Five trainees perform on Chuang 2021 Photo: Courtesy of Tencent Video

The Island Boys group Photo: Courtesy of Tencent Video

Following the debut of the first two episodes of Chuang 2021 on China's streaming platform Tencent Video, the show has become a hot topic on social media platforms both at home and abroad, such as Sina Weibo and Twitter, due to the draw of its international trainees and the cultural exchanges taking place. 

A total of 90 trainees from countries like China, Japan and Thailand, who will spend months living and training under the guidance of a team of tutors led by Chinese actor Deng Chao, are competing against each other to become the members of a new boy band.  

Previous shows including Produce 101, Chuang 2019 and Chuang 2020, formed popular groups Rocket Girl 101, R1SE and BONBON GIRLS 303. The current show seeks to form a new 11-member boy group, the members of which will be determined by votes from the 90 trainees and six-member tutor team formed by Deng, actress Ning Jing, singer Zhou Shen, and Amber Liu as well as R1SE member Zhou Zhennan and BONBON GIRLS 303 member Nene from Thailand. 

Due to its high popularity among young people, the hashtags for the show and trainees such as Rikimaru Chikada, a well-known choreographer, and Santa, Chikada's partner from Japanese boy band Avex WARP, are trending on Sina Weibo. 

On Twitter and YouTube, videos of these trainees' singing and dancing performances on the show have gone viral. Thai fans have been flocking to social media to show support for two Thai trainees Nine and Patrick. 

"They really deserve to be here. I can't believe they can sync so well both in singing and dancing. So proud of Nine and Patrick. Done voting! Guys, lets support both all the way!" reads one comment.

During a time when face-to-face exchanges have become challenging, the show has lifted people's spirits by showing a group of international talents "share a stage and interact through music and dance despite language barriers." 

Saturday's episode saw a dance battle between Santa and Chinese trainee Liu Yu, which amazed millions due to their "seamless interaction." 

Chinese scholar Yin Hong from Tsinghua University said that the show "grasps three key factors for international cultural exchanges: youth, culture and growth" at a seminar in early February.