Shang'an literally means climbing ashore, and in slang it means escaping a hard situation into a safe one. Its commonest use is for passing a competitive exam, above all the civil service or graduate entrance exams: kaogong shang'an (考公上岸) means landing a secure government job. In the drama industry it is used for a move up the ladder, as when actors from vertical micro-dramas cross into full-length television. A commentary in The Paper used ren shang'an (people ashore) and IP shang'an (stories ashore) for short-drama talent and properties moving into long series such as Quite the Girl.
Dramas
Where it comes up
Short to long: China's micro-dramas start sending hits and stars upstream
Two premieres on one October day show the traffic between vertical micro-dramas and long Chinese television running the other way: a four-billion-view phone hit remade as a 24-episode series, and last year's biggest micro-drama actress in a Republican-era drama. What the long platforms are buying, what the actors have to relearn, and why a hashtag about short dramas making people stupid makes the move matter.