The long-running reality series 'Keep Running' has hit a significant stumbling block during its 14th season, sparking a national debate over the ethics and economics of China’s high-budget variety TV industry. What began as a minor editing error—mistakenly featuring landmarks from Handan during a cultural special dedicated to Anyang—has snowballed into a broader scrutiny of the show’s opaque financial dealings with local governments. The incident has forced a public apology from the production team and raised questions about the true cost of 'cultural promotion' on the taxpayer's dime.
While Anyang officials were quick to deny paying the production team 800,000 RMB for the recent visit, other reports suggest that a 'pay-to-play' model has become standard practice for the industry. Documents and rumors linked to previous filming sessions in Jiangshan and Xinchang suggest astronomical fees ranging from 8.5 million to 9.5 million RMB per episode. This shift transforms what was once perceived as a mutually beneficial partnership for regional tourism into a significant financial burden for municipal culture and tourism bureaus.
The commercial engine behind 'Keep Running' is also under heavy observation following a major sponsorship shake-up. For over a decade, the dairy brand Anmuxi reportedly paid up to 600 million RMB annually for naming rights, a record-breaking partnership that ended this year as the herbal tea brand Wanglaoji took over for a figure still estimated in the hundreds of millions. As corporate sponsors tighten their budgets in a cooling economy, the pressure on local governments to bridge the funding gap for these high-profile productions appears to have intensified.
Beyond the financial ledger, the show is facing criticism for its environmental and geographic footprints. Reports of fans trampling heritage sites and leaving litter at the Yinxu Museum in Anyang highlight the 'hidden costs' that local administrators must cover long after the cameras stop rolling. Furthermore, audience data reveals a stark geographic bias, with the show overwhelmingly favoring coastal provinces like Zhejiang while completely ignoring inland provinces such as Hunan and Anhui for over 14 seasons, undermining its claim to be a representative national program.