyu district market regulator and later the Langya district regulator in Chuzhou, Anhui, became involved in reviewing the case after the advertisement was removed from platforms. Separately, Xiaohongshu (小红书) announced an “AI Governance Rules Announcement” on August 6, 2026, extending mandatory AI-content labeling requirements to account-level identification, requiring accounts operated using AI virtual human personas to disclose this status on their profile pages and activate an “AI Virtual Human” tag, with graduated penalties including traffic throttling for non-compliance. Comparisons were drawn to earlier Chinese virtual idols such as Luo Tianyi (洛天依) and to Japan’s Imma and China’s AYAYI, whose commercial models relied on IP licensing and symbolic brand collaboration rather than first-person product testimonials, reinforcing industry consensus that AI personas are commercially viable for image-based and symbolic marketing but face acute legal risk when deployed for experiential product endorsement, particularly in medical device, food and beverage, and cosmetics categories.

Cultural and Public Sector Applications : Chinese local governments and cultural institutions have deployed AI virtual humans and digital avatars for heritage promotion and civic engagement. In Huanan County, Heilongjiang province, local propaganda officials introduced AI theory-lecturing avatars including “Xiaohua Xuan” (桦小宣), designed around the region’s ecological landscape, along with locally-themed IP characters “Zizi” and “Susu” based on the county’s signature perilla crop, and a real-person AI digital double of a civic official, to modernize ideological and policy education content; the initiative produced three short videos garnering 32,000 views and included AI literacy training for over 500 local officials. In Hangzhou, the Leifeng Pagoda scenic area launched a digital human tour guide named “Xiao Leifeng” to accompany visitors through an interactive workshop reproducing a Five Dynasties-era gilt mandarin duck ornament excavated from the pagoda’s underground crypt, allowing tourists to create embroidered silk scarves using traditional “xiaojin” gold-application techniques while engaging with the AI guide for historical context. Guilin Tourism Co. reported deploying an AI digital human welcome/interaction project at its Liangjiang Sixiang scenic area developed jointly with a university, alongside an AI travel assistant “Guilin Yicheng You” built on the DeepSeek large language model, and an AI companion mascot toy at the Yinzi Rock scenic site. In Hunan province’s Malanshan video content hub, broadcaster Hunan TV’s self-developed “Mango model” (芒果大模型) powers a self-developed digital human “Xiao V” that guides visitors through the Malanshan Video Culture and Creativity Park, while the AI-driven sci-fi drama “God’s Pen” (神·笔), produced with science fiction author Liu Cixin as literary supervisor, achieved 80-90% AI penetration in production. Educational applications include Dalian Nationalities University’s deployment of a digital human admissions counselor (“智能云宣讲”) alongside an AI phone-answering robot to support round-the-clock prospective student inquiries during its 2026 admissions cycle. In vocational and rural development efforts, Guangdong’s China International Cartoon and Digital Industry Fair in Dongguan featured AI-integrated plush toys with embedded AI chips capable of conversational interaction for children, alongside AI-generated animation and digital human demonstrations aimed at attracting overseas buyers from the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Ethical, Legal, and Regulatory Contexts : China’s evolving virtual human governance landscape confronts three structural challenges according to legal scholars at Wuhan University’s law school: the technical opacity of deepfake and AI-generation technology, which allows operators to obscure or falsify AI-content labeling; the fragmented responsibility chain across technology providers, service operators, users, and distribution platforms, which complicates liability attribution when personality rights violations, disinformation, or data breaches occur; and the tension between fostering innovation and enforcing sufficiently strict oversight, given that China’s digital human core market was valued at 48.06 billion yuan in 2025 and is projected to reach 57.29 billion yuan in 2026. Commentators called for a full-chain liability framework clarifying obligations of technology providers, service operators, users, and platforms; innovative “technology-enabled regulation” combining pre-emptive warning systems, deepfake detection upgrades, and risk-tiered oversight for high-risk sectors like healthcare, finance, and government services; and legislative gap-filling, noting China currently lacks dedicated digital-human legislation beyond the draft “Digital Virtual Human Information Service Management Measures” (数字虚拟人信息服务管理办法), requiring coordination across civil, administrative, and criminal law frameworks via judicial interpretations and guiding cases. Separately, China’s national regulators—the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and National Data Administration—jointly issued the “Implementation Opinions on Accelerating AI+ Human Resources and Social Security Applications,” which explicitly calls for developing digital-human livestreaming for job recruitment (“数字人直播带岗”), multimodal AI social security assistants providing “digital teller” 24-hour service, and digital human-guided self-service handling of government affairs, embedding virtual human technology directly into state employment and social insurance administration. Academic research published in “Journalism Lover” (新闻爱好者) by scholars at Henan University examined “social disembedding” risks arising from users’ emotional over-reliance on AI companion technologies, finding that companion AI’s constant availability and algorithmically reinforced “information cocoons” can displace users from real-world social networks, distort social cognition, and create dependency loops rooted in modern social anxiety, technological design incentives, and unstable social environments—research explicitly framed around China’s proliferation of AI chat companion apps such as Xingye, Maoxiang, and Zhumengdao. Separately, miHoYo (米哈游) shut down its experimental AI desktop companion app “BSide: Olivia Lin,” featuring a piano-themed virtual female character, less than one month after its July 13, 2026 Steam early-access launch, following co-founder Cai Haoyu’s Singapore-based AI venture Anuttacon’s earlier shutdown of its AI companion product AnuNeko after roughly eight months of operation; both closures came shortly after China’s “Interim Measures for the Administration of AI Anthropomorphic Interactive Services” took effect July 15, 2026, banning AI-provided virtual intimate relationships for minors and prompting major platforms including Tencent’s Yuanbao, ByteDance’s Doubao, and Alibaba’s Qwen to remove consumer-facing AI companion agent features amid concerns over algorithmic emotional manipulation, content moderation costs, and unclear monetization pathways.

12 August News

Entertainment : The AI virtual entertainment sector accelerated sharply in China in 2026, led by actress Qi Wei, who became the first mainland Chinese entertainer to openly authorize a regulated AI digital twin of herself, named Han Qingxia (韩清夏), unveiled in early August through a personal social media video declaring “Hello, I am not Qi Wei.” Qi Wei serves as producer on the AI comic drama End of Summer (末日盛夏), a post-apocalyptic series in which Han Qingxia stars, retaining creative control over the character’s voice (a blend of her real voice and AI processing), visual design, and story direction, and has adopted a limited, non-exclusive licensing model that keeps her legal position strong against unauthorized deepfakes; a promotional clip featuring a low-angle “thunder shot” of the character drew accusations of objectifying camera work, prompting Qi Wei to apologize and pull the clip for reshoots. Her move followed earlier limited AI likeness licensing by veteran or retired stars such as Wang Zuxian, Wu Qihua, You Benchang and Jackie Chan, but Qi Wei is notable as the first active, working performer to do so. Separately, the AI-generated short drama The Girl Who Got Laid Off (被裁掉的女孩), produced in China, became a breakout hit with over 200 million views, and its AI protagonist Fang Taozi gained more than 400,000 social media followers within a month, commanding advertising rates as high as 258,000 yuan for a 60-second video—surpassing rates charged by many real influencers with millions of followers; however, a Fang Taozi advertisement for cosmetic contact lenses (classified as Class III medical devices in China) in which the AI character claimed the product was “comfortable to wear all day” was pulled from platforms after public backlash and referral to the Langya District Market Supervision Bureau in Chuzhou, Anhui, with legal experts noting that while AI virtual humans cannot be legal “endorsers” under China’s Advertising Law, advertisers and MCN operators remain liable for fabricated user-experience claims and for endorsing medical devices via any likeness. Chinese AI drama company Chuangyi Technology, which operates the virtual human Liu Yexi, has stated it avoids taste- or sensation-based product endorsements (such as food or skincare) precisely because of these legal risks, opting for human endorsers when “experience” claims are required. Elsewhere, HuoYing Media’s AIVA automotive brand held a product launch in Beijing in June 2026 co-hosted by an AI virtual host named AIVA, marking what organizers called the first Chinese auto brand launch event co-presented by an AI life-form, alongside an AI concept car with an interactive “spirit-eye” headlight system; the event generated over 1.5 billion online impressions. In the games and live-streaming sector, Chinese livestreaming platform Huya released a self-developed real-time multimodal digital human model called VAM 1.0 in July 2026, designed to generate AI hosts with natural speech, singing and body language for livestreaming, aiming to reduce reliance on human streamers and lower content production costs at scale. Miha Games (miHoYo) shut down its AI companion app BSide: Olivia Lin (林离) at the end of August 2026, less than a month after its Steam early-access launch, following the earlier permanent closure of its sister AI chat app AnuNeKo, both signaling the commercial fragility of stand-alone AI companion products despite positive user reception. Meanwhile, veteran actress Liao Xueqiu, 72, was highlighted in Chinese media as a symbol of enduring value for human performers amid the AI short-drama boom, with her Hello 1983 role praised for the kind of nuanced, lived-in performance that AI-generated actors have yet to replicate.

Marketing : Chinese brands and platforms are rapidly experimenting with AI virtual humans and AI actors as marketing and endorsement tools, prompting both commercial enthusiasm and regulatory scrutiny. The AI short-drama star Fang Taozi’s advertising rate structure (168,000 yuan for videos under 20 seconds, 208,000 yuan for 21-60 seconds, and 258,000 yuan for over 60 seconds) illustrates how virtual endorsers are now pricing above many real online influencers, while her American-lens contact lens ad controversy exposed the legal gray zone around AI endorsement of regulated products; Chinese legal commentators (including lawyer Zhao Zhanling and Ma Lihong of Beijing De He Heng Law Firm) have clarified that AI virtual humans, lacking independent legal personhood, cannot serve as statutory “endorsers” under the Advertising Law, but brands, advertisers and content operators remain fully liable for false or misleading claims, and medical device advertising (which legally bars any endorser-style testimonial) cannot be circumvented simply by using a virtual figure instead of a human. Guomai Culture (国脉文化) launched its own AI digital human spokespersons, Irene and Xiaolin, modeled on the company’s general manager and staff, to represent its corporate brand and communicate its 5G and digital business updates, while also producing more than 200 episodes of AI-generated short dramas using models including Alibaba’s Tongyi Qianwen, Zhipu AI, iFlytek Spark, and China Telecom’s TeleChat. Ping An Insurance Group unveiled an AI recruitment digital human named “Chengxiaoan” (橙小安) as part of a large-scale campus recruitment initiative spanning 42 universities in Guangdong, offering round-the-clock job matching, interview scheduling, and transparent recruitment-process guidance, explicitly designed with anti-bias algorithms that strip out gender, regional and school labels. Zhengzhou-based delivery of digital marketing continues via companies like Sichuan-based Xunming Bioscience partners and Hunan’s Mango TV, which produced the sci-fi short drama The Divine Brush (神·笔) with science fiction author Chen Qiufan as chief screenwriter, using AI in 80-90% of core production steps via its self-developed “Mango Large Model,” one of the first vertical broadcast-industry models approved by China’s Cyberspace Administration. E-commerce and financial platforms are also embracing AI spokes-figures: JD.com’s “Cyber Reunion Gala: Parenting Special” livestream event on August 13, 2026 featured an ensemble of AI-generated “father” and “mother” digital humans performing comedic sketches to promote parenting products from brands including Junlebao (金领冠), Aptamil (启赋), and Aptamil’s competitor Nutrilon (爱他美), blending entertainment with real-time shopping promotions and red-envelope giveaways. Guangdong’s securities industry has also pivoted from digital-human branding toward “AI Skills” (modular AI capability packages): Guotai Junan (国泰海通) launched its “Lingxi Skills” toolkit and AI skill repository, listing on third-party platforms like Huawei’s Xiaoyi and Tencent’s SkillHub; Huatai Securities rolled out “AI Zhangle Skills” and “Zhiyan Skill&MCP” tools; and CICC (中金公司) packaged its chief analysts’ proprietary research methodologies into “Analyst.Skill” digital human dialogue agents, allowing institutional clients to query digital replicas of named analysts. Chinese regulators have moved to formalize disclosure requirements for AI virtual marketing figures: on August 7, 2026, Xiaohongshu (Rednote) extended its AI-content labeling rules from individual posts to entire accounts, requiring any account operated under an AI virtual human persona to disclose this status on its profile page and activate an “AI Virtual Human” tag, following China’s national Interim Measures for the Identification of AI-Generated and Synthetic Content and provisions in the Interim Measures for the Administration of Internet Advertising requiring clear “advertisement” labeling for experience-based product promotions.

Gaming : China’s short-drama and gaming-adjacent AI content sector saw significant commercial activity in 2026, with livestreaming platform Huya reporting total revenue growth of 11.0% year-on-year to 1.74 billion yuan in Q2 2026, marking six consecutive quarters of growth, driven substantially by its game-related services, advertising and other revenue, which surged 54.1% to 640 million yuan and now represents 36.7% of total revenue. Huya’s strategic pivot into game publishing—moving from joint to exclusive distribution deals for titles including the wuxia MMORPG Sword and Fairy: Reunion (剑侠情缘:重逢, licensed from Kingsoft’s classic IP) and the 3D match-three mobile game Fun Match (消消奇遇, based on the Zanmang Loopy IP)—was underpinned by its self-developed real-time multimodal digital human model VAM 1.0, released in July 2026, which the company says can rapidly generate AI digital hosts capable of natural speech, singing and body movement for livestreaming and interactive entertainment use cases, with the explicit goal of reducing dependency on human streamers’ availability and lowering the marginal cost of content production at scale as deployment expands. Huya additionally deployed AI-powered in-game tools such as map navigation and combat assistance for popular titles including Delta Force (三角洲行动), League of Legends, and Teamfight Tactics, which the company reported meaningfully improved user engagement, watch time and platform value. In a related but distinct entertainment-technology development, Chinese GPU maker Moore Threads unveiled its AICUBE device, a home AI entertainment terminal combining AIPC, NAS, and agent capabilities, featuring a “Xiaomai” (小麦) AI digital human assistant with voice cloning and digital-avatar creation functions that allow users to train custom digital human personas—including celebrity look-alikes—from short video and audio samples, illustrating a parallel consumer-hardware track for personalized AI virtual-human interaction beyond the livestreaming and gaming industry proper.

Cultural and Creative Industries : China’s provincial and municipal governments and state media are actively deploying AI digital humans and virtual guides as tools for cultural heritage promotion and tourism. In Hunan, the Mawangshan Video Creative Park uses a self-developed digital human named “Xiao V” to guide visitors, while AR glasses “revive” Han-dynasty artifacts from the Mawangdui tomb site, part of a broader provincial strategy backed by Hunan’s self-developed “Mango Large Model” (an early industry-approved vertical model) that has incubated more than 80 intelligent agents and supports content creators through a single platform covering the entire production pipeline from scriptwriting to finished output; the Mawangshan Audio-Video Laboratory has also developed China’s own three-dimensional spatial audio standard, “Jingcai Sound” (菁彩声). In Shandong, China Mobile’s Shandong branch built an AI-powered smart tourism system for Qufu, birthplace of Confucius, featuring a virtual guide named “Kong Xiaoqiu” (孔小丘) that scans historical structures via smartphone AR and narrates Confucian cultural anecdotes, alongside immersive XR experiences at Nishan Sacred Land including an XR interactive theater production Nuwa’s Woven Dream (女娲织梦录) and drone-and-water-screen light shows depicting Confucius’s travels; the platform reportedly cut visitor itinerary-planning time by 60% and achieved a 93% satisfaction rate, while boosting the destination’s contribution to local GDP by 15%. In Xinjiang, China Telecom’s regional AI big-data tourism center deployed a trilingual (Mandarin, Uyghur, Kazakh) AI digital human guide named “Zhaozhao” (昭昭) at cultural heritage sites in Zhaosu County, Ili, while Hami Museum built China’s first comprehensive digital archive of historical documents related to Qing-era statesman Zuo Zongtang, and the Tacheng Accordion Museum enabled visitors to remotely tour its physical collection—covering over a thousand accordions from ten countries—via VR. In Guangdong, the 16th China International Animation Copyright Protection and Trade Expo (held in Dongguan, closing August 10, 2026) drew over 6,000 domestic and international buyers, generating 1.926 billion yuan in intended cooperation and sales, with its “Smart Animation Space Digital Integration” zone showcasing AI-generated animated characters, virtual digital humans, and VR interaction technology; plush toys embedded with AI chips capable of conversational responses (such as a panda toy that could offer to “sing a song” when told a child was sad) drew strong interest from international buyers including a Dubai-based procurement agent, while Dongguan’s Chashan township has built a 140,000-square-meter AI toy industrial park hosting more than 20 companies producing over 50 AI toy models. Guangzhou’s Haizhu district has also promoted AI digital-human applications in community healthcare, including a “digital avatar” for remote health consultations serving community patients, integrated with AI family-doctor chat services and smart emergency-call systems linked to hospital dispatch.

Media and Industry Infrastructure : Chinese listed companies across media, broadcasting and technology sectors continue to build out virtual-human and AI-content capabilities as part of broader digital transformation strategies, though most disclosures reflect early-stage or supplementary business lines rather than core revenue drivers. Silk Road Visual Technology (丝路视觉), whose affiliate Ruiyun Technology (in which Alibaba holds a 20% stake) contributed rendering work to the film The Wandering Earth, has developed VR/AR educational content and confirmed its technology “can support the production and development of digital humans,” alongside its “Smart Palace” VR science-education product deployed in Chinese secondary schools. Xinchen Technology (新晨科技) has explored digital-human, VR/AR wearable and cloud-rendering applications tied to its blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) platform for financial-sector clients, though this remains a minor part of its core cross-border payment and trade-finance business. Guomai Culture, alongside its AI digital spokespersons Irene and Xiaolin, has produced over 200 episodes of AI-generated short dramas leveraging multiple domestic large language models. Guangdong’s Desheng Technology (德生科技) has integrated AI digital-human customer-service interfaces into its social-security and government-affairs “AI Agent” platform, deployed across cities including Dongguan, Kaifeng, Shantou, Qingdao, Jining and Guang’an, where digital-human interactions help citizens navigate social insurance inquiries and government services, part of a broader “knowledge base + data foundation + government-affairs large model” architecture built on its self-developed “Zhiwei Jieyu” human-resources vertical model, which received Chinese cyberspace-regulator registration in June 2025. Xinhua Media (新华传媒) confirmed that its AI digital human “Xiao YUE,” designed with a book-scroll motif, functions as a book-recommendation tool within its business operations. Jincai Hulian (金财互联) has deployed a digital virtual human online since 2023 tied to its blockchain “Jincailian” platform for financial and tax services. Bangyan Technology (邦彦技术) launched “NuwaAI,” a zero-barrier digital-human creation platform enabling enterprise clients to build customized digital employees and personal digital creators, and staged a New Year’s Day digital-human debut of a “Li Bai” AI persona at Shenzhen’s Ganwakeng ancient town that could recite Tang poetry, sing rock music, and perform stand-up comedy, alongside ticket and voucher incentives to drive on-site consumer spending. Guangdong’s Aoni Electronics (奥尼电子) has participated in drafting the industry group standard “Technical Specification for Virtual Digital Humans Supporting Voice and Visual Interaction,” reflecting its positioning as a smart audio-visual hardware maker collaborating with Tencent Cloud on AI visual inspection and digital-twin technologies. Beiqing Holdings (北京文化) and China Film Group saw stock gains tied to strong box-office reception for the AI-adjacent entertainment slate, while Hunan’s provincial audio-visual industry cluster—anchored by the Mawangshan Audio-Visual Laboratory—has filed over 360 invention patents and seen more than 110 technical proposals adopted into core industry standards including AVS3 and Dual Vivid, with products such as the world’s first AI dual-lens 4K live-streaming camera and China’s first Dual-Vivid-standard GPMI set-top box; the province’s audio-visual equipment cluster generated 160 billion yuan in output value in 2025 and targets a 200-billion-yuan cluster scale by 2026, with virtual-human and AR/AI-enabled tourism applications (including AR glasses experiences at the Mawangdui tomb site) forming part of its content-technology integration strategy.

Robotics and Public Services : Tianjin’s municipal government issued an Action Plan for Innovative Development of the Intelligent Robotics Industry (2026–2028), targeting core industry output exceeding 20 billion yuan by 2028, which explicitly includes service robots for elderly care, education, government affairs and community governance, with “digital human teaching assistants” (数字人助教) named among the safe, reliable applied products the plan aims to develop as part of a broader push encompassing industrial, specialized and humanoid/bionic robotics. Separately, Inner Mongolia Mobile’s Hohhot branch partnered with Huimin District Hospital to migrate hospital information systems—including AI voice digital-human customer service—onto a cloud-based “medical cloud-network-security integration” solution, reducing the hospital’s IT operating costs by more than 50% while enabling cross-institution bed allocation and remote diagnostic imaging review between the hospital and community health centers. In academic commentary on grassroots governance, Guizhou-based scholars writing for China Economic Net highlighted digital-human dialect broadcasting tools as one way young “digital-AI native” officials are translating complex government policy into accessible community outreach, alongside AI-assisted agricultural pest identification and precision farming tools in rural governance contexts.

Ethical and Regulatory Contexts : China’s regulatory and legal apparatus is actively grappling with the implications of AI virtual humans across advertising, likeness rights, and emotional-companionship domains. The Fang Taozi contact-lens advertisement controversy became a landmark test case: legal experts including Zhao Zhanling and Ma Lihong of Beijing De He Heng Law Firm concluded the ad likely constituted false advertising because the AI character fabricated a first-person “wearing experience” it could not physically have, and clarified that while AI virtual humans lack independent legal personhood and thus cannot be classified as statutory “endorsers” under Article 16 of China’s Advertising Law (which explicitly bars endorser-style testimonials for medical devices, including Class III cosmetic contact lenses), advertisers, MCN operators and content producers remain fully liable for verifying content truthfulness, facing potential fines, product delisting, and civil damages; the case was referred to the Langya District Market Supervision Bureau in Chuzhou, Anhui for investigation. Beijing Internet Court judge Zhao Qi, addressing a wave of “AI face theft” lawsuits, established that courts will assess whether AI-generated characters bear identifiable resemblance to real individuals based on public perception and social-media discussion, and shift the burden of proof onto defendants to demonstrate their generation process did not involve unauthorized use of someone’s likeness—an approach applied in cases brought by model “Qihai” and hanfu stylist “Baicai” against AI short-drama producers who allegedly used their faces without consent in dramas like Peach Blossom Hairpin (桃花簪), which garnered nearly 40 million views on the Hongguo (红果) platform before being taken down, though similar AI-generated likenesses of the plaintiff reportedly persisted in new dramas months later due to the technical difficulty of fully purging trained model data. China’s national Interim Measures for the Identification of AI-Generated and Synthetic Content (effective September 1, 2025) require explicit and implicit labeling of AI-generated text, images, audio, video and virtual scenes, complemented by the Interim Measures for the Administration of Internet Advertising mandating clear “advertisement” disclosure for experience-based product promotions; Xiaohongshu’s August 7, 2026 rule extending AI-disclosure requirements from posts to entire accounts represents a platform-level implementation of this framework. Separately, China’s Cyberspace Administration and three other national ministries jointly issued the Interim Measures for the Management of AI Anthropomorphic Interactive Services, effective July 15, 2026, as the world’s first national-level regulation specifically targeting AI emotional companionship and virtual-companion applications; investigative reporting found that despite the rule explicitly prohibiting AI apps from offering virtual family or romantic-partner relationships to minors or using addictive engagement tactics as service goals, multiple popular “AI companionship” apps in China had only nominal age-verification systems—allowing minors to bypass checks by entering any adult name and ID number without facial verification—and some apps featured “adoptive father” personas that expressed romantic interest in “adoptive daughter” users, or preset character libraries containing sexualized content and a 16-year-old “younger sister” romance scenario, prompting commentators to call for mandatory facial verification, stricter content review, and enforcement of the new rule’s protections. Separately, a Sina-published explainer on AI companionship for deceased relatives noted Chinese families using AI to simulate video calls with deceased family members—including one case where relatives used an AI simulation to conceal a son’s death from an elderly parent for a year, and another where parents recreated a deceased nine-year-old daughter’s “growth trajectory”—while flagging ethical risks including delayed grief processing, blurred perception of reality versus simulation, and potential privacy violations from the extensive personal data required to build such simulations.

11 August News

AI Companions and Virtual Beings : China’s virtual-being landscape has intensified around AI-generated actors in short dramas, most notably the AI persona Fang Taozi, who plays the lead in the hit AI drama “The Girl Who Was Laid Off” (被裁掉的女孩), which has amassed over 260 million to 280 million views across platforms. Fang Taozi operates as a fully digital influencer, maintaining an independent Douyin account with roughly 400,000 followers where she posts lifestyle content such as workouts, morning routines, and daily vlogs in a first-person voice, blurring the line between fictional character and social media personality. Her commercial value has been substantial, with advertising rates reportedly reaching 258,000 yuan for videos over 60 seconds, surpassing many real influencers with millions of followers; however, this commercialization triggered controversy when she “endorsed” a colored contact lens (meitong) brand called Jianguoli (坚果力), claiming in the ad that the lenses were “comfortable to wear all day,” a statement widely criticized as impossible given that an AI has no real eyes or physical sensation, prompting the ad’s removal and a market regulation investigation by the Langya District authority in Chuzhou. Legal experts noted that while AI virtual persons cannot be legally classified as advertising endorsers under China’s Advertising Law (since they are not natural persons, legal persons, or organizations), the companies behind such content remain liable for false advertising, especially given that colored contacts are classified as Class III medical devices, which by law cannot use any endorser-style recommendation. This incident became a flashpoint for broader debate about AI virtual humans in commercial contexts, with commentary from outlets including Netease, Sina, and Nanfang Daily calling for clearer regulation, mandatory AI-content labeling, and category-based restrictions preventing virtual humans from making health or medical claims. Separately, actress and singer Qi Wei made headlines as reportedly the first mainstream Chinese entertainer to proactively authorize a regulated AI digital twin of herself, named “Han Qingxia” (韩清夏), who stars in the AI drama “Last Summer of the Apocalypse” (末日盛夏). Qi Wei emphasized a “limited authorization, no buyout” model, retaining veto power over scripts and final cuts, and positioned this as a proactive alternative to the widespread problem of unauthorized AI face-swapping plaguing Chinese celebrities such as Yu Shuxin, Yi Yangqianxi, and Wang Jinsong, whose likenesses have been stolen for short dramas and fake advertisements. However, Han Qingxia’s promotional teaser sparked backlash over a controversial low-angle “upskirt” camera shot deemed exploitative for a supposed post-apocalyptic warrior character, forcing Qi Wei to publicly acknowledge the criticism and pledge script and prompt optimization. Other actors have taken a more cautious stance: Su Junhe, known for the hit short drama “Being a Stepmother in the 1980s,” stated he currently has no plans to authorize an AI version of himself, citing the irreplaceable uniqueness of live performance, even as he acknowledged a sense of professional crisis from the rise of AI actors. Legal and academic commentary, including from Sichuan University AI scholar Song Yao, has framed these developments around the principle that “AI can buy technology, but not personhood,” urging that any celebrity AI licensing be narrowly scoped (e.g., single-use, time-limited, without full buyout of voice, appearance, and performance style) and that AI-generated content be clearly labeled to preserve audience trust and human dignity.

Entertainment and Short-Drama Industry : China’s short-drama sector has undergone a dramatic AI-driven transformation, with AI-generated micro-dramas (AI微短剧) now representing over 95% of the roughly 128,000 micro-dramas released nationally in the first quarter of 2026, according to data cited across multiple outlets including Sina and NetEase. This shift has been driven primarily by radical cost reduction: traditional short dramas that once cost hundreds of thousands of yuan can now be produced by small teams (sometimes just 3-4 people) for under 100,000 yuan and in a matter of days rather than months, using tools like Seedance 2.0 for scene and effects generation. Notable productions include “The Girl Who Was Laid Off,” made by a small team including director Feifei Fei, which achieved viral success partly by grounding its AI-generated content in a realistic urban workplace narrative rather than the fantasy/wealth-fantasy tropes that dominate the genre, and “Zouyang Ji” (《鸳鸯谱》), a costume AI drama produced for roughly 320,000 yuan versus an estimated 1.6 million yuan for a comparable live-action version. The trend has severely disrupted traditional production hubs like Hengdian, where the number of active short-drama film crews reportedly collapsed from around 150 to 59, leaving many extras and background actors to seek alternative work. Industry observers and executives, including at companies like Beidou Zhiying (北斗智影), a Nanjing-based content export company that recently secured tens of millions of yuan in funding from Xinshihua Capital, have pointed to a parallel shift in overseas AI short-drama distribution, where China-produced AI dramas dubbed and localized for platforms like TikTok and Meta are seeing costs drop to roughly 1% of traditional overseas production costs (from around 200,000 USD per drama to a few thousand RMB), with Beidou Zhiying’s AILoop system managing over 100,000 social media accounts to distribute content and reportedly achieving over 100 million RMB in annual recurring revenue. Genre analysis shows overseas audiences favor different themes by region—Western audiences prefer werewolf, mafia, and “rags to riches” billionaire narratives, while Southeast Asian markets favor family drama and sweet romance—necessitating localized script adaptation via AI agent systems. However, widespread criticism has emerged regarding content homogenization, with viewers on Weibo expressing “physiological disgust” toward generic AI-generated faces, repetitive plotlines (wealthy tycoon romances, rebirth revenge stories), and factual/historical inaccuracies such as anachronistic props in period dramas. Regulatory response has followed swiftly: the National Radio and Television Administration issued the “Micro-Drama Development Management Measures” (effective September 1, 2026), establishing a three-tier classification system based on investment size and subject matter, requiring visible AI-generation disclosure labels on each episode, and the “AI Micro-Drama Classification and Tiering Standards” management notice took effect July 1, 2026. Separately, Shanghai’s “Wenchuang Shanghai” innovation competition highlighted platforms like Xcine, a nearly 20-year veteran film production team’s AI filmmaking platform offering a “3D director mode” enabling precise camera, lighting, and blocking control that claims to increase creative efficiency by 80% while cutting costs by 50%, alongside Shanshan Cloud’s “trusted digital human authentication and management platform” designed to combat digital human identity theft and impersonation fraud.

Regulatory and Legal Framework for Digital Humans : Chinese authorities and legal scholars have intensified focus on establishing clear governance frameworks for digital humans and AI-generated content amid rapid commercialization. In June 2026, Beijing’s Economic-Technological Development Area issued China’s first “Digital Artist Card” to the AI virtual idol Yuri, under a new “sandbox regulatory” pilot program requiring proof of identity, rights ownership, and large-model content safety review before any digital character can be commercially deployed—establishing a precedent for linking virtual personas to accountable operating entities. Legal scholars interviewed by outlets including China Economic Net and China Youth Daily have called for building a comprehensive “digital asset confirmation and authorization system,” recommending that licensing be broken into distinct dimensions (appearance, voice, motion capture data, performance style, AI training rights, and future derivative usage rights) rather than blanket one-time buyouts, alongside registration/filing requirements for commercial digital humans and embedded tamper-proof identification for traceability. The Cyberspace Administration of China and four other ministries implemented the “Interim Measures for the Administration of AI Anthropomorphic Interactive Services” in July 2026, targeting emotional dependency risks, privacy protection, and requiring technology-ethics review for AI companion products, explicitly warning against designs that “replace real social interaction or induce addictive dependency.” Separately, the draft “Digital Virtual Human Information Service Management Measures” mandates that any use of a natural person’s face or voice for modeling requires explicit individual consent, directly targeting the widespread problem of unauthorized AI face-swapping and voice cloning that has affected celebrities such as Qi Xin, Wang Zusheng, and numerous ordinary citizens like models and hairstylists whose likenesses were stolen and distorted into unflattering or villainous characters in AI dramas without consent. Courts have already begun adjudicating related disputes; the Hangzhou Internet Court’s “Virtual Digital Human Ada case” established that virtual digital humans lack independent legal personality, with copyright and performance rights instead vesting in the operating company that employed the real actor whose movements were captured. Legal scholars from institutions including Southwest University of Political Science and Law, East China University of Political Science and Law, and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences have debated whether digital twins should eventually receive limited legal personhood (akin to corporate entities) to clarify liability, while cautioning about deeper societal risks including “personality fragmentation” (as facial features, voice, and expressions become independently replicable), digital divide effects favoring wealthy individuals who can afford professional digital-twin production, and algorithmic bias embedded in training data that could structurally disadvantage underrepresented demographic groups in the digital economy.

10 August News

Marketing : AI virtual humans have moved rapidly into commercial advertising in mainland China, exposing significant regulatory gaps around synthetic endorsers. The most prominent case involved “Fang Taozi” (方桃子), the AI-generated lead of the short drama “The Girl Who Got Laid Off” (被裁掉的女孩), which surpassed 200 million views and grew an independent Douyin account to over 400,000 followers. Fang Taozi commanded advertising rates as high as 258,000 yuan for a 60-second video, exceeding fees charged by many real influencers with millions of followers. In early August 2026, she promoted a cosmetic contact lens (“meitong”) brand called Jianguoli (坚果力), operated by Anhui Huaxin Enterprise Management Co., using first-person claims such as “wearing it all day feels very comfortable.” Because cosmetic contact lenses are classified in China as Class III medical devices—the highest risk category, on par with cardiac stents—and because Chinese Advertising Law bars any endorser from promoting medical devices, and separately prohibits fabricating usage experiences, the advertisement was pulled within about a week after public backlash; the case was referred to the Langya District Market Supervision Bureau in Chuzhou. Lawyers, including Huang Di of Beijing Yinghe (Guangzhou) Law Firm, noted that AI virtual humans lack independent legal personality and cannot be legal endorsers under Advertising Law, but the advertiser and operating company remain liable for false advertising. Commentary in People’s Daily and Chinese legal media argued that “AI-generated” labels cannot serve as a liability shield, and called for stricter disclosure requirements, accountability across advertisers, MCNs, and platforms, and a ban on fabricated consumer experiences. Regulatory responses accelerated in parallel: China’s State Administration for Market Regulation removed more than 2,000 unlabeled AI-driven livestream accounts impersonating experts in a July 2026 sweep, Douyin rolled out an AI-material infringement pre-check tool in early August, and the National Radio and Television Administration has required AI-generated content to be registered before publication since April 2026. Beyond Fang Taozi, actress Qi Wei’s AI digital double “Han Qingxia” (韩清夏), launched August 6, 2026 as China’s first artist-authorized regulated AI likeness, faced its own controversy when a promotional clip for the AI comic drama “Doomsday Summer” (末日盛夏) used a low-angle upskirt shot dubbed the “thunder angle” by netizens, drawing criticism for sexualized framing inconsistent with the character’s post-apocalyptic warrior setting; Qi Wei publicly accepted the criticism and pledged to revise the AI prompts. Wang Zuxian (Joey Wong) and Wu Qihua (吴启华) have also licensed youthful AI likenesses—Wang’s tied exclusively to the game “Tianxia” (天下) for a short film titled “Qianying” (倩影)—demonstrating a broader industry shift in which established actors monetize digitized versions of themselves under limited, non-exclusive licensing terms rather than outright buyouts.

Gaming : Chinese gaming and esports companies are integrating AI-driven virtual humans and digital doubles into competitive and promotional contexts. At the PEL (PUBG Mobile) Spring Finals on April 26, 2026, singer Hua Chenyu appeared alongside his AI virtual counterpart “Hua Aotian” (花傲天), a persistent digital identity built over seven years as PUBG Mobile’s brand ambassador, complete with its own in-game esports persona once affiliated with LGD team’s youth training squad. The performance used augmented reality projection combined with motion-capture-driven animation to place the virtual character on stage interacting with Hua Chenyu in real time, including synchronized choreography and a symbolic high-five moment during the song “A Thousand Times Toward You” (千万次奔向), which topped charts upon release and drove livestream viewership up 37% year-on-year. Separately, a Macau-based online entertainment platform described only as “Macau Xinpu’ao” launched an AI-driven esports platform whose “Galaxy Training Ground” module allows users to spar against AI-generated digital doubles trained on data from more than 5,000 top players, with difficulty adjusting automatically based on user performance.

Cultural and Educational Institutions : Chinese state-linked cultural and educational bodies are deploying digital human technology for content distribution and public-facing services. China Mobile’s digital media subsidiary Migu (咪咕) partnered with Jilin People’s Publishing House to launch the “Jiyu” (吉遇) Digital Human Cloud Exhibition Hall, unveiled at the first Northeast China Book Fair in May 2026; the project combines digital human avatars, metaverse-style immersive browsing, 3D books, and AI text-to-speech to modernize publishing and reading experiences, and already hosts more than 100 titles with further expansion planned. Guangxi Medical University, marking fourteen years as a pilot site for China’s Ministry of Education “Excellent Doctor” training program, has developed “Zhenshan Digital Doctor” (臻善数字医生), a multilingual AI medical digital human used for cross-border medical education with ASEAN partner countries; the tool has been extended to 26 institutions across all ten ASEAN nations as part of the university’s medical exchange programs. In Gansu province, Dunhuang city’s public resource trading platform has adopted a “business backbone plus digital human” explainer model, producing over 300 short videos to translate complex bidding regulations into accessible guidance for market participants, part of a broader digitization push that also included fully electronic tendering processes.

Enterprise and Public Services : Chinese public-sector and enterprise digitalization initiatives are incorporating digital human tools into employment, business, and customer service functions. Under China’s “AI plus human resources and social security” policy framework issued jointly by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and National Data Administration, at least one concrete deployment example was cited: Guangxi’s Longan county “Xiaoliang Song Gong” (小梁送工) digital platform, which combines “real-person-plus-digital-human job placement broadcasting” with smart service stations and data visualization to address information mismatches for rural migrant workers seeking employment. E-commerce platform 1688, operated by Alibaba, has deployed AI digital employees under its “Chengxintong AI” service for over 290,000 merchants daily, handling product listings, customer inquiries, and marketing; separately, JD.com’s “JoyStreamer” digital human livestreaming technology has served more than 70,000 merchants, including a widely publicized all-AI livestream shopping gala during the 2026 “618” shopping festival that used digital human hosts to interact with viewers in real time. E-commerce customer service platform Taobao’s “Xiaomi” AI assistant has been adopted by over one million merchants.

Ethical and Regulatory Contexts : Chinese regulators, courts, and commentators are actively grappling with the ethical and legal status of AI virtual humans, particularly regarding advertising liability and content authenticity. Following the Fang Taozi cosmetic lens controversy, legal experts consistently noted that while AI digital humans cannot be classified as legal “endorsers” under China’s Advertising Law due to lacking independent legal personality, this does not exempt advertisers, operating companies, and content platforms from liability for false or misleading claims; Advertising Law Article 28 (prohibiting fabricated usage experiences) and Article 16 (banning endorsers for medical device advertising) both applied regardless of the endorser’s synthetic nature. People’s Daily’s commentary section explicitly warned against treating “AI-generated” labels as a “liability shield,” urging accountability across the full chain of advertisers, technology providers, MCN operators, and platforms, alongside mandatory disclosure requirements for AI-generated content in prominent placement. Separately, the phenomenon of licensed AI doubles for active performers has raised questions about labor displacement and content quality control in China’s entertainment industry; a widely circulated industry analysis noted that nearly 40% of trending AI-generated short dramas in China contained “edgy” or borderline content due to inadequate human review, and that Qi Wei’s team faced criticism for allowing a sexually suggestive camera angle to pass through its own internal approval process despite claiming strict oversight of her AI likeness “Han Qingxia.” Commentators also flagged the emerging “AI actor” economy’s regulatory blind spots: unlike human performers subject to China’s entertainment industry salary caps, AI virtual personalities face no equivalent compensation ceiling, and their income (potentially classified as labor remuneration, business income, or licensing royalties) creates ambiguity for tax enforcement, according to legal scholars cited in Beijing Daily reporting on the Fang Taozi case.

09 August News

Entertainment (AI Digital Humans and Avatars) : The most prominent case involves Chinese actress and singer Qi Wei, who on August 6, 2026 became the first active mainland Chinese celebrity to officially launch a personal AI digital avatar, named Han Qingxia, marking a departure from most artists who have pursued legal action against unauthorized AI face-swapping. Qi Wei adopted a “limited licensing, no buyout” model, retaining ownership of her likeness while requiring all commercial uses to pass through studio review; she personally participated in calibrating the avatar’s facial expressions, movements, and voice, framing it as protecting her “career lifeline” rather than a one-time sale. The avatar debuted as the lead character in the AI comic-style drama 末日盛夏 (Last Summer of the Apocalypse), adapted from a Chinese web novel and produced for the Red Fruit short drama platform (红果短剧), with over 6,200 pre-registrations reported. However, the promotional trailer sparked major controversy after an opening shot used a low-angle upskirt camera movement that lingered on the character’s hemline, which critics labeled the “thunder angle” (雷霆视角) and condemned as voyeuristic and incongruous with the character’s post-apocalyptic warrior setting; the topic trended as the top entertainment search on Weibo, and Qi Wei responded by acknowledging the criticism, promising prompt optimization, and later posting a lighthearted joke about buying pants, which drew further criticism for seeming dismissive. Qi Wei’s move followed earlier precedents set by veteran Hong Kong and Chinese stars: actress Joey Wong (Wang Zuxian, 王祖贤), who has been retired for 22 years, licensed her 20s-to-30s-era likeness exclusively to NetEase’s game Tianxia (天下) for an AI short film called Silhouette (倩影), appearing as “Actor: Wang Zuxian (AI)”; actor Wu Qihua (吴启华), 62, sold likeness rights for an AI film using his 20-year-old appearance without needing to appear on set; and 93-year-old actor You Benchang licensed both his image and voice due to age-related limits on physical filming. In contrast, younger active stars including Zhang Ruoyun and Wang Chuyun had their studios issue public denials of any AI authorization following backlash over iQiyi’s “AI Artist Library” project in April 2026, which had listed over 100 artists as participants. Commentary from Chinese legal experts (including lawyer Li Zhenwu) emphasized that portrait rights can be licensed but never fully sold, and cautioned that artists still in their commercial prime risk diluting their brand value if their digital doubles are associated with low-quality content.

Native AI Actors and Endorsement Liability : Alongside celebrity-authorized avatars, a parallel wave of “native AI actors” has emerged directly from AI-generated short dramas. The most notable is Fang Taozi (方桃子), the lead virtual character of the Chinese AI short drama Bei Cai Diao De Nver Hai (被裁掉的女孩, “The Girl Who Got Laid Off”), produced by Guangzhou-based My Film & Television Culture Media Co. and technically built on the platform Yanyu Keji LibTV. Fang Taozi launched an independent social media account after the drama’s release in June 2026, mixing serialized drama content with lifestyle vlogs (cooking, tennis, skincare) to build a “living person” persona, amassing over 400,000 Douyin followers within roughly a month and generating over 220 million combined views for the drama. Her commercial rate card reportedly reached 168,000 yuan for 1-20 second videos and up to 258,000 yuan for videos over 60 seconds, reportedly exceeding rates charged by some real influencers with millions of followers. However, Fang Taozi’s first sponsored campaign, a color contact lens (“meitong”) advertisement in which she claimed in first-person “I’ve worn them all day and they’re still comfortable,” triggered major backlash because AI virtual humans lack real eyes and cannot physically experience products; since color contacts are classified in China as Class III medical devices, Chinese Advertising Law explicitly bars the use of endorsers for such products, and legal experts (including Beijing lawyer Wang Xingyao and Guangdong lawyer Chen Zekun) stated the ad likely constituted false advertising under Article 28, with liability falling on the operating company, advertiser, and platform rather than the AI itself; the ad was pulled within days, and the brand “Nutnutlook” (坚果力, owned by Anhui Huaxin Enterprise Management Co.) said the matter had been referred to Chuzhou’s Langya District market regulator. People’s Daily and other state media outlets published commentary warning that “AI-generated” cannot serve as a “liability shield,” also citing unrelated cases involving Supor and babysheep AI ads deemed vulgar or misleading. Other Chinese platforms have similarly rushed to produce competing AI virtual talent, including Bilibili’s “AI Idol Debut Season” contestants Eiko and Enna, Yaoke Media’s signed AI actors Qin Lingyue and Lin Xiyan, AI stand-up comedian Qiaoqiaozi, and AI singer Yuri, who holds China’s first official “digital artist card.”

AI Short-Drama Industry Scale and Strain : The broader AI short-drama industry in which these avatars operate has scaled dramatically but shows signs of strain. Chinese industry data (from DataEye and the China Netcasting Services Association) indicate that AI-generated short dramas comprised over 95% of the roughly 128,000 micro-dramas released nationwide in Q1 2026, with market size surpassing 22 billion yuan in the first five months of the year and full-year projections nearing 40 billion yuan; yet breakout hit rates remain under 0.5%, with over 60% of releases failing to reach a million views, reflecting heavy reliance on paid traffic promotion rather than organic content quality. Companies including Maiya Media (麦芽传媒) and Jiangyou Culture (酱油文化) have pursued new formats to stand out, such as the AI “idol survival show” franchises 12 Xingzuo Lianzhan (12星练赛, “12 Zodiac Trainee Competition”) and Xingguang 108 (星光108), which replicate real talent-show formats using entirely AI-generated contestants; critics noted minimal genuine audience engagement despite media claims of viral success, arguing the format represents “capital narrative over user demand” given AI content’s inherent lack of authentic emotional stakes. Separately, Maiya Media’s AI variety project 12 Xingzuo Lianzhan reportedly surpassed 100 million views within a month and generated brand partnerships with Haosi Bread and the Xingguang L SUV, while its emotionally-driven AI account Jiumeng Liushengji (旧梦留声机, “Old Dream Phonograph”), depicting a mother’s search for a lost daughter, generated over 100 million impressions and 10 million interactions within 21 hours of release. On the industrial side, a 2026 Jiangxi AI Short Drama High-Quality Development Ecology Conference in Ganjiang New Area drew major platforms (iQiyi, Tencent, Baidu, Alibaba) and production houses, highlighting new AI production tools such as Baidu’s HojiAI and Beijing Shengshu Technology’s one-click Agent tool, alongside a 100P computing platform built with China Telecom to cut AI drama production costs by over 50%; the region also established anti-piracy infrastructure with Abo Group (阜博集团) using video watermarking and blockchain tracing after the drama Fengshui Tianshi (风水天师) suffered over 30,000 infringing links across 25 platforms.

Regulatory and Platform Governance : Regulatory responses to AI virtual beings in entertainment and advertising have intensified across Chinese platforms and government bodies. Xiaohongshu (Rednote) announced on August 7, 2026 that it was extending its AI-content labeling requirements from individual posts to entire accounts, mandating that accounts operated using AI virtual human personas disclose this status on their profile pages and enable an “AI Virtual Human” tag; the platform stated proactive disclosure would not hurt traffic and could earn early access to new AI tools, while undisclosed accounts risked throttling or suspension. This followed Xiaohongshu’s July 17 crackdown that had already resulted in the removal or restriction of 420,000 accounts found to be using full or partial AI-automation for content posting and fake engagement, and its broader 2026 efforts that removed over 600,000 low-quality AI-generated posts. China’s Cyberspace Administration separately enforced the “Measures for Labeling AI-Generated Synthetic Content,” effective September 1, 2025, requiring explicit and implicit labeling of all AI-generated text, images, audio, and video; platforms such as Douyin have adopted “3-times violation” rules resulting in account bans for repeated unlabeled AI content exceeding 100,000 views. WeChat separately reiterated in April 2026 that public accounts may not use AI, scripts, or automation to fully replace human content creation, resulting in the mass deletion of articles from accounts including one reported case of a couple earning 2 million yuan annually through a fully AI-automated public account, which was ultimately banned. A Hangzhou court also issued China’s first ruling in an “AI-written marketing post” unfair competition case, finding that mass-generating fabricated product reviews via AI without genuine consumer experience constituted unfair competition.

Gaming and Technology Partnerships : Singapore-headquartered gaming hardware company Razer, which maintains a regional headquarters in Shanghai, announced on August 5, 2026 a joint AI research lab with the National University of Singapore’s School of Computing focused on advancing “Gaming Artificial Narrow Intelligence” (GANI), a proposed new research category for AI models purpose-built for interactive gaming environments rather than general-purpose large language models. The lab’s stated priorities include Razer’s in-development “digital human” project AVA, described as a companion AI with personality, memory, contextual awareness, and adaptive interaction capabilities, alongside Project Motoko, a wearable multimodal generative AI headset. Razer Chief Strategy Officer Li Liming stated that gaming’s demands for real-time responsiveness and personalization would help establish scientific foundations transferable to interactive entertainment, education, and simulation more broadly; the lab builds on Razer’s existing AI Centers of Excellence in Singapore and France, which together employ nearly 100 researchers, engineers, and data scientists.

Sports and Corporate AI Deployment : Chinese technology company Lenovo, serving as official technology partner for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, deployed a suite of AI systems across the tournament, as detailed by trend forecaster Wu Sheng at a Hong Kong business event on August 8, 2026. Lenovo built a “Football AI Super Agent” (FIFA AI Pro) integrating over 2,000 player and coaching metrics across all 48 participating national teams, alongside a referee-perspective AI video enhancement system providing real-time first-person broadcast footage to improve judging transparency, and a “3D digital human visualization” system that constructed high-precision digital replicas of every participating player to enable “scalp-level” offside determination through 3D models intended to reduce disputes over refereeing decisions. Lenovo additionally supported tournament logistics through an intelligent command center, IPTV systems, and smart guidance systems coordinating venue logistics, personnel, and equipment; FIFA reportedly sent a formal letter of appreciation recognizing the technology deployment’s effectiveness. Separately, Lenovo’s Tianxi AI (天禧AI), a personal “super agent” assistant embedded across Lenovo’s AI PCs, phones, and tablets using an end-edge-cloud architecture, was highlighted for supporting autonomous 24/7 task execution and a new “smart key” feature for real-time on-screen AI assistance; 42 Lenovo terminal products equipped with Tianxi AI reportedly passed Level 3 (L3) certification under China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology national standard for AI terminal intelligence grading.

Enterprise and Commercial Platforms : Chinese search giant Baidu’s all-scenario digital human platform Baidu Yijing (百度一镜) was selected in August 2026 for two categories, “Top 10 Chinese Agents with Global Development Potential” and “Top 10 Agents with Commercial Value Potential,” in a report jointly published by Frost & Sullivan and Leadleo Research Institute evaluating Chinese AI Agent applications. Baidu Yijing, upgraded in May 2026 into what the company describes as the world’s first all-scenario multi-agent digital human platform combining live-streaming, video generation, and real-time interaction, has expanded into an international version supporting 75 languages across platforms including TikTok, Shopee, and Lazada, reportedly serving over 100,000 clients and improving livestream conversion rates by 29%. Separately, Chinese live-streaming and e-commerce sectors have seen broader digital human adoption: Chinese electronics brand OPPO implemented a “human-AI shift” livestream model in which human anchors handle peak hours (9am-midnight) while digital humans cover overnight slots (midnight-8am), a strategy Taobao Live estimated saves merchants roughly 50,000 yuan monthly in labor and equipment costs; however, reporting also highlighted widespread merchant complaints about unreliable digital-human livestreaming vendors, including cases of accounts being throttled or banned for fully unattended AI broadcasts, which Douyin explicitly prohibits, and mismatched product categories (jewelry, custom clothing) suffering steep sales declines when handled by generic digital-human templates rather than real presenters.

Cultural and Animation Sector : At the 2026 Wuzhen Youth Technology Carnival co-hosted by Bilibili in Zhejiang province on August 8, 2026, youth technology programming included AIGC and VR/AR digital human research courses as part of a “Future Science Theater” educational track alongside brain-computer interface demonstrations, reflecting digital human technology’s expanding presence in youth STEM education programming. Separately, at the 2026 Greater Bay Area Comic and Animation Festival held in Dongguan (the “City of Trendy Toys”) from August 6, 2026, AI-driven content generation and digital human technology featured prominently across a 33,100-square-meter exhibition space with over 2,200 IP properties; companies including Chengshi (Dongguan) Culture Technology showcased AI companion plush toys integrating original IP characters with AI technology for youth education and emotional companionship, while Qianchen Culture Industry planned AI product launches for later in 2026. Fangte (华强方特) deputy general manager Li Xiaohong cautioned during a panel discussion that while AI democratizes creation, genuinely moving content remains scarce and irreplaceable, a view echoed by French animator Du Laishun, who stated he had not yet incorporated AI into his personal creative workflow, emphasizing that cultural distinctiveness remains difficult for AI to replicate. In Wuhan, a CMG Film Culture Carnival event running August 5-9, 2026 paired traditional puppet theater performers with motion-capture technology demonstrations, allowing a Wuhan rod-puppet performer to compare puppetry’s manual character animation with digital motion-capture-driven virtual character creation, while a Hubei Changjiang Film Group AIGC lab showcased 4K digital restoration of the classic film Honghu Chiweidui (洪湖赤卫队) using AI-driven enhancement tools.

08 August News

Virtual Beings and AI Companions : China’s virtual being landscape saw a landmark development on August 6, 2026, when actress and singer Qi Wei became the first mainland Chinese celebrity to proactively authorize an official AI digital replica of herself, named Han Qingxia (韩清夏), rather than merely reacting to unauthorized deepfakes. Qi Wei adopted a “limited authorization, no buyout” model in which her likeness and voice rights remain her own property, with every commercial use of the AI form requiring case-by-case approval from her studio; this was explicitly designed to contrast with the “buyout” contracts that some AI short-drama companies use to permanently acquire actors’ likeness data. She served as both lead performer and producer of the AI-generated manga drama (AI漫剧) “The Last Summer” (末日盛夏), adapted from the web novel “Apocalypse Rebirth: The Tycoon Starts From Hoarding Millions”, personally directing the digital human’s facial expressions, movements, and providing her own voice recording. The character’s tagline, “Hello, I’m not Qi Wei,” was intended to clearly separate the virtual persona from the real actress, and the project was positioned on the short-drama platform Red Fruit (红果短剧). However, the launch was quickly overshadowed by controversy: the promotional teaser featured a low-angle “upskirt” tracking shot that paused suggestively at the character’s hemline, which netizens dubbed the “thunder angle” (雷霆视角), sparking accusations of gratuitous “soft pornography” and male-gaze framing inconsistent with the character’s post-apocalyptic survivor persona. Legal commentators, including Shanghai-based lawyer Li Zhenwu, cautioned that actors still in the prime of their careers should be wary of licensing their likenesses to AI companies, since association with low-quality or controversial content could significantly dilute their commercial value and public image. Qi Wei’s move followed earlier precedents of Chinese entertainers monetizing their likenesses via AI: Hong Kong actor Wu Qihua (吴启华), 62, licensed his 20-year-old likeness for an AI film; actress Wong Cho-yin (Joey Wong, 王祖贤), retired for 22 years, licensed her youthful likeness to NetEase’s game “Tianxia” (天下) for an AI-generated short film titled “Beautiful Shadow” (倩影), credited as “Actor: Wong Cho-yin (AI)”; and 92-year-old actor You Benchang (游本昌) licensed his “Ji Gong” (济公) image and voice for AI content while retaining script and final-cut approval rights. In parallel, iQiyi’s April 2026 “AI Artist Library” (“纳逗Pro”), which claimed over 100 artists had agreed to join, faced pushback when stars including Zhang Ruoyun, Yu Hewei, Wang Chuyi, and Li Yitong publicly denied authorizing any AI use of their likenesses, forcing the platform to clarify that inclusion only signified openness to future negotiation, not actual consent for specific projects.

AI Virtual Performers and Commercial Endorsement Controversy : The AI short drama “The Girl Who Got Laid Off” (被裁掉的女孩), produced by MCN agency “My Film and Television” (我的影视) and directed by “Feifei Fly” (菲菲飞), surpassed 200 million views and turned its AI-generated lead character, Fang Taozi (方桃子), into China’s first fully commercialized virtual celebrity. Fang Taozi’s independent social media account, launched two days after the drama’s June 12, 2026 premiere, amassed over 400,000 followers within a month by posting lifestyle content—cooking, tennis, home organization—mimicking the account-management playbook used for real influencers, complete with a companion account for her male co-star Zhou Yiheng and fan-driven “CP” (relationship) engagement. According to data from Bytedance’s Ocean Engine Star Map (巨量星图), Fang Taozi’s advertising rates reached 168,000 yuan for 1-20 second videos, 208,000 yuan for 21-60 seconds, and 258,000 yuan for videos over 60 seconds—rates exceeding those of many real influencers with millions of followers. This commercial momentum collided with controversy on July 31 and early August 2026 when Fang Taozi released a sponsored video for a colored contact lens (美瞳) brand, declaring in first-person “my contacts have been comfortable to wear all day” and that they featured “high-light axis positioning” preventing slippage during blinking—claims widely mocked since the AI character has no physical eyes and cannot have worn the product. Legal commentators noted that colored contacts are classified as Class III medical devices in China, for which the Advertising Law explicitly prohibits using any endorser to make recommendations or claims, and that fabricating a usage experience for a product never actually used constitutes false advertising under Article 28 of the Advertising Law regardless of whether the endorser is human. Because China’s Advertising Law defines an “endorser” only as a natural person, legal entity, or organization, AI virtual humans fall into a regulatory gap: they cannot be held liable as legal endorsers, but responsibility is understood to fall on the operating company, advertiser, and publishing platform under a “piercing” enforcement principle. Following public backlash, the advertisement was removed from Fang Taozi’s Douyin account. Commentary from People’s Daily, Procuratorate Daily, Hubei Daily, and other state media outlets converged on the argument that “content generated by AI” cannot serve as a “liability shield,” calling for AI-generated ads to carry mandatory “AI-generated” labeling, for a full-chain accountability framework spanning advertisers, technology providers, MCN operators, and platforms, and for prohibitions on fabricating consumer experiences even when the spokesperson is virtual. Separately, Baidu’s “Baidu Yijing” (百度一镜) all-scenario multi-agent digital human platform—which supports livestreaming, video generation, and real-time interaction in 75 languages across platforms including TikTok, Shopee, and Lazada—was named to both the “Most Globally Promising China Agent TOP10” and “Most Commercially Valuable Agent TOP10” lists in a report jointly published by Frost & Sullivan and Leadleo Research Institute in August 2026; the platform reportedly serves over 100,000 clients across 30-plus industries, has improved livestream conversion rates by 29%, boosted content delivery efficiency by 150%, and cut production costs by 63%, ranking first in China’s AI digital human market share for two consecutive years according to Frost & Sullivan and IDC.

AI Short Dramas and the Rise of Virtual Actors : China’s AI short-drama (AI短剧) and AI manga-drama (AI漫剧) sector expanded dramatically in the first half of 2026, with AI-generated content accounting for over 95% of the roughly 128,000 micro-dramas released nationally in Q1, per the China Netcasting Services Association’s “Micro-Drama Creation Guidelines”; by Q2, AI micro-dramas reached 153,000 out of 239,000 titles released. Despite this volume, AI dramas captured under 4% of total viewership, while real-actor dramas—produced at roughly one-twentieth the volume—drew 25 times the total views, reflecting persistent audience skepticism toward AI content’s “plastic” quality, homogenized character models, and technical glitches such as inconsistent facial rendering across shots (sometimes called “feature drift”). Notable breakout hits included “The Legend of the White Snake” (中国传说·白蛇), which aired on Zhejiang TV’s evening slot and ranked second nationally in same-timeslot ratings; “Peach Blossom Pool Chronicle” (桃花潭记), broadcast on Anhui TV’s primetime slot with an “AI-produced” on-screen credit; and “Banished to the Frontier, the Disgraced Wife Built an Empire” (发配边关,罪妻开荒养出战神), which became the first AI drama to surpass 2 billion views. iQiyi released “Strange Tales: Paper Blade Through the Wasteland” (奇谭:纸刃渡荒墟), reportedly the first AIGC web film to receive an official “Internet Drama Distribution License” in China, running over 60 minutes and produced by a team of about 20 people. An all-female production team also released a trailer for the AI drama “Minister Under the Moon” (月下之臣), featuring three AI male leads each designed around distinct MBTI personality types. Actor pay in traditional short dramas has collapsed under this pressure: reports indicated actor Ke Chun’s daily rate fell from around 100,000 yuan to roughly 40,000 yuan, with lead actors at Hengdian film studios earning as little as 400 yuan per day and extras 80-150 yuan, as on-location shoot volume dropped by roughly 75% year-on-year and studio vacancy rates approached 78%. Regulatory response followed swiftly: the National Radio and Television Administration’s “Micro-Drama Development Management Measures,” effective September 1, 2026, mandates that AI-generated micro-dramas display a visible AI-generation label on every episode and introduces a tiered filing and licensing system based on investment scale and subject matter; earlier measures in April and July 2026 had already required AI drama registration and classification standards. Separately, controversy emerged over “feature drift” in AI dramas such as “Song’s Bias” (宋之偏爱), where viewers complained they “couldn’t remember what the leads looked like” due to inconsistent AI-rendered faces—attributed to training-data bias in which roughly 78% of face datasets skew toward ages 25-35, 85% toward light skin tones, and over 80% toward standardized “beautified” features, producing a homogenized “average face” effect across unrelated characters.

Digital Humans in Public Service, Tourism, and Cultural Events : Digital human technology has been deployed across a range of Chinese public-sector and cultural contexts. At the 2026 Erdos Nadaam Fair in Otog Front Banner, Inner Mongolia, an AIGC-produced digital human short film titled “Warm Warm Takes You on a Cloud Tour of Erdos” (暖暖带你云游鄂尔多斯) featured a “digital cultural tourism ambassador” character named “Warm Warm” (暖暖) who guided viewers through the region’s scenery and development achievements, screened alongside a large-scale drone light show. In Guilin, the state-owned Guilin Tourism Corporation (桂林旅游) disclosed that its “Guilin Yicheng Tour” platform integrated the DeepSeek large language model to launch a “Guilin Tourism AI Assistant,” and that its Yinzi Rock scenic area released what it called the world’s first AI travel-companion plush toy alongside a “digital human interactive welcome” project co-developed with universities at the Two Rivers Four Lakes scenic area. Jiangsu Cable’s Nanjing branch introduced an AI digital employee named “Jiang Xiaochan” (江小婵) at a digital economy expo, designed to provide exhibition consultation and Nanjing tourism interaction, accompanied by branded merchandise such as plush toys and bookmarks. Kunming Information Port operates a legal-education video segment featuring a digital human host under the program “Rule of Law E-Station.” A Zhejiang teacher-training initiative at Hangzhou Dianzi University, led by Ministry of Education-recognized instructor Cheng Zhenwei, developed personalized “digital replica” AI teaching assistants for faculty members, built on a proprietary “narrative expression system” combined with an SKILL framework, enabling instructors to offload routine student inquiries to their AI doubles while focusing personal attention on higher-value emotional engagement.

Regulatory and Governance Responses to Virtual Humans : China’s regulatory apparatus intensified oversight of digital and virtual human technologies in mid-2026. The draft “Digital Virtual Human Information Services Management Measures” (数字虚拟人信息服务管理办法), released for public comment in April 2026, established a four-tier accountability structure spanning technology providers, service providers, service users, and distribution platforms, explicitly prohibiting the creation of a digital human based on a specific natural person’s likeness, voice, or other identifying data without that person’s consent, and enforcing a “whoever actually controls the technology bears ultimate responsibility” principle to prevent buck-passing. Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book) announced an upgraded AI governance policy on August 7, 2026, extending mandatory AI-disclosure requirements from individual posts to entire accounts: accounts operated using AI virtual human personas must now truthfully disclose this status on their profile page and activate an “AI Virtual Human” tag, with voluntary disclosure carrying no penalty (and potentially earning early access to new AI tools), while accounts identified as undisclosed AI virtual humans face graduated penalties including traffic throttling, muting, or banning; the platform also explicitly prohibited using AI to clone real people’s voices or faces without disclosure, fabricating news events for traffic, and using automated scripts to impersonate genuine human interaction. Beijing courts have already ruled on AI-related likeness infringement, with the Beijing Internet Court finding in a case widely linked to actress Dilraba Dilmurat that an AI-face-swapped short drama constituted infringement of portrait rights based on public “recognizability,” even without exact replication. Separately, legal commentary addressed the “AI grave-tomb image” controversy involving actress Zhang Yue, whose photos were manipulated into degrading AI-generated images and circulated among fan communities, with scholars noting that both the “beast image” creator and knowing re-posters could face joint infringement liability for portrait-rights and reputation-rights violations even absent commercial use.

07 August News

Virtual Beings & AI Companions : Sina and other outlets extensively covered actress Qi Wei’s August 6, 2026 launch of “Han Qingxia” (韩清夏), an officially authorized AI digital double, positioning her as the first mainland Chinese entertainer to proactively open her likeness for regulated AI licensing rather than merely opposing unauthorized deepfakes. Qi Wei personally supervised the digital double’s expressions, movements, and voice recording, and the launch statement “Hello, I am not Qi Wei” was designed to clearly separate the virtual persona from the real actress; the double debuted in a post-apocalyptic combat aesthetic and is intended for use in AI comics (manhua dramas), interactive short dramas, virtual livestreaming, and possible collaboration with interactive-drama company Huying (互影). Qi Wei has taken on a dual role as actor and “AI star producer,” participating in scripting, storyboarding, and production for the AI drama “End of Summer” (末日盛夏), and Chinese commentary framed her as the first entertainer in the domestic industry to convert digital likeness into a regulated, monetizable IP asset rather than a purely defensive legal matter, with authorization structured around explicit use-case, duration, and platform limits and revenue-sharing rather than a one-time blanket license. Separately, mainland outlets reported broader adoption of officially authorized or purpose-built AI virtual hosts and companions: Ningde Women’s Federation (福建宁德市妇联) in Fujian unveiled two AI virtual persons named “Ning Jiemei” (宁姐妹), comprising “She Xiaoning” and “Cha Xiaoning,” embodying She ethnic and tea culture respectively, to support digitized outreach and livestreaming training for women; and Kunbot’s DOBOT LUMO, unveiled August 5, 2026 by Shenzhen-based Yuejiang Technology (越疆科技), was described as the world’s first “omni-habitat” embodied humanoid robot combining emotion recognition, natural bipedal locomotion, and a proprietary “Kongyi” embodied large model, targeted at home companionship, child supervision, science education for children, and stage/commercial performance uses across China.

AI Short-Drama Virtual Actors : Chinese AI-generated short dramas produced entirely with virtual actors have become a major commercial phenomenon, led by “Fang Taozi” (方桃子), the AI female lead of the short drama “The Girl Who Was Laid Off” (《被裁掉的女孩》), created using the LibTV AI video platform by director “Feifei Fei,” which garnered over 220 million views on a single platform and more than 800 million discussion volume across the network; Fang Taozi’s independent social account amassed roughly 400,000–410,000 followers within about 30 days, and her commercial rate card reportedly reached RMB 168,000 for 1–20 second videos, RMB 208,000 for 21–60 seconds, and RMB 258,000 for videos over 60 seconds — reportedly exceeding many real-life influencers with millions of followers, though some MCN sources disputed the figures, citing an actual August rate closer to RMB 88,000. Her first brand deal, a colored contact lens (美瞳/“meitong”) advertisement for a cosmetic-lens brand released July 31, 2026, triggered nationwide controversy and legal scrutiny because Fang Taozi, lacking physical eyes, claimed in first-person narration that the lenses “felt comfortable all day,” which multiple lawyers (including from Beijing Dacheng Law Offices, Beijing Zhongwen Law Firm, and others) said likely violated China’s Advertising Law: colored contact lenses are classified as Class III medical devices (the highest risk category, same tier as heart stents), and Article 16 of the Advertising Law bars medical device ads from using any endorser to make claims, while Article 28 prohibits fabricating product-use experiences; since AI virtual persons lack civil legal personhood and cannot be “advertising endorsers” under the law, liability would fall on the operating company (Guangzhou My Film and Television Culture Media Co.) and the brand advertiser rather than on Fang Taozi herself, and the ad was reportedly removed from her Douyin account by August 6 amid the backlash. Local regulators in Guangzhou’s Panyu district stated that AI-generated content is not inherently illegal if labeled, but content that exaggerates effects or misleads consumers constitutes a violation, and consumers may file complaints via the 12315 hotline. The episode occurred alongside other AI virtual-actor monetization cases: in the AI comic-drama “Yu Ni Shenqing Qinru Yusheng” (《予你深情侵入余生》), male lead “Duan Yan” drove real-world sales exceeding 2,000 units (roughly RMB 2.5 million) of a four-leaf-clover bracelet featured in the show; virtual singer “Yuri” surpassed 1 million followers and received the first officially registered “virtual idol identity certification” (No. 0001) from the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area (北京经开区/亦庄) in January 2026, with brand deals from Northface and Lantu Auto; and an AI idol-survival show called “12 Xingzuo Lianai Sai” (《12星练赛》/“12 Zodiac Trainee Competition”) cast twelve AI-generated “trainees” modeled on zodiac signs, generating a spinoff AI dating variety show with nearly 4 million followers and product placements from skincare and home-appliance brands. Separately, mainland media reported a broader crisis for human short-drama actors: with AI-generated dramas comprising over 95% of the 128,000 new short dramas released in Q1 2026 (up from under 5% previously), real-drama production volumes fell roughly 75% year-on-year, and actor day rates collapsed from RMB 5,000–8,000 to under RMB 3,000 for mid-tier performers, with bottom-tier extras earning as little as RMB 80–200 daily; some displaced actors reportedly sold facial likeness rights to AI digital-human training pools for as little as RMB 100–1,000, while platforms like Hongguo (红果) reportedly capped top-actor day rates at RMB 40,000 to curb speculative bidding wars. Separately, AI comic/short-drama production company Youma Group (优马集团) showcased its “REELMART” (万象厨房) short-drama AIGC platform at WAICO (Shanghai) and a Shenzhen cross-border e-commerce AI expo, offering a vertical large model for generating cross-border e-commerce digital humans, overseas ad videos, and short dramas embedding shoppable product placements aimed at Southeast Asian, Latin American, and Middle Eastern markets.

Media and Broadcasting Virtual Hosts : State and regional Chinese media outlets have deployed AI digital anchors and virtual hosts across broadcast and telecom services. China Telecom (中国电信), in partnership with Fujian Provincial People’s Hospital and Fujian Provincial Hospital, developed the “Jishi Medical Large Model” (济世医疗大模型) featuring smart medical digital human “Xiao Ji” (小吉), which supports dialect-based inquiries and voice-activated registration for elderly patients, reportedly cutting average visit times by 30% at Fujian Provincial People’s Hospital; the underlying “Token” (词元, the official Chinese term for AI token units set by the National Data Administration in March 2026) service is bundled into consumer mobile and broadband billing via new “Token packages” priced from RMB 9.9 to 49.9 monthly. In Anhui, the state-run Anhui New Media Group (安徽新媒体集团) launched “Zhong’an Zhimei Dana” (中安智媒大脑), an AI-powered newsroom platform integrating a “Zhian Zhibo” (中安智播) module featuring ultra-realistic digital-human news broadcasting and automated short-video generation, aimed at reducing repetitive editorial work. Hunan Jingshi TV (湖南经视) deployed AI anchors “Shengsheng” (声声) and “Shuangshuang” (双双) for round-the-clock, multilingual news broadcasting, and separately used AI restoration to revive classic variety-show footage (recreating scenes with performers Wang Han and Ma Ke) for a new AI-driven variety show, “Cesheng Yongbulao” (策神永不老). Anhui TV aired an AI-produced drama series, “Taohuatan Ji” (《桃花潭记》), explicitly labeled as AI-generated content. Jining Radio and Television (济宁广播电视台) similarly deployed AI anchor “Xiaoting” (晓婷). Xinjing Bao (新京报/The Beijing News), per its president Mao Xiaogang, has developed AI digital humans “AI Xiaobei” and “AI Xiaohui” and produced AI-based anti-fraud short drama “Lao Bei You Dianr Bei” (《老贝有点儿"背"》) and an AI-assisted documentary on the Tokyo Trials, alongside a generative ESG large-model tool (“Beike Caijing · Zhiyin ESG”) co-developed with Ant Group. In Zhejiang, Zhejiang TV’s emotional talk show “Xiexie Ni Lai Le” (《谢谢你来了》) grew its cross-platform matrix to 41.17 million followers with 2025 e-commerce sales reaching RMB 340 million, up 200% year-on-year, illustrating how digital-human and content-driven monetization has become integral to provincial broadcaster transformation strategies; the Beijing Municipal Radio, Television and other reports noted over 10,000 broadcast-affiliated short-video accounts nationwide, with digital-human-driven content increasingly used to modernize aging state-media production pipelines.

Healthcare and Insurance Virtual Assistants : China Telecom’s Fujian branch has deployed the “Xiao Ji” (小吉) smart medical digital human at Fujian Provincial People’s Hospital, guiding patients (including elderly users conducting dialect-based inquiries) through registration and triage, while Xiamen’s municipal medical insurance bureau operates a dedicated AI insurance robot. Jiujiang University’s affiliated hospital (九江学院附属医院) in Jiangxi launched a WeChat-based “AI digital-double” customer service function, explicitly scoped only to appointment scheduling, department information, and visit-process guidance (not diagnosis or prescriptions), providing 24/7 responses and automatically deflecting roughly 70% of routine inquiries away from human staff, escalating complex cases to a human hotline. Zhongyin Insurance (中银保险) rolled out AI digital-human figures across several provincial branches (Shenzhen, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Shanghai) during its 2026 “7.8 National Insurance Public Awareness Day” campaign, integrating digital humans into underwriting and claims explainer videos and disaster-prevention outreach; separately, Dajia Property Insurance (大家财险) introduced AI digital human “Lingze” (灵泽) across 36 affiliated institutions and over 1,000 branch outlets nationwide to deliver flood-season risk-reduction education. Yantai’s municipal government response to a local legislator’s proposal confirmed deployment of a “digital human guide” (数字人导服员) system within its unified government AI large-model service platform to handle citizen inquiries in a more approachable, conversational format, part of a broader push to apply AI in elder-care and tourism-related government services.

Retail, Marketing and Livestreaming : Chinese regulators have moved to police AI virtual hosts in e-commerce livestreaming: Beijing’s municipal market regulation bureau issued a consumer advisory requiring livestream sellers using AI-generated hosts to conspicuously and continuously label them (e.g., “AI digital human host,” “AI-generated”) throughout product demonstrations under the “Measures for Labeling AI-Generated Synthetic Content” and “Regulations on Live E-commerce Supervision,” and warned that beautified or color-corrected AI-rendered product images may misrepresent real merchandise (texture, sizing, fabric, defects), urging consumers to request unretouched photos/videos from customer service and to preserve evidence (screenshots, payment records, chat logs) for complaints via the 12315 hotline if deceived; Huaxia Net republished the identical advisory. Separately, Chinese e-commerce platforms have seen a wave of AI-generated “buyer” avatars and deformed AI apparel models (reports of six-fingered hands, extra limb segments in product photos) appearing in fashion listings, exacerbating returns in the women’s apparel sector; commentary (via Sohu/China News Service) argued that operators, brands, and technology vendors — not the AI avatars themselves — bear legal responsibility for such misleading content, and criticized weak enforcement of the mandatory AI-content labeling rule that took effect September 1, 2025. Elsewhere, dubious AI-generated “patients” and “experts” have appeared in advertisements for therapeutic patches (e.g., brands “Mingjia Laopu” 明家老铺 and “Meng’aoshen” 蒙奥神) marketed via Chinese short-video platforms, falsely dramatizing pain-relief testimonials using unlabeled or barely labeled AI-generated avatars, prompting China Consumer Association-affiliated investigative reporting; regulators noted these Class II medical devices’ promotional claims exceeded approved usage scope. In the home-goods sector, Jinpai Kitchen & Bath (金牌厨柜家居科技股份有限公司), based in Xiamen, Fujian, created “Jin Chanzi” (金婵紫) in 2022, described as the furniture industry’s first branded virtual digital human, as part of a “metaverse” marketing push targeting younger consumers, and remains tagged under China’s “virtual digital human” stock concept sector; similarly, telecom-equipment and other listed firms such as Sanxia Energy, Chuanwang Media (川网传媒), Bojui Communications (博瑞传播), and Hengyin Technology (恒银科技) are all classified under China’s A-share “virtual digital human” (虚拟数字人) investment concept sector, reflecting the breadth of listed Chinese companies now tied to digital-human technology narratives for market purposes.

Identity Verification and Governance : Haizhou District (海州区) in Lianyungang, Jiangsu, on August 5, 2026, launched “Yuanlian Chacha” (元脸查查), described as China’s first blockchain-based facial/voiceprint authorization verification public service platform, developed through a strategic partnership between Lianyungang Public Security Group (连云港安防集团) and platform operator Yuanlian FacesMarket (元脸FacesMarket), enabling creators to upload authorization documents generating a public verification link, allowing the public and regulators to check the authenticity of face/voice usage rights, with all authorization data stored immutably on-chain and a one-click reporting channel for suspected infringement; the launch was paired with China’s first Global Public Security-themed AIGC creation competition, and the district framed the platform as closing a “quick-verification loophole” wherein AI face-swap, virtual dubbing, and digital-human broadcasting tools proliferate faster than legal enforcement, aiming to build Jiangsu’s first standardized, nationally emulable AIGC compliance zone. Separately, a Sina Finance opinion piece by Nankai University’s Chen Bing, writing on the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s draft “Measures for the Administration of Digital Virtual Human Information Services,” outlined China’s move toward a full-chain accountability system dividing responsibility among “technology supporters,” “service providers,” “service users,” and “distribution platforms,” banning unauthorized use of a specific natural person’s likeness or voice to build a digital-human model, and mandating content moderation and traceability obligations, particularly for politically sensitive, government, financial, healthcare, and educational applications of virtual humans in China. Additionally, Xinjing Bao’s Mao Xiaogang, in a cross-strait media forum speech, disclosed that the state-affiliated newspaper had produced multiple AI-driven public-interest and cultural products using its “AI Xiaobei” and “AI Xiaohui” digital humans, framing responsible AI content governance as central to cross-strait media cooperation between mainland and Taiwan outlets.

06 August News

Healthcare : Insurance and health-management platforms in Taiwan are examining AI-driven “health broker” concepts, with Dentsu Taiwan’s creative team and Tamkang University’s Strategic Foresight Center proposing that insurers, medical groups, and retail platforms could integrate personal health data, diet, exercise, and medical resources into personalized digital health plans, potentially deploying AI companions and data-driven coaching tools to sustain behavior change. Separately, Beijing-based Zheyuan Technology (哲源科技) has built a “digital drug trial ground” using digital twin models to simulate virtual patients (“虚拟病人”) for drug testing, working with Peking University Cancer Hospital to run virtual clinical trials in which digitally modeled patients received simulated drug treatment, with computer predictions matching real trial outcomes for a pancreatic cancer drug candidate now in Phase I trials. In the insurance sector, Dachild Insurance Service (大童保险服务) executive Guo Mengwen advocated an “AI-enhanced human” model rather than unmanned AI sales, warning that AI-generated virtual host livestreaming lacks the credentials to serve as licensed agents, and that AI should handle standardized risk assessment while licensed human brokers retain oversight of complex family financial planning and final client communication.

Entertainment : AI-generated virtual actress Fang Taozi (方桃子), the lead of the AI short drama “The Girl Who Got Laid Off” (被裁掉的女孩) produced by Guangzhou-based MCN My Film and its investor Shisan Culture, became a major case study in AI virtual celebrity commercialization; the drama surpassed 200 million views on a single platform, and Fang Taozi’s independent Douyin account amassed over 400,000 followers within a month, commanding advertising rates of RMB 168,000 for 1-20 second videos, RMB 208,000 for 21-60 seconds, and RMB 258,000 for videos over 60 seconds—rates exceeding many real influencers with millions of followers. Her co-star Zhou Yiheng also built an independent account, and their “CP” (couple) storyline trended on Weibo. Fang Taozi’s team pursued an operating model mimicking real celebrities, posting daily vlogs of cooking, tennis, and shopping alongside scripted drama content to build a “living” persona; she later filmed a colored contact lens (美瞳) advertisement claiming personal comfort after “wearing them all day,” which triggered controversy over AI’s inability to genuinely test physical products, given that colored contacts are classified as Class III medical devices in China subject to strict advertising rules under the Advertising Law. Legal experts including Zhao Liangshan and Beijing Dacheng law firm partner Li Weihua noted that AI virtual figures are not legally recognized “endorsers” under Chinese advertising law, so liability instead falls to the operating company (in this case an MCN) and the brand advertiser if false claims are made; Guangdong regulators and commentators called for AI content to be explicitly labeled and for operators to avoid fabricating usage experiences. Beyond Fang Taozi, other Chinese AI virtual idol projects have emerged: Maiya Media’s (麦芽传媒) “12 Star Training Competition” (12星练赛) and a rival AI idol survival show “Xingguang 108” (星光108) both simulate real K-pop-style trainee competitions entirely with AI-generated contestants, while Bilibili ran an “AI Idol Debut Season” (AI偶像出道季) crowdsourcing contest that drew over 160 million views, with AI singer “Yuri,” created by a Tsinghua-trained developer, gaining recognition from state broadcaster CCTV and securing brand deals with automaker Voyah (岚图). Legacy Chinese entertainment company Yuehua Entertainment (乐华娱乐), which previously acquired virtual idol group A-SOUL from a ByteDance unit, launched a new AI-driven idol group “HeyDream,” debuting at ChinaJoy with AI-generated singing and dancing performances comparable to human idols. Elsewhere, actress Joey Wong (Wang Zuxian, 王祖贤) licensed her younger image to NetEase Games for an AI-generated short film “Silhouette” (倩影) recreating her classic film roles (Nie Xiaoqian, Bai Suzhen), and actors Wu Qihua (吴启华) and veteran actor You Benchang (游本昌, 93) licensed younger AI likenesses for new AI-generated dramas, prompting debate about digital “resurrection” of past personas, appropriate boundaries for licensing (single-use versus perpetual rights), and posthumous digital revival ethics as discussed by entertainment law scholar Song Yao. AI short dramas overall have surged: Chinese online video industry data shows AI-generated micro-dramas made up over 95% of newly released short dramas in Q1 2026, with hundreds of thousands of AI dramas produced monthly on platforms like Douyin, though fewer than 1% achieve breakout popularity; Anhui TV aired China’s first fully AIGC-produced costume drama “Peach Blossom Pool Chronicle” (桃花潭记), crediting an “AIGC director,” while Zhejiang TV aired the AI drama “Chinese Legend: White Snake” (中国传说·白蛇). Platform Hongguo Duanju (红果短剧) issued guidelines banning duplicate “AI faces” across multiple dramas to address “uncanny valley” backlash and homogenized AI-generated facial features, a phenomenon linked to biased training data (skewed toward young, light-skinned, heavily beautified faces, with Korean drama-influenced aesthetics) and cost-driven use of free AI tools. The economic disruption to human short-drama actors has been severe: top-tier actor Ke Chun’s (柯淳) daily rate reportedly fell from RMB 100,000 to around RMB 60,000, mid-tier actors saw rates fall from RMB 5,000-8,000 to under RMB 3,000 daily, and background extras in Hengdian (横店) earn as little as RMB 80-150 per day, with some actors selling facial likeness rights to AI digital-human databases for as little as RMB 500; actor Xu Peng, laid off amid the AI short-drama boom, pivoted to founding a media company in Qingdao planning original human-cast dramas and a training camp for amateur actors, while actor Zhou Rui described Hengdian’s stratified survival crisis across four tiers of performers. Animation scholar Liu Shuliang of the Communication University of China, author of the book “Virtual Idols, AI Digital Humans, and Cyber Life,” analyzed the “uncanny valley” effect driving public discomfort with AI faces and argued Chinese AI drama production remains stuck in this technical valley, unable to convincingly replicate human micro-expressions and lived emotional nuance.

Marketing : Fang Taozi’s success has catalyzed broader interest in AI virtual influencers for advertising in China, with agencies like PureblueAI Qinglan (清蓝), BlueFocus (蓝色光标), and Guangdong Zhihui Zhaoneng (智慧兆能, in partnership with Xiaoice/小冰) positioning AI-generated content and digital human marketing as core service offerings; advertising firm Guangyuan Zhineng (光元智能) and Ziguang Huazhi (紫光华智) in Guangzhou similarly offer AI short-video production, digital human customization, and Cantonese-language AI dubbing for regional brand campaigns. Chinese state media outlet China Culture Daily (中国文化报) deployed AI news anchors “Zhong Xiaowen” and “Zhong Xiaomei,” digital avatars modeled on real reporters, to deliver daily cultural news broadcasts as part of a broader push toward “short, real, new” (短实新) multimedia storytelling. Elsewhere, apparel manufacturer Handan Chenhan Clothing (邯郸晨涵服装) in Hebei’s Shexian county adopted a “real person + AI” hybrid livestreaming model, using a custom AI virtual digital human to deliver round-the-clock product livestreams synced to pre-recorded scripts, automatically responding to comments and streaming continuously without human staffing, which the company credited with boosting online exposure and expanding sales channels to Henan, Shandong, and Jiangsu. Chinese digital exhibition company Fengyuzhu (风语筑) has used Baidu’s Wenxin Yiyan large language model to power AI-driven multimodal interaction for digital human tour guides in immersive exhibition spaces and metaverse environments, while listed company Zhongshi Media (中视传媒) is integrating AIGC-generated virtual digital humans and AR interactivity into physical tourism sites such as the Wuxi film and TV base, combining 4K/8K ultra-high-definition production with AI to create immersive cultural tourism experiences.

Gaming : To mark the successful UNESCO World Heritage inscription of “Jingdezhen’s Handicraft Porcelain Industry Heritage,” Jingdezhen authorities and a game developer jointly launched “Digital Jingdezhen: Porcelain Capital Craftsman” (数字景德镇·瓷都小匠), the world’s first heritage-nomination mini-game, which incorporates an AI-driven digital human “porcelain master” (“瓷器老师傅”) built on a multimodal knowledge base of over 1,900 real porcelain artifacts, using AI-driven facial expression, lip-sync, and voice generation to let players interact conversationally with a virtual craftsman character while also using AI image-to-3D generation so players can design their own “digital porcelain” pieces from an uploaded photo. The game’s producers stated the AI digital human and generative 3D technology aimed to make cultural heritage “visible, experiential, and creatable” for younger, especially international, audiences, and reported that international heritage experts praised the immersive interactive approach at the UNESCO World Heritage Committee’s 48th session announcement.

Enterprise : Chinese fintech software firm Xinchen Technology (新晨科技) disclosed plans to deploy blockchain-based service platforms (BaaS) with applications spanning metaverse digital humans, VR/AR wearables, and cloud rendering for financial-sector clients, part of its broader digital-currency and cross-border payments business. Startup incubator and media company Chuangye Heima (创业黑马) has run a “metaverse digital human accelerator” initiative supporting SMEs in adopting AI applications, in partnership with Huawei, Zhipu Huazhang (智谱华章), and Xiamen Suanneng, combining large-model infrastructure with AI training and enterprise services for small businesses. Listed education company ST Kaiyuan (开元教育), through its Tianhu Education subsidiary, has built a “digital human laboratory” for producing and filming instructional digital humans and developed “metaverse” course content covering 3D modeling, VR scene creation, and character animation. Jiangsu Cable (江苏有线), a state-owned broadcasting network operator, deployed an AI “digital employee” named “Jiang Xiaochan” (江小婵) for exhibition-based tourism consultation and public service interaction in Nanjing, complete with branded merchandise. Listed company Digital Human (数字人), a Beijing Stock Exchange-listed firm specializing in digital anatomy education products used in over 500 medical schools nationwide, restructured its board to pursue a “one body, two wings” strategy encompassing its core medical-education business, overseas expansion (with products piloted in over 40 countries), and a newly established cloud-services subsidiary, Yichuang Cloud (易创云), targeting SaaS-based digital human cloud platform commercialization; its “Digital Human STEM System (Cloud Edition)” has been adopted by 364 colleges with nearly 400,000 registered users. Guangdong bank Guangfa Bank (广发银行) launched “Shuqitong” (数企通), a digital ecosystem platform for SMEs integrating digital HR, tax, and welfare management modules, alongside blockchain-based cross-border payment tools tied to China’s CIPS system. In manufacturing and retail contexts, Chinese steel trading platform Zhaogang.com (找钢网) built an AI “digital employee” trained on historical WeChat, DingTalk, and internal chat logs to replicate veteran trader decision-making in steel trading workflows, deploying multi-screen human-AI collaborative dispatch systems for order intake and quoting while reserving high-stakes deal approval for human staff.

Cultural : A Suzhou-based mechanical engineer named Zuming created an AI-generated guofeng (national aesthetic) music video “Su Embroidery Dream” featuring a fictional AI character “Su Liniang” (苏丽娘), blending traditional Suzhou embroidery (Su embroidery) techniques and Kunqu opera aesthetics (referencing the character Du Liniang from “The Peony Pavilion”) with AI-generated visuals depicting gravitational wave patterns rendered as embroidery motifs, winning a prize at the “Suzhou Intangible Heritage AI Wonder Day” competition; the project has since been extended into an AR interactive exhibit at Suzhou Museum’s western branch and has reportedly driven a rise in demand for Su-embroidery-branded products among younger consumers in Pingjiang Road shops. The Zhejiang-based “AIHangzhou City Living Room” exhibit in Hangzhou’s Wensan Digital Life District showcased Chinese-developed technologies including a bio-inspired “cyber fruit fly” digital brain model developed by a Zhejiang University-affiliated team (reportedly praised by Elon Musk), a “MusicMol” molecule-to-music AI interactive model created by Zhejiang University researchers linking chemical structures to musical composition, and a humanoid robot “Wanda” from Chinese robotics company Youli Qi (优理奇), alongside 3D-scanning “digital twin” avatar generation booths allowing visitors to create personal 3D virtual models in 0.3 seconds. In Wuzhen, the 2026 Wuzhen Youth Science and Technology Carnival featured VR/AR digital human research courses letting teenagers build personal digital avatars, part of a broader youth-oriented science education push blending gaming, robotics, and AI-generated content across the ancient town.

Ethical Contexts : The rapid commercialization of Chinese AI virtual actress Fang Taozi has intensified debate over whether AI virtual “performers” can lawfully serve as advertising endorsers in China; legal experts (Zhao Liangshan, Li Weihua, Xiao Sa, Qiu Zhimiao, Meng Xiaodong) generally agree that under China’s Advertising Law, AI-generated digital humans lack legal personhood and cannot be classified as endorsers, meaning liability for false or exaggerated claims—such as Fang Taozi’s assertion that she “wore” a contact lens comfortably—falls on the operating MCN company and brand advertiser rather than the AI character itself, and that China’s regulations (including AI-generated content labeling rules effective since September 2025, and regional guidelines from Hainan and Ningbo) require explicit disclosure that content is AI-generated and prohibit fabricated usage testimonials, particularly for medical devices like Class III colored contact lenses. Separately, a broader wave of Chinese AI-driven health-product livestreams has drawn scrutiny: investigative reporting found multiple “miracle oil” and pain-relief product livestreams (including a “Hong Kong Chinese Medicine” brand actually manufactured in Jiangxi, and a “Tibetan intangible-heritage scorpion venom” product actually made in Henan) using AI-generated “recovery” testimonial scenes alongside real hosts to simulate healing effects, with some videos carrying only faint, easily overlooked “AI-generated” disclaimers, and false claims about non-existent intangible cultural heritage certification and misrepresented insurance backing (misusing outdated China Pacific Insurance branding). Additionally, deepfake and unauthorized AI likeness cases have affected multiple Chinese celebrities, with actors Wang Jinsong, Wen Zhengrong, and others publicly reporting AI-generated deepfake videos and livestreams using their voices and faces without consent for unauthorized product endorsements, prompting several studios to issue public statements condemning the infringement of image and voice rights.

05 August News

Entertainment : The AI virtual being landscape in China’s entertainment industry has centered on AI actor “Fang Taozi” (方桃子), star of the AI short drama “The Girl Who Was Laid Off” (被裁掉的女孩), produced by a small team led by director “Feifeifei.” Since debuting on Douyin in June, the drama surpassed 200 million views, and Fang Taozi’s independent social media account amassed over 400,000 followers within 30 days, engaging audiences with lifelike Vlogs depicting mundane activities like making sandwiches, buying flowers, and commuting. Her male co-star Zhou Yiheng, with over 120,000 followers, formed a fan-celebrated “CP” (couple) pairing dubbed “Tao Zhi Yi Heng” that trended on Weibo. Fang Taozi’s advertising rates, published via Juliangxingtu (巨量星图) data, reached up to 258,000 yuan for videos over 60 seconds—surpassing many real influencers with millions of followers—and she completed her first paid endorsement for a colored contact lens (meitong) brand, though this drew controversy over whether an AI could credibly claim to have “worn” the product, raising Advertising Law compliance questions about false endorsement claims for medical device-classified eyewear. Alongside Fang Taozi, Yuehua Entertainment (乐华娱乐) launched Asia’s first AI-driven real-person idol group “HeyDream” in March, blending AI-generated promotional content with real member stage performances, and previously acquired the virtual idol group A-SOUL from ByteDance’s Nice-Time Studio for 30 million yuan. The AI virtual singer “Yuri,” created by a Tsinghua-trained developer named Zhao Hanqing, became China’s first officially certified virtual idol, receiving a “digital artist card” from the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, participated in the Boao Forum for Asia, and secured brand deals with Voyah and other companies; her debut single “Surreal” surpassed 12 million views. Other studios, including Yaoke Media (耀客传媒) and Yuxiao Media (聿潇传媒), have signed AI virtual actors like Qin Lingyue and Lin Xiyan, or licensed real influencers’ likenesses (such as Han Anran and Xu Zhibin) to create reusable AI actor assets for short dramas. Veteran actors including Joey Wang (Wang Zuxian), Wu Qihua, and You Benchang have licensed AI reproductions of their youthful likenesses for commercial use, such as Wang’s appearance in a NetEase game promotional AI short film titled “Qian Ying.” iQIYI has built an “AI Actor Library” with 117 contracted actors offering digital likeness rights via 3D scanning and motion capture, and its AI agent platform “NaDou Pro” supports AI-driven film and TV production. AI idol talent competition shows have also emerged, including Douyin’s “Xingguang 108” (星光108), billed as the world’s first AI virtual idol competition selecting 9 winners from 108 contestants, and “12 Xing Lian Sai” (12星练赛) by Maiya Media, which replicates real idol audition formats using AI contestants and has drawn over 545,000 Douyin followers; Bilibili’s “AI Idol Debut Season” attracted contestants generating over 160 million views, with virtual idol “ENA” (恩娜) topping voting. Separately, Hunan TV announced China’s first all-AI singer variety show “Phantom Voice Singer” (幻音歌手) featuring nine virtual AI singers, while snack brand Qiaqia (洽洽食品) launched its AI brand ambassador “Qiakeer” (洽可儿) for retail, livestreaming, and e-commerce applications. AI-generated short dramas have also entered traditional broadcast television: Anhui TV aired the first fully AI-generated drama “Peach Blossom Pond Chronicle” (桃花潭记), depicting Ming Dynasty papermaking heritage, while Zhejiang TV broadcast the AI comic drama “Chinese Legends: White Snake” and Dongfang TV aired the sci-fi AI series “When the Sun Falls” with 35 million viewers. Concerns about AI-generated faces achieving troubling homogeneity (“AI face” phenomenon) prompted platforms like Hongguo Duanju to restrict reuse of identical AI faces across multiple productions.

Marketing and Advertising : AI virtual beings are increasingly deployed in Chinese digital marketing and advertising campaigns, exemplified by Fang Taozi’s high-value contact lens endorsement and the AI comic drama “Yu Ni Shen Qing Qin Ru Yu Sheng” (予你深情侵入余生), whose male lead “Duan Yan” promoted a matching bracelet that sold over 2,000 units for total sales exceeding 2.5 million yuan. Baijiu producer Luzhou Laojiao (泸州老窖) deployed an AI “digital wine connoisseur” named “Lulin’er” (泸麟儿) serving over 30 million members, while food company COFCO and Qiaqia have adopted similar branded AI spokesperson strategies through iFlytek’s (科大讯飞) newly launched “hyper-realistic real-time digital human generation technology,” which reduces digital human creation from hours-long video capture sessions to a single photograph, enabling more natural expressions and complex actions like drinking or dancing; this technology underpins iFlytek’s marketing digital human solutions serving enterprise clients. Douyin’s short video platform introduced mandatory AI labeling requirements effective August 10, requiring creators to explicitly mark AI-generated content in e-commerce livestreaming videos, including AI-generated digital human hosts, product demonstrations, and voiceovers, to prevent misleading claims about product effects. Legal experts have noted that AI virtual beings cannot serve as legally recognized advertising endorsers under China’s Advertising Law since they lack natural or corporate legal personhood, meaning liability for false advertising claims falls to the operating company, brand, or MCN agency behind the AI character rather than the AI itself; this issue was highlighted specifically regarding Fang Taozi’s contact lens endorsement, given that contact lenses are classified as Class III medical devices under Chinese regulations, and an AI cannot genuinely demonstrate product wearing experience, raising risks under Advertising Law Article 28 regarding false experiential claims.

Digital Human Platforms and Enterprise Applications : Chinese firms are rapidly commercializing enterprise-facing digital human and virtual employee platforms. Nanjing-based Bapoint Digital Technology (南京八点八数字科技) developed the digital human generation model XMEN.AI, capable of real-time driving 2D, 2.5D, and 3D digital humans with lip-sync latency as low as 0.16 seconds, powering its product “Yihua” (亿话) which has attracted over 10,000 software users, and has since launched AniShort, a one-stop AI film and television production collaboration platform featured at ChinaJoy 2026, integrating script generation, storyboard planning, and automated video generation into a unified workflow that reportedly triples short-drama production efficiency; clients include Yitong Production (壹同制作), Ruosen Digital (若森数字), and Chongqing Bola (重庆博拉). Shenzhen Qinghong Data Technology’s “Qinghong AI” (青虹AI) positions its Agent Harness platform as an enterprise-grade “AI digital employee system” distinct from mere chatbots or RPA scripts, combining large language models, RPA automation, and enterprise agent architecture to handle tasks like invoice reconciliation and ERP data entry, with deployments at a Shenzhen 3C manufacturer reducing after-sales repair processing from 40 minutes to 2 minutes. In banking, Chinese regional banks including Chengdu Bank, Guiyang Bank, Shaoxing Bank, and Guangzhou Rural Commercial Bank have issued tenders for virtual digital employees, with Sichuan Rural Credit Union investing 1.7 million yuan in a digital human customer service product including avatar customization and interaction configuration; CITIC Bank’s credit card center has repeatedly recruited AI intelligent training managers to support digital human customer service infrastructure. Ping An Insurance Group unveiled its recruitment AI digital human “Chengxiao’an” (橙小安), designed to provide job recommendations, transparent recruitment process visibility, and 24/7 Q&A support for approximately 6,000 annual graduate hires, explicitly designed to deliberately exclude bias-inducing labels like gender, region, or school tier. In Jilin, Zhonglin Education Technology (钟霖教育科技) in Changchun’s Nanguan District Science and Innovation Park specializes in digital human and AI agent R&D, partnering with agricultural technology firms to co-develop digital human livestreaming applications. National Healthcare Security Administration launched a public design competition for an official “medical insurance digital human” mascot to embody trustworthy, professional public service branding infused with Chinese cultural elements.

Cultural Heritage and Public Sector Applications : Chinese cultural institutions are deploying virtual humans and AI-driven digital reconstructions to preserve and internationally showcase heritage. The Jincheng Museum (晋城博物馆) in Shanxi Province created the “Tiangong Yingxiang” (天宫映像) digital exhibition of the Yuhuang Temple’s Yuan Dynasty painted sculptures and murals, exhibited in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, using VR technology allowing visitors to virtually walk through the temple hall and interact with sculptures, contributing to China’s digital culture “going global” strategy and Sino-Vietnamese cultural exchange. Zhongguo Chuban Chuanmei (中国出版传媒) and its subsidiary Gulian (古联公司) have built a large-scale digitized ancient text corpus of over 66,249 titles and 11 billion characters, using digital human explainers alongside short videos and audiobooks to make classical Chinese texts more accessible to younger audiences. In Guangdong, the Guangdong Science and Technology Vocational College has proposed leveraging AIGC and digital avatar tour guides, AR heritage route recommendations, and metaverse-based Lingnan opera and lion dance training curricula to strengthen cultural identity among Hong Kong and Macau youth as part of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area integration efforts, framing digital avatars as tools to deepen “xin lian tong” (heart-to-heart connectivity) between mainland and special administrative region residents.

Ethical, Legal, and Regulatory Contexts : Chinese regulators and courts are actively grappling with AI virtual being governance. The Beijing Internet Court ruled in a landmark case involving the short drama “X Trace” (X迹) that AI-generated faces need only be “recognizable” by the public as resembling a specific real person to constitute portrait rights infringement, rejecting the defendant Hangzhou company’s “technological neutrality” defense and establishing that alleged infringers bear the burden of proving their AI generation process did not use identifiable personal data; the court also ruled that copyright licensing does not exempt distributors from portrait rights liability. The Cyberspace Administration of China’s “Qing Lang” campaign shut down over 1,840 illegal livestreaming accounts for exploitative content, while draft “Digital Virtual Human Information Service Management Measures” released in April 2026 establish that any use of real individuals’ faces or voices for virtual human modeling requires individual consent, extending platform regulatory responsibility across the entire digital human service chain. Following controversy over Fang Taozi’s contact lens endorsement, lawyer Zhao Liangshan clarified that AI virtual humans cannot be legal advertising endorsers under Chinese Advertising Law, placing compliance responsibility on the operating company and brand; consumers retain recourse via consumer protection complaints or civil lawsuits against the responsible human/corporate parties, not the AI itself. Chinese state media and industry associations have also raised concerns about AI-generated short dramas’ content risks, including copyright infringement via “face-stealing” and “voice cloning,” script plagiarism, and content harmful to minors (promoting materialism, distorted views on relationships, or violence); a June 2026 government crackdown (“Jianwang 2026”) targeted AIGC copyright violations, and China’s first criminal case involving illegal recording of over 1,700 pirated AI short dramas concluded with convictions.

04 August News

Cultural : Content creation increasingly incorporates AI-driven virtual humans across China. At the 2026 World AI Conference in Shanghai, digital human kiosks and AI agents are being deployed for public services such as registration and ticketing in old telephone booths repurposed as “AI companion booths,” while Shanghai positions itself as a testbed for city-scale virtual human deployment. In Yunnan, the “Folk Songs Grand View” television special commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Yunnan-Tibet Highway used a virtual digital host modeled on Yu Shaolong, a bilingual broadcaster from Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, created by a team at Yunnan University of Finance and Economics led by Professor Yi Hong; this virtual host supports multiple Southeast Asian languages and accompanied AI-generated historical imagery reconstructing scenes from the highway’s construction. In Shanghai’s Huangpu district, the memorial site of the Central Committee’s former political bureau office upgraded its immersive digital exhibition using film-grade digital character modeling to recreate historical figures and events from 1928-1931 for visitors. In Xi’an, the metro system partnered with Alipay for a “Tang Poetry Capital” campaign allowing users to obtain digital human avatars styled after Tang poetry themes as an incentive for participation. Jiangxi’s cultural policy discussions emphasize using AI virtual tour guides, such as an “AI guide Wang Bo” deployed at Nanchang’s Tengwang Pavilion, alongside three-dimensional modeling and virtual light effects to animate heritage sites. Guangxi’s Nanning has emerged as a hub for AI-generated short dramas and animated films, leveraging local ethnic and non-heritage cultural resources; productions like “Legend of Qi Xia” use AI-digital humans and multilingual dubbing, and the “Feitutu FLYTOTO AI Short Drama Co-creation Platform” launched by Guangxi Publishing Media Group integrates script generation, digital human production, and multilingual translation for export to Southeast Asian markets.

Entertainment and Gaming : At ChinaJoy 2026 in Shanghai, Tencent Games unveiled an “AI full set” of technologies spanning AI-native content, including “Digital Jingdezhen: Porcelain City Craftsman,” the world’s first UNESCO heritage-themed AI interactive game featuring AI 3D generation and intelligent digital human interaction that lets players role-play as ancient kiln workers; “Cat Immortal Amulet” (猫仙札), which uses AI agents to create independent NPC personalities with dynamically generated dialogue and branching storylines; and internal AI tools including Craft, LAP, MagicDawn, and MagicLomix for game asset production. NetEase Games similarly used digital human and AI technology to bring actress Joey Wong (王祖贤), retired for 22 years, back to screens via an AI digital replica of her 20s-to-30s appearance, licensed for the game “Tianxia” in an ad short film called “Reflection” (倩影), which surpassed 2.98 million views on Bilibili; other veteran Hong Kong actors including Jackie Chan, Wu Qihua (Michael Wu), and You Benchang have similarly licensed youthful or classic digital likenesses for AI-generated films and microdramas, such as You Benchang’s AI-assisted microdrama “Ji Gong: The Fake Dragon Subduer” which recreated his 1980s Ji Gong character. SenseTime showcased a “Future Life” zone at WAIC 2026 featuring AI products including Seko, described as the world’s first integrated AI video creation agent with over 1 million creators, and a robotic retail concept store, SenseMart Go, deployed simultaneously in Shanghai’s World Expo Museum, Pudong Expo Tiandi, and West Bund International Convention Center, where robots autonomously handle product retrieval and restocking. AI-generated short dramas have become a major industry force: Tencent-linked data shows AI microdramas comprised over 95% of new titles in Q1 2026, with real-life drama production in Hengdian dropping roughly 75% and studio vacancy reaching 78%, prompting actors to take up street vending or tourism gigs; conversely, a notable success story is the AI short drama “The Girl Who Got Laid Off,” whose AI virtual lead character “Fang Taozi” attracted over 400,000 followers within 30 days and secured advertising rates of 258,000 yuan for 60-second-plus videos, exceeding many real influencers due to brand demand for “controllability” and lack of scandal risk. Guangxi’s Nanning also positions itself as a national leader in AI short-drama production and export, with companies like Fengzhi Culture and Yuguangtongchen Culture using AI-assisted scriptwriting, digital human performers, and multilingual dubbing to cut production costs to roughly one-third of live-action filming, targeting ASEAN markets via platforms like Stardust TV.

Marketing and Brand Ambassadors : iFlytek (科大讯飞) unveiled an upgraded intelligent interactive digital human platform in Beijing on July 30, introducing “hyper-realistic real-time digital human generation technology” that creates a fully interactive digital human from a single photograph, eliminating the previous two-hour video capture requirement; the platform integrates Xinghuo (Spark) voice large language models for long-term memory and vertical-domain knowledge, and supports complex actions like drinking water, singing, and dancing. iFlytek’s marketing digital human lineup includes “Lulin’er” (泸麟儿), an AI tasting ambassador for liquor brand Luzhou Laojiao serving over 30 million members, and “Qiake’er” (洽可儿), the first digital brand ambassador in the snack food industry, created for Qiaqia Food (洽洽食品) with a triple persona as “Chief Happiness Officer,” “Sunflower Town Seed-Roasting Heritage Keeper,” and “All-Around Brand Artist,” debuting via a themed single and music video called “The World Together with Qiaqia.” iFlytek also launched training digital humans (讯飞智聘, 讯飞培训, 星火陪练) covering recruitment, onboarding, and industry-specific practice scenarios across automotive, insurance, customer service, and dining sectors, completing over 10 million simulated training sessions annually; enterprise deployment includes mobile digital humans with obstacle avoidance and multilingual support across 37 languages used in overseas contexts such as a Kenyan telecom showroom and Bangkok’s airport. Guangdong’s new consumer protection regulations, effective October 1, 2026, explicitly regulate AI digital human livestream sales, requiring platforms to verify streamer identities and mandate clear AI-generated content labeling to prevent misleading consumers. Tianyu Digital Technology (天娱数科), whose stock surged following strong earnings, operates the virtual guofeng (Chinese-style) digital human “Tianyu” with over 5.5 million followers across platforms, an early example of culturally themed IP achieving overseas engagement, alongside AI video generation tools MetaMind and CineART supporting advertising placement on Douyin, Kuaishou, and Xiaohongshu. Other listed companies referencing virtual digital human business lines include Guomai Culture (国脉文化), which developed virtual spokespersons “Irene” and “Xiaolin” themed around company leadership, and Tianyoude Liquor (天佑德酒), whose Qinghai-based virtual character “Li Linger” promotes highland barley liquor blending regional heritage with digital marketing.

Robotics and Physical AI Integration : At WAIC 2026, SenseTime demonstrated embodied intelligence robots powered by its Kairos world model capable of autonomously performing household tasks like breakfast preparation, alongside its “Da Xiao Robot” (大晓机器人) subsidiary and an ACE 2.0 environmental data collection system using tactile gloves for robot training. At ChinaJoy 2026, Unitree Robotics displayed its G1 humanoid robot performing combat maneuvers and dance routines while autonomously recovering from being pushed, and Magic Atom (魔法原子) showed consumer robots for entertainment and guided-tour applications; robotics companies increasingly overlap with the digital-human and gaming ecosystem as physical embodiments of AI characters. Shanghai-based Meijue Technology (美爵科技), operating under the “Jinwuxie” brand, positioned itself in the humanoid robot licensing space by offering standardized portrait rights clearance for converting influencer, celebrity, and virtual digital human likenesses into physical humanoid robot forms for retail, exhibition, and brand ambassador use, addressing legal risks around unauthorized likeness replication in China’s growing embodied AI robot market.

Enterprise and Public Sector Applications : iFlytek’s digital human platform extends into enterprise “digital employee” applications, including financial advisors, virtual anchors, and tour guides across media, tourism, finance, education, and healthcare sectors, with roundtable participants from China Merchants Capital and Qiaqia Food discussing how large-model-driven digital humans are becoming “interactive, executable digital employees,” particularly in finance. Yidu Tech (医渡科技) partnered with Nanchang University’s First Affiliated Hospital to launch two medical AI agents—an emergency-teaching agent and “Peng Uncle’s Cardiac Insights” (彭叔心视界), described as China’s first cardiology-focused public-education agent—both integrating digital human capabilities from JD Health with hospital knowledge bases to support medical education and patient health literacy. In Guangdong’s Pingyuan County, teachers from Guangdong Post and Telecommunications Vocational and Technical College trained rural grassroots officials in using AI agent tools including Doubao’s AI-avatar (“AI fenshen”) video creation feature to enhance rural promotional content alongside other office AI tools. Qingdao’s Mengdou Technology (檬豆科技) built the OPIE (Qingdao Single-Person AI Entrepreneur) platform in partnership with the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Computing Technology, supporting one-person AI startups across sectors including digital human and AI comic/animation ventures, having incubated 126 registered one-person companies within its first half-year of operation.

Ethical and Regulatory Contexts : Guangdong’s newly passed Consumer Protection Regulation and Greater Bay Area Cooperation Regulation, effective October 2026, directly address AI digital human commerce, requiring livestream platforms verify streamer identity information and mandating that AI-generated persona images and videos used in livestream sales be clearly and continuously labeled to prevent consumer deception; violations carry specific penalties under the new rules. Legal experts including attorney Wang Xiaoqi have noted that portrait rights licensing for AI digital doubles of actors—such as those granted by Wang Zuxian, Jackie Chan, and Michael Wu—require explicit, scenario-specific written consent detailing usage duration, context, and platform, alongside mandatory AI-generation labeling, with particular concern around deceased performers whose likenesses lack living rights-holders to authorize or contest use. Commentary around AI actors replacing human performers, sparked partly by unauthorized “face-blending” of AI virtual actors (such as Yaoke Media’s Qin Lingyue and Lin Xiyan, whose faces were found to closely resemble real actors including Zhai Zilu, Zhao Jinmai, and Zhang Zifeng), triggered widespread public backlash and boycott campaigns generating over 4.2 billion reads across social platforms, centered on unresolved portrait-rights and legal ambiguity for AI-generated composite likenesses in China, with historical AI-virtual-human infringement cases showing under 30% success rates for plaintiffs.

03 August News

Entertainment : The Chinese gaming and digital entertainment sector showcased extensive virtual being applications at ChinaJoy 2026 in Shanghai, where Tencent Games (“腾讯”) unveiled an “AI full suite” spanning AI-native games, creation tools, and digital human technology. Tencent’s flagship title “Digital Jingdezhen: Porcelain Capital Craftsman” (数字景德镇·瓷都小匠), the world’s first heritage-themed AI interactive game tied to Jingdezhen’s UNESCO World Heritage bid, integrates AI digital humans, AI 3D generation, and procedural content generation to let players simulate historical porcelain-making processes across different dynasties. Tencent also demonstrated “Cat Immortal Tale” (猫仙札), a narrative RPG featuring AI Agent-driven characters with independently evolving personalities and dialogue, and four self-developed AI tools (Craft, LAP, MagicDawn, MagicLomix) covering game development, rendering, and art asset production. Century Huatong (世纪华通) hosted the second “Shulong Cup” Global AI Innovation Competition, awarding projects including Shengjing Technology’s “Senbox” AI 3D space-creation game and supporting Haiyi Interactive Entertainment’s three-platform matrix comprising Haiyi AI, overseas short-drama platform Moreshort, and the Seasoul digital human platform for original IP companion interaction. At the Qualcomm Snapdragon pavilion, visitors could generate personalized 3D digital avatars from a single photo using on-device processing that keeps data local, alongside an AI game coach providing real-time tactical guidance for titles like “Honor of Kings” without requiring network connectivity. Virtual VTuber Yongchu Tafei (永雏塔菲), a domestic virtual streamer who debuted in 2021 and built a large fanbase on Bilibili’s gaming channel, saw fan-made decorative content dominate Steam’s points shop trending page, demonstrating the crossover appeal of Chinese virtual idols beyond their original platforms. AI-generated idol survival shows also emerged as a major trend, with Douyin’s “Star Light 108” (星光108) featuring 108 AI-generated virtual trainees competing for 9 debut positions through a format mirroring traditional idol survival shows, complete with fan voting, though the project drew controversy over unauthorized use of real celebrities’ facial features in training data. Baidu App partnered with Yuehua Entertainment on the “AI Star Program” (AI星企划), an AIGC virtual idol competition where creators submit AI-generated characters for public voting on Baidu’s platform. Bilibili likewise launched an “AI Idol Debut Season” featuring 30 finalist AI trainees judged partly by celebrity mentors, while debates persist over whether AI performances can replicate the emotional authenticity of human idols.

Media and Digital Human Platforms : Chinese media and technology companies are deploying AI digital humans as core products across newsrooms and enterprise services. Science and technology firm iFlytek (科大讯飞) unveiled an upgraded intelligent interactive digital human platform in Beijing, enabling real-time digital human generation from a single photograph rather than lengthy video training, integrated with its Xinghuo (星火) voice model for long-term memory and domain-specific knowledge, supporting complex actions like singing, dancing, and drinking; the company has deployed branded digital humans for clients including Luzhou Laojiao (“泸麟儿”) and Qiaqia Food (“洽可儿”). Qiaqia Food (洽洽食品) launched “Chacky” (洽可儿), the snack food industry’s first digital brand ambassador, featuring an original theme song and music video, positioned as a persistent, reusable digital asset intended to reduce the costs and reputational risks associated with human celebrity endorsements while enabling deeper AI-driven interactive engagement with Gen Z consumers. Heilongjiang Daily Press Group (黑龙江日报报业集团) reported building a “Longtou Zhichuang” (龙头智创) digital human production platform in partnership with Tsinghua University and Harbin Institute of Technology, generating multiple award-winning media products as part of its broader “Longjiang Zhihui Cloud” AI infrastructure. Alibaba’s Taotian Group (阿里巴巴淘天集团), together with Nanjing University, developed “TaoMate,” an anchor-guided persistent memory framework enabling stable multi-minute digital human video generation with synchronized audio, achieving real-time streaming interaction for use cases including virtual hosts, livestreaming, and customer service avatars, with demonstrated roles such as household explainer, tech host, business consultant, and health advisor. Chengdu museums have deployed specialized digital humans including Wuhou Shrine’s “Xiao Zhuge” (小诸葛), built on Three Kingdoms historical records to provide multilingual guided tours, and Du Fu Thatched Cottage’s hyper-realistic “AI Du Fu,” which allows visitors to interact via glasses-free 3D displays to discuss the poet’s works and life in Sichuan.

Cultural and Heritage Preservation : Digital humans are increasingly used to revitalize China’s intangible cultural heritage (非遗) and traditional culture. At the 2026 “Xinjiang is a Good Place” intangible heritage exhibition in Shihezi, Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Center unveiled “Qin Qiaoqiao” (秦瞧瞧), a dialect-speaking AI digital human wearing traditional opera costume that provides Shaanxi-dialect interaction and cloud-based tour-guide services, described by its creators as the center’s fourth flagship digital human IP and a “full-capability digital employee” making heritage “touchable, sensible, and conversable.” The Oriental Yiyun Technology Group deployed mobile “intangible heritage caravans” equipped with 8K ultra-high-definition displays, AI, and extended reality (XR) technology touring heritage sites. In Yunnan, the Honghe Prefecture Culture and Tourism Bureau launched its own AI digital human tourism ambassador, “Honghe Niuniu” (红河牛牛), unveiled at a Beijing promotional event co-organized with People’s Daily Online to promote summer tourism and the region’s UNESCO-recognized agricultural and irrigation heritage sites. In Xi’an, the metro system partnered with Alipay for a “Tang Poetry Capital” campaign at Zhonglou Station, where users completing poetry quizzes through Alipay could win Tang poetry-themed digital human avatar designs alongside transit vouchers and other prizes, linking cultural heritage promotion to civic green-commuting initiatives. In Chongqing, Xiaba Middle School incorporated an AI digital human “raindrop” character into Chinese-language classes to guide students through poetic and humanistic content alongside AI-driven tools in physics, mathematics, biology, and health education.

Virtual Beings in Film and Celebrity Licensing : A significant trend has emerged in which retired or semi-retired Chinese and Hong Kong celebrities license their peak-era likenesses to AI companies for digital resurrection in advertising and film. Actress Joey Wong (王祖贤), retired from acting for 22 years, licensed her 20s-to-30s-era likeness to NetEase’s game “Tianxia” (天下) for its 18th-anniversary campaign; the resulting AI-generated short film “Reflections” (倩影), depicting her classic roles Nie Xiaoqian and Bai Suzhen “speaking” directly to players, surpassed 2.98 million views on Bilibili and was described as China’s first game-industry narrative short fully built on AIGC technology with complete star authorization. Hong Kong actor Lawrence Ng (吴启华), 62, similarly licensed his 20-year-old likeness to an AI film production company to star as the lead in an AI-generated movie without needing to appear on set, calling the compensation “quite substantial.” Veteran actor Tang Guoqiang (唐国强), famous for portraying Zhuge Liang, authorized his AI likeness to ByteDance’s Doubao education app, appearing as a virtual “Chinese language teacher” powered by ByteDance’s unreleased Seedance 2.5 video generation model. Jackie Chan (成龙) had previously used AI in the 2024 film “The Old Man” to recreate his 27-year-old appearance, though the technology at the time drew criticism for unnatural facial expressions. Elderly actor You Benchang (游本昌), 92, known for playing Ji Gong, partnered with Hongguo Duanju to produce the AI-assisted short drama “Ji Gong: The Fake Dragon Subduer,” recreating his 1980s television character; his family’s company co-produced the project, giving him unusual creative control compared to typical licensing arrangements. This trend has sparked debate over its impact on working actors: reports indicate some AI short-drama companies are purchasing five-year likeness rights from lesser-known performers for as little as 500 yuan, while background actors face declining opportunities as AI increasingly substitutes for extras. Legal experts including Beijing-based entertainment lawyer Wang Xiaoqi noted that portrait rights licensing requires explicit, written consent detailing scope, duration, and use cases, with AI-generated content requiring clear labeling to distinguish it from real performances; disputes remain over whether AI-generated content that fans deem “vulgar” (such as Wong’s nine-tailed fox transformation) could constitute reputational rather than portrait-rights infringement.

AI Actors and the Short-Drama Industry : China’s short-drama (微短剧) industry is undergoing rapid transformation driven by AI-generated virtual actors, with dramatic cost reductions reshaping the labor market for performers. Industry data cited in multiple reports shows AI short dramas comprised over 95% of the roughly 128,000 titles released online in Q1 2026, with production costs for AI dramas running approximately one-tenth those of live-action productions (roughly 50,000 yuan vs. 500,000 yuan per project), and some productions costing as little as 3,000 yuan. The AI short-drama and comic-drama market reportedly exceeded 22 billion yuan in the first five months of 2026, on pace to approach 400 billion yuan for the full year. AI-generated drama “The Girl Who Got Laid Off” (被裁掉的女孩) produced virtual actors “Fang Taozi” and “Zhou Yiheng” who trended on Weibo, with Fang Taozi’s standalone social media account amassing over 330,000 followers and 25 million likes by posting lifestyle content indistinguishable in tone from human influencers. Anhui TV aired “Peach Blossom Pool Chronicle” (桃花潭记), a fully AI-produced 20-episode drama centered on Xuan paper craftsmanship in Jingxian, ranking among the top ten primetime programs nationally, while Zhejiang TV’s “Chinese Legends: White Snake” became China’s first satellite-television AI drama, ranking second nationally in its broadcast slot. This has coincided with a reported 75% year-on-year drop in live-action short-drama production starts and over 80% studio vacancy rates at Hengdian, China’s major filming base, with background actor daily wages falling from 1,500-2,000 yuan to under 100 yuan; some displaced performers have shifted to selling vegetables or driving for ride-hailing platforms, while others have pivoted to producing AI dramas themselves. On July 31, 2026, the National Radio and Television Administration issued Order No. 16, the “Micro-Short Drama Development Management Measures,” establishing China’s first dedicated regulatory framework requiring classification-based content review, mandatory AI-content labeling, and copyright verification for AI-generated material, effective September 1, 2026; broadcasting institutions are now required to build end-to-end content risk-control systems spanning script pre-review, filing management, and production oversight, with differentiated controls for self-produced, co-produced, and imported dramas. Separately, streaming platform Youku’s president Wu Qian stated publicly that AI cannot replace real actors, emphasizing that Youku would continue cultivating human performers despite the cost pressures from AI-generated content.

Museums and Public Cultural Institutions : Beyond dedicated heritage campaigns, Chinese museums are integrating digital human guides into permanent visitor experiences as part of broader digital transformation efforts, exemplified by Chengdu’s Wuhou Shrine Museum’s “Xiao Zhuge” and Du Fu Thatched Cottage Museum’s “AI Du Fu,” both of which combine large-scale historical knowledge bases with real-time multilingual interactive capabilities for visitors, reflecting a citywide trend of differentiated digital strategies across Chengdu’s major cultural institutions.

Healthcare : Chinese medical institutions are integrating digital human technology into traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practice, exemplified by Zhengzhou Guancheng Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine (郑州市管城中医院), which operates a “Famous Doctor Digital Human Heritage Studio” alongside a 24-hour AI TCM consultation room and an “AI Brain Platform for TCM” that supports clinical decision-making through data integration. During an inspection visit on August 1, 2026, Chinese Academy of Engineering academician Fan Daiming (樊代明), a leading authority in integrative oncology and president of the World Integrative Oncology Association, toured the digital human studio and praised the platform for enabling “ancient Chinese medical wisdom to display new vitality” through AI-driven data integration and clinical decision support, during a broader visit examining the hospital’s integration of TCM with Western oncology treatment protocols.

02 August News

Marketing : Chinese brands are increasingly deploying AI digital humans as branded spokespersons and always-on marketing assets. Snack maker Chacha Food (洽洽食品) unveiled Chacky (洽可儿), described as the first digital spokesperson in China’s snack food industry, complete with a custom debut single and music video, and roles spanning livestream hosting, e-commerce guidance, customer service, and short dramas. Beauty brand Qiaoyi Zhishui used sensory-focused salon experiences blended with digital content, while marketing agencies Lanse Guangbiao (蓝色光标), Xuanya International (宣亚国际), and Liou Group (利欧股份) were flagged on Chinese exchanges under “virtual digital human” and “AI marketing” investment concepts due to their AI-driven advertising, digital human livestreaming, and metaverse content operations; Xuanya International specifically operates a “Julang Metaverse Joint Laboratory” producing virtual humans and XR livestreaming for corporate clients. In Guangdong, China Unicom’s (中国联通) Guangdong branch partnered with Diancheng district’s agarwood industry association to deploy AI digital human livestreaming assistants alongside 5G networks to support product livestreaming, automated copywriting, and multi-camera broadcast setups for small rural agarwood merchants. In Vietnam-bordering Guangxi, an AI cross-border e-commerce competition showcased a “digital employee” e-commerce platform by Shanghai Humi Technology, integrating chat, accounting, and operational functions with digital human livestreaming for outbound trade with ASEAN markets.

Cultural and Heritage Preservation : AI digital humans are being used extensively to animate and popularize China’s cultural and ethnic heritage. In Xinjiang, the Akesu intangible heritage exhibition in Shihezi incorporated XR immersive experiences and AI digital humans into displays of Zhuang embroidery, Daur folk painting, and other traditions to make heritage more interactive for visitors. In Guangxi’s Baise and Donglan revolutionary base areas, a virtual guide named “Mangguo Ge” (芒果哥) delivers narrated histories of the Red Army’s Baise Uprising to tourists via QR code, supported by a nearby Baise intelligent computing center, while local schools use “5G+AI” platforms for education. Xinjiang’s Bingtuan region deployed a digital human called “Qin Qiaoqiao” (秦瞧瞧) at a heritage exhibition to interact with visitors in Shaanxi dialect and offer cloud-based travel companionship, part of a broader push using 8K, XR, and mobile “non-heritage trucks” to bring traditions to the public. In Yunnan’s Red River Prefecture, tourism authorities unveiled an AI digital human tourism ambassador “Honghe Niuniu” (红河牛牛) to promote seasonal travel themes and cultural attractions including Hani rice terraces and Jianshui ancient town. Hunan’s provincial social science popularization week featured AI digital hosts “Tan Xiaobi” and “Tan Xiaoquan” reading award announcements, alongside immersive light-and-shadow displays and NPC-style costumed performers roaming a themed market. Zhejiang’s overseas Chinese community delegation toured AIGC and digital virtual human demonstration centers in Hangzhou as part of efforts to promote cultural export via short dramas and digital content.

Grassroots Political Communication : Local Chinese Communist Party propaganda efforts have adopted AI digital hosts to modernize ideological outreach. In Haian, Jiangsu, the “Bugu Xiangyin” (布谷乡音) theoretical dissemination initiative introduced digital lecturers named “Xiao Bu” and “Xiao Gu” to conduct interactive, scenario-based explanations of party theory online, with livestreams and short videos reportedly drawing over 100,000 views, complementing a network of human “grassroots celebrity” lecturers trained in partnership with Nanjing Normal University.

Public Services and Government Applications : Chinese public sector bodies are integrating digital humans into citizen-facing services. Xi’an’s traffic police bureau, working with Baidu, launched a digital human named “Yong’an Jun” (永安君) that answers real-time questions about traffic regulations, violation records, and accident procedures, logging over 450,000 interactions and serving more than 200,000 people to date. Yunnan’s Kunming Information Port featured a digital human legal-education segment as part of an anti-fraud and legal-awareness video series. In Guangxi’s revolutionary old areas around Baise, Donglan, and Duan counties, China Mobile’s Guangxi branch has embedded AI large-model tools into hospital diagnostic support and county-level educational platforms alongside its heritage-related digital human deployments.

Corporate Recruitment and HR : Ping An Insurance Group (中国平安) unveiled an AI recruitment digital human named “Chengxiao’an” (橙小安) at a July 31 university-enterprise cooperation conference in Shenzhen, designed to provide 24/7 job recommendations, application status queries, interview tips, and alumni connections for graduating students; the launch was tied to Ping An’s broader 2026 recruitment push offering over 6,000 new graduate positions and partnerships with 42 universities including Tsinghua and Peking University.

Financial Sector Applications : Chinese asset managers are patenting AI-driven interface technology for internal digital workplace tools. E Fund Management (易方达基金) obtained a design patent for an “AI Digital Office” graphical user interface enabling human-machine interaction for operating an AI-powered virtual office environment, reflecting fund management firms’ interest in embedding conversational AI agents into enterprise software design, though the filing indicates internal tooling rather than a public-facing digital human product.

Elder Care and Companionship : A Heilongjiang consumer expo for elder-focused technology showcased an AI-powered digital photo frame by Shenzhen-based Shenying Digital (深颖数字), which converts static photographs and voice recordings of deceased or distant family members into interactive digital humans capable of real-time conversation, medication reminders, and companionship for elderly users; the product is paired with a smart ring for continuous health monitoring including blood oxygen, heart rate, and sleep tracking, and has been demonstrated as addressing emotional isolation among China’s rapidly aging population, particularly in Heilongjiang province where the elderly population share exceeds 27%.

Gaming and Entertainment : At ChinaJoy 2026 in Shanghai, Tencent Games unveiled “Digital Jingdezhen: Porcelain Capital Apprentice” (数字景德镇·瓷都小匠), billed as the world’s first UNESCO heritage-tied mini-game, integrating AI digital human narrators, AI 3D generation, and AI-plus-procedural content generation to recreate historical porcelain-making scenes tied to Jingdezhen’s newly designated World Heritage status; the game was developed jointly with Jingdezhen municipal authorities. Tencent also showcased other AI-native titles including “Cat Immortal Talisman” (猫仙札), which combines AI agents with narrative gameplay, and demonstrated a full AI creation toolchain spanning “Codename Craft” for natural-language game generation, “LAP” for art asset production, and “MagicDawn” and “MagicLomix” for rendering and 3D engine development. Separately, Perfect World’s (完美世界) open-world RPG “Yihuan” (异环) achieved over 1.4 billion RMB in global cumulative revenue since its April launch, with company executives describing AI as an efficiency tool embedded across script generation, digital human video, and 2D-to-3D asset conversion via its proprietary AIGC platform, while emphasizing that AI has not yet displaced core creative and design work. At the same event, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon booth demonstrated on-device AI digital-human generation tools allowing attendees to create real-time 3D “cyber avatars” from a single photo using the fifth-generation Snapdragon 8 Elite platform.

Livestreaming, Short Video, and Regulatory Response : Chinese regulators and industry associations have moved to address controversial digital human and livestreaming practices. In Guangzhou, a newly formed automotive self-media association explicitly prohibited the use of AI-generated digital humans or AI-fabricated content to disparage competing brands, mandating disclosure of AI usage in vehicle reviews. In Chongqing, a newly established Network Performance Branch under the local performing arts association issued a self-discipline pact covering livestreaming conduct, explicitly referencing regulation of “digital human performances” and immersive livestreaming as emerging technology applications requiring oversight alongside bans on sexualized content and fan wars. Separately, a Guizhou tourist attraction’s controversial paid “companion rafting” service, which offered tiered physical-contact packages with hosts, was reported using a “Huiplayxing digital human” (慧播星数字人) for its news video production, illustrating how AI-anchor tools are now routinely used by Chinese media outlets for churning out short-form news content, including in an unrelated report about Taiwanese politician Ko Wen-je’s wife rendering aid to a child on a mainland high-speed train.

Livestreaming Consumer Protection : A Chinese consumer complaint case handled by Jimu News involved a Shandong woman defrauded of 10,000 RMB through a livestreamed “AI operations” course sold via a knowledge-payment livestream; though the underlying fraud was human-perpetrated, the incident highlights the proliferation of AI-training and “AI digital human e-commerce” courses being marketed through Chinese livestream channels, sometimes fraudulently, prompting calls from legal experts for stricter platform oversight of knowledge-based livestream sales.

Enterprise and Industrial Applications : Chinese industrial and technology conferences highlighted digital human integration into broader AI ecosystems. At the Jiangsu AI Industry Alliance launch event in Nanjing, Nanjing-based Aihuashen Technology (爱化身科技) presented digital human and metaverse applications across multiple business scenarios as part of a showcase of AI service providers. Wuxi-based Wuchan Jinlun (物产金轮), a textile and steel wire manufacturer, disclosed a minority stake in Beijing Lingban Instant Intelligent Technology (北京灵伴智能科技), a company specializing in AI voice interaction, AIGC content generation, and digital humans, though the companies stated no current synergy exists between the investment and Wuchan Jinlun’s core manufacturing business.

01 August News

Marketing : Hubei Jingruida Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. (湖北晶锐达电子科技有限公司) is promoting its comprehensive digital human solutions for exhibition hall interactive scenarios, covering digital human design, custom development, and operation and maintenance, with its core products being interactive digital human systems and digital human exhibition hall construction used for welcome guidance, information inquiry, and brand interaction. In a separate development within the snack food industry, Qiaqia Food (洽洽食品) launched its AI digital spokesperson “Chacky” (洽可儿) in Beijing, making it the first digital spokesperson in the leisure snack sector; built with multimodal interaction and emotional perception capabilities, Chacky is designed for e-commerce guidance, live-streaming interactions, and offline displays, and the company plans to extend its use to brand short dramas and flash mob performances. A video report on a controversial rafting service in Guizhou province was noted to have been produced using a Huiboxing (慧播星) digital human, and a similar note about Huiboxing digital human usage was attached to a news video concerning a rape case in Shaanxi province and another report on dismissals at Dongfeng Motor Corporation.

Enterprise : iFlytek (科大讯飞) launched its hyper-realistic digital human real-time generation technology, upgrading its suite of interactive service, marketing, and training digital human solutions, enabling a single photo to generate a digital human capable of real-time interaction, complex actions like fetching objects and dancing, and supporting 7x24 live streaming with consistent identity and smooth multimodal expression coordination. At the 2026 ChinaJoy event, Tencent Games showcased its AI-powered games including “Digital Jingdezhen: Porcelain Capital Young Artisan” which uses AI digital humans and 3D generation, while the Snapdragon Theme Pavilion featured a Digital Avatar Workshop where attendees could generate a 3D digital twin. China Ping An (中国平安) released its campus recruitment AI digital human “Cheng Xiao’an” (橙小安), which offers 7x24 intelligent job recommendations, recruitment progress inquiries, and a new alumni communication function. Kuaidi 100 (快递100) launched the logistics industry’s first full-brand integrated “AI Courier” (AI快递小哥), an AI assistant designed to act as a “digital doppelganger” for couriers, handling customer service, intelligent order processing, and automated reconciliation. The China International Game Developers Conference (CIGDC) featured a presentation from Epic Games on Unreal Engine 5.8, highlighting the Mesh to MetaHuman feature for converting any character into a fully rigged digital human. An A-stock analysis included “virtual digital human” among actively traded market concepts.

Cultural and Tourism : Guizhou University’s Qingniao practice team developed a “Red Army Digital Human” (红军数字人) based on AI large models for Bikeng Village, enabling cross-generational dialogue and serving as a core tool for digital red culture dissemination. Yunnan’s “Folk Song Spectacular” program used a virtual digital host modeled after a real person, Diqing prefecture media professional Yu Shaolong, generated by a team led by Professor Yi Hong from Yunnan University of Finance and Economics, with AI technology used for multi-language broadcasting including Southeast Asian languages. The Honghe Culture and Tourism Bureau (红河州文化和旅游局) officially launched its AI digital human “Honghe Niuniu” (红河牛牛) at a global promotion event in Beijing. Within the smart tourism sector in Jiangsu province, an AI digital human is employed at the Hongshan Site Museum in Wuxi to provide detailed artifact narrations for a “borderless museum” experience.

Public Service and Governance : The Xi’an Public Security Traffic Management Brigade deployed a digital human named “Yong’an Jun” (永安君), the nation’s first intelligent service system in the public security traffic management field to utilize large model technology, which was recently upgraded with the DeepSeek open-source large model for dual-model switching and has answered over 450,000 inquiries since its public beta. The Hunan Women’s Federation introduced an upgraded AI host named “Xiangxiang” (湘湘) at the 2026 Hunan Women’s New Media Conference, who will anchor a series of short videos on topics like policy interpretation and family education under a new engagement plan.

Gaming and Entertainment : Century Huatong (世纪华通) featured the Seasoul digital human platform from Haiyi Interactive Entertainment at its ChinaJoy AI+LAB exhibition area, enabling interactive AI companion functions for original IPs. The AI creative platform AniShort (八点八数字科技), developed by Nanjing-based 8.8 Digital Technology, launched a streamlined workflow for adapting domestic hit short dramas for overseas markets through features like one-click style transfer and face swapping. In the realm of AI-generated content and short dramas, industry analysis noted that the hit AI short drama character Fang Taozi (方桃子) accumulated nearly 400,000 followers on social media within 30 days of her debut, with her persona extending beyond the show into daily vlogs, dance videos, and advertising placements, mirroring the full operational playbook of a real celebrity. The Red Fruit Short Drama platform issued a public notice to regulate AI character creation, aiming to reduce the overuse of “high-frequency AI faces” and standardize character differentiation in AI short dramas. A class action stock analysis report for Guomai Culture (国脉文化) mentioned that the company has developed digital virtual human IPs named “Irene” and “Xiaolin,” based on its general manager and an employee representative.