World Television Day celebrated with conference in Shanxi

The 2025 "World Television Day" China Television Conference kicked off on Friday in Datong, North China's Shanxi province, attracting experts and scholars from the national television and audiovisual industry to discuss contemporary challenges and opportunities in television and online audio-visual art under the current landscape of the deepening media convergence.

"We are in a new era of profound changes in the audiovisual field, and at a critical period of industrial transformation where opportunities and changes coexist," said Yan Shaofei, vice-chairman of the China Television Artists Association. "I hope that audiovisual art creators can embrace the wave of technological transformation, keeping pace with times and producing high-quality works rooted in everyday life."

"Via continuous innovation, they will write a new chapter in advancing the high-quality development of television and online audiovisual art," he added.

Jiang Wenbo, chairman of the Ultra-High Definition World Association, said that over the past century, television media has played a significant role in promoting global cultural exchange, economic and social development, and lasting peace.

"Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, television has undergone upgrades from black-and-white to color, from analog to digital, and from standard definition to high definition," he said. "Each iteration has driven tremendous progress in media forms and social informatization."

"We should actively adopt cutting-edge technologies and strengthen independent innovation and practical application to build an omnimedia ultra-high definition television ecosystem," he added.

Liu Junyi, deputy Party secretary and mayor of Datong, expected that the conference can serve as a platform for sharing classic television works, creating high-quality micro audio-visual works, driving the integration of art and technology, and connecting audio-visual industry projects.

"The conference held in Datong shows a wonderful encounter between the ancient city and the modern audio-visual industry," he said.

The recent phenomenal TV series Silent Honor, which vividly depicts the underground struggles in Taiwan before and after the founding of the People's Republic of China, has become an online hit.

Director Yang Yazhou said in an interview that creators of film and television should not focus solely on data but deeply consider the real needs of the times and the audience.

He added that the audience's affection for the series provided clear guidance for creators on what to produce and how to produce content.

At the opening ceremony, Datong Municipal People's Government and Communication University of Shanxi signed a strategic cooperation agreement.

Focusing on the micro audiovisual content creation, talent training, industrial research and development, and achievement promotion, the two parties aim to set a model for university-government cooperation, contributing to the production of high-quality online content in Shanxi.

Lyu Peipei contributed to this story.