Promotional material for The Bad Kids Photo: Courtesy of iQIYI

The filming locations of the Chinese hit crime/suspense drama The Bad Kids have become popular tourist attractions among its fans, with many Chinese netizens saying that the well-received TV series not only brings joy to audiences, but can also boost tourism in the actual places used for filming.

Many of the sets in the show, such as the "Ben Li Shi Duo" Store at the street corner, the Xinhua Bookstore on the ­pedestrian street, and the "Shui Jing Tou" restaurant, were filmed in an old township called Chikan in Zhanjiang, South China's Guangdong Province, according to a video posted by Pear Video on Sina Weibo.

One local resident said in the video that he thought the cast were filming a lousy TV drama, and never expected the show to become so popular.

The abandoned ship docked at the beach in the drama is actually called "City on the Sea," which is 120 meters long and 20 meters high, and has been there for 40 to 50 years, the video shows. The ship's surrounding area has now been developed into a tourist spot.

The swimming pool, where Zhu Chao­yang (one of the protagonists played by Rong Zishan) and his father swam in the show, is located in Zhan­jiang diving school and was built in 1943. 

"After The Bad Kids became a hit, we have had up to 2,000 visitors a day at the swimming pool," said the school's vice president, adding that the school has even cultivated Olympic champions such as female diver Lao Lishi and male diver He Chong.

The video went viral on the internet and had been viewed almost 20 million times as of Tuesday.

"The popularity of the filming locations of The Bad Kids shows that the drama is a big success. I will definitely travel to those places in person," one netizen commented.

"A good TV series can actually bring a lot of tourism to the shooting locations and boost local economies," said ­another, adding that the economic potential of this industry should not be overlooked.

The Bad Kids tells the story of three children who accidentally film their substitute math teacher pushing his elderly in-laws off a cliff, and later become involved in more murders themselves. 

The show has gained unprecedented high praise among Chinese netizens, and the hashtag for the show has gained more than 5 billion views on Sina Weibo as of Tuesday.

Since it premiered on Chinese streaming platform iQIYI on June 16, the drama has remained at the top of the most popular dramas on leading Chinese media review site Douban, where it has a high score of 8.9/10.