On March 18, Hong Kong International Film & TV Market (FILMART) – Asia’s largest film and television trade market-was teeming with activity. Amidst the bustling halls, Huace Group booth drew a diverse international crowd, captivated by the “Oriental scroll” unfolding on screen: the historical Chinese drama Swords into Plowshares, which is currently sweeping the globe.
During the market, Huace Group presented a slate of key series including Swords into Plowshares, The Heir, and War and People. The creative team behind Swords into Plowshares also made intensive appearances at several high-profile events. Since its January debut, the series has reached 73 countries and regions in over 11 languages, and becoming a phenomenal start for Chinese content exports in 2026.
A Single Series Sparks Tourism in Multiple Cities
CEO of Huace Group Invites Viewers: “Travel China with Swords into Plowshares”
“I warmly invite global audiences to visit Zhejiang, to recognize the beauty of China appears in Swords into Plowshares, walking the landscapes and feeling China through the series’ poetic imagery and moving stories,” CEO of Huace Group, Fu Binxing said in a keynote address at the “Forum on International Comminication Cooperation and Innovation for a New Vision” on March 17, extending a heartfelt invitation to the show’s global viewers.
Set in the same era when Otto I was campaigning in Italy to establish the Holy Roman Empire in the West, China in the East was also mired in the turmoil of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. Swords into Plowshares follows three young heroes who meet amid the chaos—Qian Hongshu, Zhao Kuangyin, and Guo Rong—each enduring war and separation, steadfastly fulfilling their duties, presenting a panoramic portrait of war and peace of ancient China.
This invitation from the CEO of Huace Group stems from the unprecedented cultural tourism trend sparked by the show. As the drama gained popularity, it triggered a “one show, multiple cities” phenomenon across Zhejiang and the rest of China. Cities featured in the plot, such as Hangzhou, Taizhou, Taiyuan, and Kaifeng, have seen a massive influx of tourists, allowing audiences to step off the screen and into the scenery to experience a thousand-year-old vision of peace.
“When Hearts Connect, Stories Resonate”
Decoding the Global Success of Swords into Plowshares
Since its January premiere, Swords into Plowshares has debuted on over 12 major international platforms, covering 73 countries and regions. On YouTube, it has surpassed 10 million views with total exposure exceeding 100 million, successfully breaking through cultural barriers. The series has also received high industry praise at international festivals in Cannes, Tokyo, and Singapore, marking a successful transition from merely “going abroad” to “going deep” into local markets.
Wang Yan, the Producer of Swords into Plowshares, provided an in-depth look at how the series achieved such global resonance. She noted that from the project’s inception, the focus was on international positioning: creating a high-quality, international historical epic. The production utilized 8K standards and ultra-high-definition technology, with a professional cast of over 200 actors meticulously matched to their roles. “Everything was done for one purpose: to allow everyone to have an immersive experience,” she said. “Only when we believe in it and enter that world ourselves can the audience be drawn into the story”.
Wang Yan believes that while technology is the shell, the core remains key. The title Swords into Plowshares captures the “soul” of the show, expressing a desire for peace over conflict. This compassion for life and longing for peace are universal human emotions. “Ultimately, international expression isn’t about simplifying history; it’s about excavating the essential, shared emotions of humanity,” Wang Yan said. One overseas viewer commented, “To understand the past is to see the future clearly”. By tapping into these deep layers, cultural barriers are dismantled: “When hearts connect, stories resonate”.
Huace Group Releases 2026 Line-up
Bringing More Chinese Stories Across the Seas
The global journey of Swords into Plowshares is far from over. During this FILMART, Huace Group booth hosted over a hundred meetings with overseas buyers from North America, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines. Several international platforms reached new cooperations on-site, further strengthening the global distribution network of Huace Group.
The global influence of Swords into Plowshares is part of a broader trend. Huace Group has long pursued a “China Wave” strategy, having distributed nearly 180,000 hours of content to over 200 countries and regions. Its self-operated Huace multi-channel network covers 20 languages with over 58 million overseas subscribers. Other recent global successes include Meet Yourself, which brought the “healing breeze” of Dali to the world; Flourished Peony, which captivated audiences with its exquisite Oriental aesthetics; and contemporary dramas like Go Ahead, which showcase the lives of modern Chinese youth.
On the evening of March 18, Huace Group held its “Unound Stories, New Experiences” networking event in Hong Kong, attended by nearly 200 representatives from global media and film institutions. The event featured a heavyweight release of key drama projects, including Swords into Plowshares, The Heir, Sentencing, You are My Fateful Love, Blossom, I Live in Your Time, Now or Never, The Garden of Missing Paths, War and People, and A Simply Jane. Additionally, Huace Group plans to launch over ten mid-to-short-form series such as Zizhi Tongjian and Journey to the West, while actively applying AIGC to explore new paradigms of human-machine collaborative creation.
From historical epics to modern realism, and from premium long-form series to innovative content formats, Huace Group is driven by “premium content” and “technological empowerment”. This dual engine is building a new pattern of international communication—moving from “going global” to “going in” and finally “integrating in”. As Fu Binxing stated at the forum: “Huace Group is willing to work with the utmost sincerity to invite global creators, tech companies, platforms, and investors to build a ‘Smart Cultural & Creative Community.’ Let more Chinese stories carrying shared human emotions fly to every corner of the world on the wings of innovative technology”