iQIYI Premieres Feng Xiaogang-directed Series 'Crossroad Bistro'

Acclaimed director's first online series hits iQIYI

2021.07.16

BEIJING, July 16, 2021 -- iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ: IQ) ('iQIYI' or 'the Company'), an innovative market-leading online entertainment service in China, is pleased to announce the exclusive online premiere of Crossroad Bistro on July 11. The series is directed by acclaimed Chinese director Feng Xiaogang and produced by a team of award-winning industry veterans. iQIYI, Mayla Media, New Force Culture, and Aranya Productions co-presented the series.

iQIYI Premieres Feng Xiaogang-directed Series ‘Crossroad Bistro’

Crossroad Bistro tells the story of five modern women with distinct personalities and backgrounds running a restaurant together while trying to balance their individual dreams. Through mutual support and encouragement, the women forge friendships, find love, and discover their purpose in life along the way.  

Representing the first series Feng Xiaogang created in over 25 years, Crossroad Bistro is also the acclaimed director's first attempt at an online drama. Besides Feng, the drama features a stellar production team comprised of Chen Ping, screenwriter of acclaimed drama series such as The Years of Passion Burning and Qing Yi; Zhao Xiaoding, a cinematographer who has won awards and received nominations at the Golden Rooster Awards, Hong Kong Film Awards, Golden Horse Awards and Academy Awards for films such as Hero, House of Flying Daggers, Curse of the Golden Flower and Cliff Walkers; Shi Haiying, Feng's production designer for Aftershock, Back to 1942 and If You Are the One; and Lao Zai, a versatile music producer who has worked on movies, drama series, and musicals.

In terms of casting, Crossroad Bistro features top actors from across generations. The five female protagonists Lan Yingying, Jin Chen, Chuo Ni, Sui Yuan, and Wang Luodan portray them at different stages of their lives, while Han Geng, Zheng Yecheng, Zhu Yuchen, and Yang Xuwen are the male leads. They are further supported by a cast of veteran actors such as Liu Xiaoqing, Zhu Shimao, Ding Zhicheng, Xu Fan, Song Dandan, and Huang Bo as well as well-known actors like Ren Suxi, Zhu Yilong, Zhang Yishan, Zhou Yan, Jiang Yiyi, Gao Shuguang, and Zhang Xilin.

Commenting on the new series, Gong Yu, founder and CEO of iQIYI, said that the fast-evolving streaming industry needs more innovative content in order to meet the wide-ranging tastes of consumers today.

"Producing content that can meet the consumers' diverse needs relies heavily on our ability to partner with leading artists, directors, screenwriters, cinematographers and producers," Gong said. "Crossroad Bistro is an example of a high-quality collaboration between iQIYI and the industry's top talent. The upshot is a thought-provoking drama that goes beyond the stories of the individual women but examines the wider society in which they live."

About iQIYI, Inc.
iQIYI, Inc. is an innovative market-leading online entertainment service in China. Its corporate DNA combines creative talent with technology, fostering an environment for continuous innovation and the production of blockbuster content. iQIYI's platform features highly popular original content, as well as a comprehensive library of other professionally-produced content, partner-generated content and user-generated content. The Company distinguishes itself in the online entertainment industry by its leading technology platform powered by advanced AI, big data analytics and other core proprietary technologies. iQIYI attracts a massive user base with tremendous user engagement, and has developed a diversified monetization model including membership services, online advertising services, content distribution, live broadcasting, online games, IP licensing and online literature.