In recent years, the film and television industry in mainland China has seen a decrease in projects, a decline in production rates, and a significant shift towards favoring internet celebrities for resources, leading to fewer opportunities for actors. As a result, more and more artists are forced to seek alternative means of making a living, with some taking on part-time jobs delivering food, starting businesses on the streets, accompanying tourists up Mount Tai, and many venturing into live streaming platforms, or directly engaging with the public, becoming the most down-to-earth scenery in tourist destinations.
Amidst the extremely saturated entertainment landscape, survival has become a top priority for most individuals. Unemployed actors have started to alleviate their anxieties through physical labor, bringing their part-time lives online to blur the lines between their daily routines and performances, attempting to regain attention.
The relationship between tourist destinations and artists can be described as mutually beneficial. For organizers, the current cultural and tourism industry lacks innovation, compelling them to brainstorm ways to inject vitality into the stagnant market. Turning to popular celebrities with existing fan bases, they hope to quickly convert them into foot traffic. The advantages of actors are fully utilized in tourist destinations. Selling tickets, creating haunted houses, with no need to memorize lines. They can entertain the audience and make money effortlessly.
Zheng Guolin is currently the most active “tourist destination artist”. Born on May 27, 1976 in Shanghai, he graduated from the Shanghai Theatre Academy and is a mainland Chinese actor and producer. In the late 1990s, Zheng felt a noticeable slump in his career. He went a whole year without any acting opportunities, engulfed in anxiety.
In recent months, Zheng has been frequently spotted in major tourist destinations, from Shanghai Thousand Love to Hangzhou Song City, and then to Tangshan Hetou Old Street, where he almost always plays the role of “Li Shimin” from the drama “The Legend of Sui and Tang Heroes”. This summer, despite the scorching heat, Zheng appeared sweating in heavy costumes, taking heatstroke prevention medicine before each performance.
He expressed, “I’m just a small actor, from an ordinary family, struggling to make ends meet and support my family.”
As actors reach middle age, the pressure to support their families increases.
Despite acting fees being kept as trade secrets, outsiders remain unaware of them. But compared to the uncertainty of filming a series with no definite guarantee, performing at tourist destinations offers a fixed schedule, no script restrictions, and prompt payment. For renowned middle-aged and elderly actors, it remains a stable and profitable venture.
At the age of 63, Ma Jingtao has performed at three different tourist destinations within a month, embodying characters from classic dramas such as “The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber” and “The Green, Green Grass by the River”, characters that now serve as his retirement plan.
On a mountain peak at one destination, he transformed into the God of Wealth, wearing a golden crown and a scarlet robe, calling out to the audience, “Fortune is coming soon.” In Hangzhou, during a live stream in scorching 35-degree heat, he endured four consecutive days of performances in four heavy layers of costumes, collapsing from exhaustion on the final day. After a simple check-up, he returned to the stage the next day, continuing to perform with music and dance.
As a “commercial performance model”, there are heavy financial pressures behind the scenes. With three children, two of whom attend an international school in Shanghai with annual tuition fees ranging from four to five hundred thousand yuan. His youngest son is studying music and preparing to train in South Korea as a student, incurring annual training costs exceeding a million yuan.
Behind the bustling scenes of tourist destinations lie the industry’s slump and the survival struggles of actors.
In 2018, the “salary cap policy” was introduced, leading to a capital ebb and the closure of nearly ten thousand film and television institutions, resulting in a significant decrease in production rates and filings. After 2020, resources shifted towards top actors and popular intellectual properties (existing works with a large fan base, recognition, and potential commercial value), as per Yunhe Data statistics, in the first half of 2025, long video platforms premiered 271 new series, 33 fewer compared to the previous year.
The higher the actor’s status, the more concentrated the resources; the younger they are, the more choices available. Conversely, those who are neither A-list nor newcomers have become the “sacrificial lambs” in the industry’s transformation.
A producer candidly mentioned, “Nowadays, casting for productions is like ordering takeout, either opting for the most expensive signature dish or choosing the discounted specials, leaving very few in between.” What they value is not skill but the power of followers and capital. Consequently, the plight of these middle-aged and elderly actors becomes particularly awkward.
In this survival game, numerous background actors are also suffering.
In November 2024, a statement from the Hengdian Actors Association reduced the hourly wage for extras from 120 yuan for 8 hours to 135 yuan for 10 hours, translating to a decrease from 15 yuan to 13.5 yuan per hour.
Behind the facade of glamour lies the harsh reality for many actors. Some are trapped in the middle layer, some in the confines of age, and others have never truly had a chance to shine.