Radio Drama · 2026-07-17
Six billion plays: a Chinese primary-school audio-drama series
Li Nezha Goes to School, an original series from China's Ximalaya audio platform, has passed six billion plays, and its first animated adaptation launched on 17 July.
Ximalaya is China's largest audio and podcast platform. Li Nezha Goes to School (李哪吒上学记, roughly 'Li Nezha's School Diary') has run on it since January 2023; its heroine is a schoolgirl, Li Nezha, whose name nods to Nezha, the rebellious child-hero of Chinese mythology (a figure from Investiture of the Gods and Journey to the West) — but the story itself is a contemporary school comedy.
The series dramatises everyday lower-primary school life — discipline, friendships, emotions — and the makers visited schools together with practising teachers of Chinese language and literature to gather true-to-life situations. Since 2023 eight separate audio-drama series have appeared: the main line following grades 1 to 5, plus several stand-alone spin-offs with new characters.
These eight series' combined plays passed six billion by the end of April 2026. Building on that success, tie-in books followed the audio dramas — more than 555,000 copies sold — and on 17 July the first animated version (from Wuxian Media, Ximalaya and Puxin Culture) launched on China's major video platforms (Tencent Video, iQiyi, Youku, Mango TV, Bilibili), with ten episodes on the first day.
Sources: 手机网易网 (163.com) (2026-07-17) · Sina News (新浪) (2026-05-19)