Weiblog
Bank Teller Counts Money by Listening to it in CCTV’s “Impossible Challenge”
It’s all about the money, after all.
Published
7 years agoon
“Impossible Challenge,” also known as “Beyond the Edge” (挑战不可能), is a challenge TV show by CCTV.
In the latest episode of the third season of “The Impossible Challenge,” a woman named Wang Dongyun (王东云), who works as a bank teller, was challenged to count money by listening to it.
According to Sina News, the woman handles thousands of RMB bills every day at work and has trained herself to count the money by listening to it being handled. She has become so skilled at it, that she can even keep counting the bills being handled by two different people at the same time.
Watch the scene here:
Many people on Weibo say that people such as Wang Dongjun are becoming rarer as the skills of these workers are increasingly being replaced by machines and robots.
There are also netizens who say they appreciate the challenge: “I watched this twice, because I really love the sound of money,” one person commented.
By Manya Koetse
Follow @whatsonweibo
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©2018 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.
Manya is the founder and editor-in-chief of What's on Weibo, offering independent analysis of social trends, online media, and digital culture in China for over a decade. Subscribe to gain access to content, including the Weibo Watch newsletter, which provides deeper insights into the China trends that matter. More about Manya at manyakoetse.com or follow on X.
China Arts & Entertainment
Controversial Wanghong Livestreamers Are Becoming a Weibo Staple in China
‘Wanghong’ was a mark of online fame; now, it’s increasingly tied to controversy and scandal.
Published
6 days agoon
October 27, 2024As livestreaming continues to gain popularity in China, so do the controversies surrounding the industry. Negative headlines involving high-profile livestreamers, as well as aspiring influencers hoping to make it big, frequently dominate Weibo’s trending topics.
These headlines usually revolve around China’s so-called wǎnghóng (网红) influencers. Wanghong is a shortened form of the phrase “internet celebrity” (wǎngluò hóngrén 网络红人). The term doesn’t just refer to internet personalities but also captures the viral nature of their influence—describing content or trends that gain rapid online attention and spread widely across social media.
Recently, an incident sparked debate over China’s wanghong livestreamers, focusing on Xiaohuxing (@小虎行), a streamer with around 60,000 followers on Douyin, who primarily posts evaluations of civil aviation services in China.
On October 15, 2024, at Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport, Xiaohuxing confronted a volunteer at the automated check-in counter, insisting she remove her mask while livestreaming the entire encounter. He was heard demanding, “What gives you the right to wear a mask? What gives you the right not to take it off?” and even attempted to forcibly remove her mask, challenging her to call the police.
He also argued with a male traveler who tried to intervene. In the end, the airport’s security officers detained him. Shortly after the incident, a video of the livestream went viral on Weibo under various hashtags (e.g. #网红小虎行机场强迫志愿者摘口罩#) and attracted millions of views. The following day, Xiaohuxing’s Douyin account was banned, and all his videos were removed. The Shenzhen Public Security Bureau later announced that the account’s owner, identified as Wang, had been placed in administrative detention.
On October 13, just days before, another livestreaming controversy erupted at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport. Malatang (@麻辣烫), a popular Douyin streamer with over a million followers, secretly filmed a young couple kissing and mocked them, continuing to film while passing through security—an area where filming is prohibited.
Her livestream quickly went viral, sparking discussions about unauthorized filming and misconduct among Chinese wanghong. In response, Malatang’s agent posted an apology video. However, the affected couple hired a lawyer and reported the incident to the police (#被百万粉丝网红偷拍当事人发声#). On October 17, Malatang’s Douyin account was banned, and her videos were removed.
In both cases, netizens uncovered additional examples of inappropriate behavior by Xiaohuxing and Malatang in past broadcasts. For example, Xiaohuxing was reportedly aggressive towards a flight attendant, demanding she kneel to serve him, while Malatang was criticized for scolding a delivery person who declined to interact with her on camera.
Comments on Weibo included, “They’ll do anything for traffic. Wanghong are getting a bad reputation because of people like this.” Another added, “It seems as if ‘wanghong’ has become a negative term now.”
Rising Scrutiny in China’s Wanghong Economy
Xiaohuxing and Malatang are far from isolated cases. Recently, many other wanghong livestreamers have also been caught up in negative news.
One such figure is Dong Yuhui (董宇辉), a former English teacher at New Oriental (新东方) who transitioned to livestreaming for East Buy (东方甄选), where he mixed education with e-commerce (read here). Dong gained significant popularity and boosted East Buy’s brand before leaving to start his own company. Recently, however, Dong faced backlash for inaccurate statements about Marie Curie during an October 9 livestream. He incorrectly claimed that Curie discovered uranium, invented the X-ray machine, and won the Nobel Prize in Literature, among other things.
Considering his public image as a knowledgeable “teacher” livestreamer, this incident sparked skepticism among viewers about his actual expertise. A related hashtag (#董宇辉称居里夫人获得诺贝尔文学奖#) garnered over 81 million views on Weibo. In addition to this criticism, Dong is also being questioned about potential false advertising, which is a major challenge for all livestreamers selling products during their streams.
Another popular livestreamer, Dongbei Yujie (@东北雨姐), is currently also facing criticism over product quality and false advertising claims. Originally from Northeast China, Dongbei Yujie shares content focused on rural life in the region. Recently, her Douyin account, which boasts an impressive 22 million followers, was muted due to concerns over the quality of products she promoted, such as sweet potato noodles (which reportedly contained no sweet potato). Despite issuing public apologies—which have garnered over 160 million views under the hashtag “Dongbei Yujie Apologizes” (#东北雨姐道歉#)—the controversy has impacted her account and led to a penalty of 1.65 million yuan (approximately 231,900 USD).
Former top Douyin livestreamer Fengkuang Xiaoyangge (@疯狂小杨哥) is also facing a career downturn. Leading up to the 2024 Mid-Autumn Festival, he promoted Hong Kong Meicheng mooncakes in his livestreams, branding them as a high-end Hong Kong product. However, it was soon revealed that these mooncakes had no retail presence in Hong Kong and were primarily produced in Guangzhou and Foshan, sparking accusations of deceptive marketing. Due to this incident and previous cases of misleading advertising, his company came under investigation and was penalized. In just a few weeks, Fengkuang Xiaoyangge lost over 8.5 million followers (#小杨哥掉粉超850万#).
It’s not only ecommerce livestreamers who are getting caught up in scandal. Recently, the influencer “Xiaoxiao Nuli Shenghuo” (@小小努力生活) and her mother were arrested for fabricating a tragic story – including abandonment, adoption, and hardships – to gain sympathy from over one million followers and earn money through donations and sales. They, and two others who helped them manage their account, were sentenced to ten days in prison for ‘false advertising.’
Wanghong Fame: Opportunity and Risk
China’s so-called ‘wanghong economy’ has surged in recent years, with countless content creators emerging across platforms like Douyin, Kuaishou, and Taobao Live. These platforms have transformed interactions between content creators and viewers and changed how products are marketed and sold.
For many aspiring influencers, becoming a livestreamer is the first step to building a presence in the streaming world. It serves as a gateway to attracting traffic and potentially monetizing their online influence.
However, before achieving widespread fame, some livestreamers resort to using outrageous or even offensive content to capture attention, even if it leads to criticism. For example, before his account was banned, Xiaohuxing set his comment section to allow only followers to comment, gaining 3,000 new followers after his controversial livestream at Shenzhen Airport went viral. Many speculated that some followers joined just to leave critical comments, but it nonetheless grew his following.
As livestreamers gain significant fame, they must exercise greater caution, as they often hold substantial influence over their audiences, making accuracy essential. Mistakes, whether intentional or not, can quickly erode trust, as seen in the example of the super popular Dong Yuhui, who faced backlash after his inaccurate comment about Marie Curie sparked public criticism.
China’s top makeup livestreamer, Li Jiaqi (李佳琦), experienced a similar reputational crisis in September last year. Responding dismissively to a viewer who commented on the high price of an eyebrow pencil, Li replied, “Have you received a raise after all these years? Have you worked hard enough?” Commentators pointed out that the pencil’s cost per gram was double that of gold at the time. Accused of “forgetting his roots” as a former humble salesman, Li lost one million Weibo followers in a day (read more here).
Despite the challenges and risks, becoming a wanghong remains an attractive career path for many. A mid-2023 Weibo survey on “Contemporary Employment Trends” showed that 61.6% of nearly 10,000 recent graduates were open to emerging professions like livestreaming, while 38.4% preferred more traditional career paths.
Taming the Wanghong Economy
In response to the increasing number of controversies and scandals brought by some wanghong livestreamers, Chinese authorities are implementing stricter regulations to monitor the livestreaming industry.
In 2021, China’s Propaganda Department and other authorities began emphasizing the societal influence of online influencers as role models. That year, the China Association of Performing Arts introduced the “Management Measures for the Warning and Return of Online Hosts” (网络主播警示与复出管理办法), which makes it challenging, if not impossible, for “canceled” celebrities to stage a comeback as livestreamers (read more).
The Regulation on the Implementation of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests (中华人民共和国消费者权益保护法实施条例), effective July 1, 2024, imposes stricter rules on livestream sales. It requires livestreams to disclose both the promoter and the product owner and mandates platforms to protect consumer rights. In cases of illegal activity, the platform, livestreaming room, and host are all held accountable. Violations may result in warnings, confiscation of illegal earnings, fines, business suspensions, or even the revocation of business licenses.
These regulations have created a more controlled “wanghong” economy, a marked shift from the earlier, more unregulated era of livestreaming. While some view these measures as restrictive, many commenters support the tighter oversight.
A well-known Kuaishou influencer, who collaborates with a person with dwarfism, recently faced backlash for sharing “vulgar content,” including videos where he kicks his collaborator (see video) or stages sensational scenes just for attention.
Most commenters welcome the recent wave of criticism and actions taken against such influencers, including Xiaohuxing and Dongbei Yujie, for their behavior. “It’s easy to become famous and make money like this,” commenters noted, adding, “It’s good to see the industry getting cleaned up.”
State media outlet People’s Daily echoed this sentiment in an October 21 commentary, stating, “No matter how many fans you have or how high your traffic is, legal lines must not be crossed. Those who cross the red line will ultimately pay the price.”
This article and recent incidents have sparked more online discussions about the kind of influencers needed in the livestreaming era. Many suggest that, beyond adhering to legal boundaries, celebrity livestreamers should demonstrate a higher moral standard and responsibility within this digital landscape. “We need positive energy, we need people who are authentic,” one Weibo user wrote.
Others, however, believe misbehaving “wanghong” livestreamers naturally face consequences: “They rise fast, but their popularity fades just as quickly.”
When asked, “What kind of influencers do we need?” one commenter responded, “We don’t need influencers at all.”
By Wendy Huang
Follow @whatsonweibo
Edited for clarity by Manya Koetse
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China Memes & Viral
The Viral Bao’an: How a Xiaoxitian Security Guard Became Famous Over a Pay Raise
Most netizens aren’t buying the story about the Xiaoxitian bao’an allegedly “misunderstanding” his dismissal.
Published
1 week agoon
October 23, 2024An elderly man with a friendly face from Shanxi Province’s Xi County became China’s most famous security guard this week. After first receiving a raise and then seemingly being fired from his job, the situation sparked so much discussion that it became a top trending topic on Weibo.
The man in question is a bǎo’ān (保安, security guard) at the Xiaoxitian (小西天) temple complex area in Xi County in the city of Linfen. That area has recently became a hot destination among domestic travelers because of the wildly popular video game Black Myth: Wukong. The game, inspired by the classic novel Journey to the West, features numerous real-life landmarks from Shanxi province.
As a so-called “Wukong site,” Xiaoxitian, among with dozens of other spots in Shanxi, has seen a surge in visitors, including gaming bloggers, travel vloggers, and online influencers.
One of these influencers is the Douyin vlogger “So Many Times” (@那么多曾经), who has been documenting the success of Xiaoxitian on her channel. The vlogger, who now has 12,000 fans, has been capturing the rising number of visitors to the area, especially during this year’s National Day holiday.
Her videos often focus on the best times to visit without having to queue, traffic updates, and daily visitor counts. In one video, she even captured the first group of foreign tourists visiting the area.
“They gave me a raise”
Recently, the vlogger also featured some of the security guards at Xiaoxitian, chatting with them about their local dialect, their work, and how they manage the crowds.
In the videos by “So Many Times,” the vlogger focused on one particular security guard—an elderly bao’an who was especially friendly to her. In several videos, he shared how much he enjoyed his job and the increasing responsibilities that came with Xiaoxitian’s growing popularity. He soon became affectionately known among visitors as the “Security Guard Uncle” (保安大叔).
In a video posted on October 15, the bao’an happily shared how grateful he was for the visitors. Smiling, he said, “I attended a meeting, and they gave me a raise. I used to earn 1,700 yuan (US$240) a month, and they added 500 yuan (US$70), so now it’s 2,100 (he meant 2,200 yuan/US$310). Everyone’s salary went up.” (See video here)
The security guard suggested the tourists were to be thanked for local bao’an getting a better pay, as it increased their workload.
The video quickly went viral—becoming the most-watched on the vlogger’s channel—as some viewers appreciated how ‘influencer tourism’ can benefit local workers. Others, however, were surprised by the 1,700 yuan/month (US$240) salary, considering it far too low. Beyond these discussions, the uncle’s friendly demeanor, humble enthusiasm, and obvious passion for his work touched many hearts.
A news reporter for Jimu News verified with the local citizen hotline that the minimum monthly wage in Xi County is 1,780 yuan ($250), and that the 1,700 yuan salary previously mentioned by the security guard was below this standard.
A few days later, on October 19, the Douyin vlogger whose videos made ‘Uncle Bao’an’ famous posted another short video (which has since been taken down). In this video, the security guard looked tired and said, “They [the superiors] told me not to work anymore. I didn’t say anything wrong, but they don’t want me to continue.”
He explained that his leaders thought it was inappropriate for him to appear in the other videos, though he felt it was spreading positive energy.
“These past few days, I haven’t been feeling well. They don’t want me to work, and I’m very sad.. I will never forget everyone’s support.”
“He didn’t hear it clearly”
News of the popular security guard’s alleged dismissal flooded the internet, becoming one of the hottest topics on Weibo.
Many netizens were outraged, feeling that the bao’an was unfairly forced to stop doing his job. They suggested he was dismissed because he disclosed information about his pay and the recent raise.
In light of the online controversy, the local tourism authorities responded to clarify the situation on October 20.
A spokesperson from Linfen suggested that the bao’an had not heard it clearly (“他就没听清楚”), and was not dismissed at all. Instead, he was simply given a few days off and “reassigned to a less demanding role” to lighten his workload, considering his age and the fact that he had been working without a break for the past two months.
“We all heard it clearly”
On social media, most netizens aren’t buying the story about the bao’an allegedly “misunderstanding” his dismissal.
“Do they think we’re fools? Do they think we haven’t all seen the video on the 19th?” one commenter wrote.
“Ha ha ha, if this hadn’t blown up online, he would have been fired. But because it went viral, now he’s ‘transferred to another post,’” another Weibo user remarked.
“We all heard it clearly,” another blogger added.
People suspected that the security guard was initially fired—possibly for speaking about his low income or because he was becoming a tourist attraction himself—but the decision was reversed after it sparked public outrage online. Rather than offering an apology, the authorities then claimed it was all just a misunderstanding.
In light of the controversy and worried over the bao’an’s well-being, other Douyin users visiting Xiaoxitian began searching for the popular security guard and filmed themselves finding him at a different location. In one such video, ‘Uncle Bao’an’ confirmed that his superiors had reassigned him to lighten his workload. Some viewers commented that he didn’t seem as happy as before.
However, in the latest video by “So Many Times” (@那么多曾经), the vlogger once again features her favorite bao’an. (She used a new account for this, as her original account was restricted from posting new videos). In the video, he expresses his gratitude and happiness for the overwhelming support he has received.
“I want to thank all of you online friends for your support and your concern for me. It makes me very happy. Thank you. so many people wanted to take a picture with me today. People from Henan, from Sichuan. So many people wanted to shake my hand.”
Despite the controversy, the bao’an seems quite pleased with his sudden fame. If he does end up losing his job after all, he could always launch a new career as an online influencer.
By Manya Koetse
(follow on X, LinkedIn, or Instagram)
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©2024 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.
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Controversial Wanghong Livestreamers Are Becoming a Weibo Staple in China
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