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BEIJING, Sept. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- iQIYI's original variety show, "The King of Stand-Up Comedy", recently wrapped its second season, cementing the platform's role in China's growing comedy scene. With Jianing ZHAI crowned as the season's champion, the show continued its successful run, generating over 5,100 trending topics and scoring an 8,121 on iQIYI's peak content popularity index, a key metric for a show's influence and reach.
The show's appeal lies in its sharp take on modern life. Bringing together 48 comedians from China and abroad, the series finds humor in the everyday – from workplace challenges and family dynamics to broader social topics. This blend of relatability and humor sparks conversations beyond the screen.
For instance, one comedian's routine on airline uniform policies helped trigger actual policy reviews at several airlines, showing how comedy can lead to tangible social progress. Other contestants brought fresh takes on trending topics like technology and education, offering diverse perspectives on the details of daily life.
Beyond its social impact, "The King of Stand-Up Comedy" is helping to grow China's comedy industry. Initiated by the esteemed Hong Kong film star and director Stephen Chow, the show gives up-and-coming comedians a stage to find their voices and share their unique perspectives. This season continues the core spirit of season one with the theme "Life needs comedy, and comedy belongs to everyone," while introducing innovative competition formats such as team battles and call-out duels, pushing comedians to explore new creative ground.
The show's influence was felt beyond the stage. It topped major variety show charts across multiple third-party data platforms, including Enlightent, Guduo, Endata, and Dengta. Notably, "The King of Stand-Up Comedy" Season 2 was the No. 1 variety show in Enlightent's August "Dominating Screen Chart of Variety Shows," and the only comedy program to earn the spot in 2025.
As Season 2 closes, the appetite for stand-up comedy in China continues to grow. iQIYI is committed to supporting this ecosystem by giving new talent the stage to launch their careers. Through shows like "The King of Stand-Up Comedy," comedians are turning their dreams into reality – rising from everyday individuals to celebrated stars and helping to shape the future of Chinese comedy.
Contact:
iQIYI Press, press@qiyi.com
BEIJING, Sept. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- iQIYI's original variety show, "The King of Stand-Up Comedy", recently wrapped its second season, cementing the platform's role in China's growing comedy scene. With Jianing ZHAI crowned as the season's champion, the show continued its successful run, generating over 5,100 trending topics and scoring an 8,121 on iQIYI's peak content popularity index, a key metric for a show's influence and reach.
The show's appeal lies in its sharp take on modern life. Bringing together 48 comedians from China and abroad, the series finds humor in the everyday – from workplace challenges and family dynamics to broader social topics. This blend of relatability and humor sparks conversations beyond the screen.
For instance, one comedian's routine on airline uniform policies helped trigger actual policy reviews at several airlines, showing how comedy can lead to tangible social progress. Other contestants brought fresh takes on trending topics like technology and education, offering diverse perspectives on the details of daily life.
Beyond its social impact, "The King of Stand-Up Comedy" is helping to grow China's comedy industry. Initiated by the esteemed Hong Kong film star and director Stephen Chow, the show gives up-and-coming comedians a stage to find their voices and share their unique perspectives. This season continues the core spirit of season one with the theme "Life needs comedy, and comedy belongs to everyone," while introducing innovative competition formats such as team battles and call-out duels, pushing comedians to explore new creative ground.
The show's influence was felt beyond the stage. It topped major variety show charts across multiple third-party data platforms, including Enlightent, Guduo, Endata, and Dengta. Notably, "The King of Stand-Up Comedy" Season 2 was the No. 1 variety show in Enlightent's August "Dominating Screen Chart of Variety Shows," and the only comedy program to earn the spot in 2025.
As Season 2 closes, the appetite for stand-up comedy in China continues to grow. iQIYI is committed to supporting this ecosystem by giving new talent the stage to launch their careers. Through shows like "The King of Stand-Up Comedy," comedians are turning their dreams into reality – rising from everyday individuals to celebrated stars and helping to shape the future of Chinese comedy.
Contact:
iQIYI Press, press@qiyi.com
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
iQIYI's "The King of Stand-Up Comedy" Wraps Season 2, Proving Humor Drives Progress
ALULA, Saudi Arabia, Jan. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Today marks the official opening of Desert X AlUla 2026, the landmark fourth edition of the international, open-air biennial exhibition. Arts AlUla, in collaboration with Desert X, welcomes visitors to experience a stellar line-up of Saudi and international multi-generational artists whose site-responsive earthworks, sculptures, and installations will engage in a powerful dialogue with the awe-inspiring landscapes and layered heritage of AlUla.
As a premier destination rich in ancient history and breathtaking nature, AlUla, located in Northwest Saudi Arabia, solidifies its position on the global stage as a dynamic, emerging land art destination with Desert X AlUla, the region's first public art biennale, and a key highlight of the AlUla Arts Festival.
The 2026 edition of Desert X AlUla brings together 11 acclaimed artists whose diverse works reflect a wide spectrum of ideas, materials, and traditions. From monumental kinetic sculpture to sound-based explorations above and below ground, each commission is deeply rooted in relationships to AlUla's distinctive environment, further cementing Desert X AlUla's reputation as a globally significant platform for site-responsive land art.
Desert X AlUla runs until February 28, 2026, as a cornerstone of the annual AlUla Arts Festival. Curated by Wejdan Reda, Zoé Whitley, with artistic direction by Neville Wakefield, and Raneem Farsi, its fourth edition explores 'Space Without Measure.' Inspired by Kahlil Gibran, the theme fosters contemplation of imagination within AlUla's natural settings. The exhibition, set in the desert canyons of AlUla, serves as a pre-opening programme for Wadi AlFann, offering a pivotal glimpse into AlUla's plans to create a permanent land art 'Valley of the Arts.'
Hamad Alhomiedan, Director of Arts & Creative Industries at the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU), said: "At Desert X AlUla 2026, audiences will engage with art that deeply converses with AlUla's unique landscapes and rich heritage. These compelling commissions highlight AlUla's dynamic transformation into a major global destination, where ancient and contemporary expressions converge. This exhibition is part of our broader revitalisation of AlUla as a culturally rich destination to live, work and visit and integral to positioning AlUla in the global dialogue of contemporary art and as a precursor to monumental projects like Wadi AlFann."
Participating artist/artworks are:
- Sara Abdu, A Kingdom Where No One Dies: Contours of Resonance
- Mohammad Alfaraj, What was the Question Again?
- Mohammed AlSaleem, The Thorn, AlShuruf Unit, The Triangles, Flower Bud, and Al Ahilla (courtesy of Royal Commission for Riyadh City)
- Tarek Atoui, The Water Song
- Bahraini-Danish, Bloom
- Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, Imole Red
- Agnes Denes, The Living Pyramid
- Ibrahim El-Salahi, Haraza Tree
- Basmah Felemban, Murmur of Pebbles
- Vibha Galhotra, Future Fables
- Héctor Zamora, Tar HyPar
For further information, please contact:
Sabrine.Shaw@bursonglobal.com
AlUlaArtsFestival@bursonglobal.com
Multimedia gallery:
High-resolution photos of all 11 artists and their artworks can be found here.
About AlUla and Arts AlUla
Located 1,100 km from Riyadh, in North-West Saudi Arabia, AlUla is a place of extraordinary natural and human heritage. The vast area, covering 22,561km², includes a lush oasis valley, towering sandstone mountains and ancient cultural heritage sites dating back thousands of years to when the Lihyan and Nabataean kingdoms reigned.
The most well-known and recognised site in AlUla is Hegra, the principal southern city of the Nabataean Kingdom and Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO World Heritage Site. AlUla is also home to ancient Dadan, the capital of the Dadan and Lihyan Kingdoms and considered to be one of the most developed 1st millennium BCE cities of the Arabian Peninsula, and Jabal Ikmah, an open air library of hundreds of inscriptions and writings in many different languages. AlUla Old Town Village, a labyrinth of more than 900 mudbrick homes was developed from at least the 12th century and has been revitalised as the vibrant hub for visitors and residents.
The creation of Arts AlUla within The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) is a commitment to crafting the next chapters in a millennia of artistic creation – celebrating cultural inheritance and shaping a future inspired by artists built be artists. The work of Arts AlUla seeks to preserve this legacy: fuse the old with the new; the local with the international, keeping the arts central to the spirit of AlUla as a place of extraordinary natural and human heritage.
Wadi AlFann, meaning 'Valley of the Arts,' will be a global cultural destination for land art, unveiling from 2028 onwards, where era-defining works by artists from around the world will be permanently sited in the monumental landscape of AlUla, the extraordinary desert region of north-west Saudi Arabia.
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
Desert X AlUla 2026: monumental land art exhibition opens in the ancient oasis of AlUla
