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A new online sitcom set in Xinjiang has made the far western region fashionable among China's young viewers.
The online sitcom "Ledoumanwu," or "Fun-filled Apartment" depicts the lives and friends of four college boys living in a rented apartment in Xinjiang. The lead characters represent the many ethnic groups in Xinjiang, including the Tajik, Uygur and Kazakh people.
The show has been available exclusively via the Chinese online video platform Youku.com since April 4. It had been viewed more than 6 million times as of Monday.
Ma Shi, director of the 20-episode series, said that producers have been encouraged by the warm market response and have planned to add another 80 episodes to the sitcom, which is being updated online with two episodes a week.
The director, who was born in Xinjiang in the 1980s, said a Uygur-language version of the existing episodes has been produced and will be put online soon.
Leading characters in the sitcom include hip-hop fan Kasimu, precious stone collector Faruke, tech geek Pani and jokester Yikelade.
The lead actors were selected by the director based on online voting by users of local portal Xinjiang Headline.
The young and fashionable appearance of the characters, humorous conversations and relatable stories have made the sitcom a social media phenomenon. The show has also featured ethnic food and original music showing Xinjiang's diverse cultures.
"Xinjiang music is so good. The sitcom gives me a new view of Xinjiang," said netizen "Shenlancaizi" in a comment on Youku.com.
Director Ma said writing for future episodes is expected to draw a lot on the thoughts and suggestions from online comments.
"The future episodes with more production investment are expected to be more exciting with some outdoor scenes of Xinjiang's beautiful landscape and cultures," he said.
Online series boast 450 million online viewers in China. Video websites such as Youku, Sina and Sohu are distributing original content to woo audiences. The shows have become popular among Chinese audiences as they can be viewed on any Internet-linked device at any time.
