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New Weibo Celebrity Papi Chan: More Than Fame and Money

Papi Chan is the new kid on the block when it comes to China’s online celebrities. Although this ‘online celebrity economy’ is often criticized, Papa might bring more than fame and money alone.

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With now over 8 million followers on Sina Weibo, Papi Chan is the new kid on the block when it comes to China’s online celebrities. Although China’s ‘online celebrity economy’ is often criticized, Papi might bring more than fame and money alone.

‘I am Papi Chan, a woman embodied with beauty and talent’ – this is the tagline of the 2016 newly emerging internet celebrity in China, Papi Chan.

swpage Screenshot of Papi Chan’s Weibo page, that has over 8 million fans.

Apart from attracting hundreds of thousands of fans for her short videos, Papi Chan is the top news on Chinese media recently for the 1,200,000 RMB (±184,000 US$) investment she received.

‘Papi酱’ literally reads as ‘Papi Jiang’. ‘Jiang’ is commonly used as the Chinese translation of ‘chan’, the Japanese diminutive suffix for intimacy, used for close friends or cute girls – an agreed term used among lovers of Japanese pop culture.

China’s online celebrities

Papi Chan is not the first rich internet celebrity in China. A recent ChinaNet article reviewed the top ten internet celebrities in China whose online fame brings in cash, and amongst many of the Forbes 2016 world’s richest list are many young Chinese billionaires. Getting rich as a social media star is a hot way of generating cash (also see by “The Youtube Effect of WeChat & Weibo).

The ChinaNet list includes Wang Sicong (王思聪), son of Wang Jianlin, owner of China’s biggest real-estate developer group. Rich and open-speaking, the young man attracts millions of fans on Sina Weibo, and is jokingly labeled as China’s “national husband” (国民老公).

Another celebrity on the list is Sister Milk-tea (奶茶妹妹). In 2009, the then high-school girl drew attention with a photo of her in school uniform with a cup of milk tea in hand, standing in the classroom. Sister Milk-Tea implies the labels netizens attach to her: innocent, lovely and lovable. Recently, however, Sister Milk-Tea attracted a new wave of attention with her marriage to JD.com founder Liu Qiangdong. The girl is now reportedly in charge of millions of capital.

Gathering online fame as a new way to increase individual capital value draws the attention even of official media like Xinhuanet. While marveling at how immaterial fame and popularity in the intangible digital world can translate into solid cash and market value, there are also doubts about so-called internet celebrity economy (网红经济). A HuanqiuNet comment says lack of originality and sustainability are the major weak points of such an economy.

How the brand effect of internet celebrities can be materialized in practice is also of concern to the now industrialized production chain.

Papi Chan: a breath of fresh air

The money and attention Papi Chan receives, however, should not divert attention from other changes implied in her popularity. A nice looking girl herself, Papi Chan’s success relies more on her talent than on her beauty. In her videos, Papi Chan appears without make-up, plain clothes, acting various roles in exaggeration – something which she herself jokingly calls “serious schizophrenia”.

The current master student at Central Academy of Drama in Beijing pinpoints the most relevant topics in grassroot Chinese life and offers sharp sarcastic critiques. Her video bantering the social and familial pressure faced by young people during Spring Festival is an immediate success. Papi Chan’s talent in observing and reflecting on social issues draws even the attention of Chinese state media platform People.cn, that writes that talented and capable young people like Papi Chan should be respected.

papichan Papichan talks in one of her many online Weibo videos.

Behind Papi Chan’s online success is the change in Chinese netizen’s demand of online entertainment. A QDaily survey shows that people are tired of certain aesthetics in online entertainment, which often entails identical “beautiful” faces, standardized love stories, and highly photoshopped pictures of food and everyday scenes.


One of Papi’s video’s, where she makes fun of those people that everyone has amongst their WeChat friends that they’ve actually never spoken to, until they need something from you..

Papi Chan’s success lies in the content of her videos. She talks about problems that are common and closely related to everyday life of Chinese, and her somewhat blunt words express the feelings of many Chinese Internet users. In that regard, Papi might just be the breath of fresh air Chinese netizens need.

By Diandian Guo

©2016 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

Diandian Guo is a China-born Master student of transdisciplinary and global society, politics & culture at the University of Groningen with a special interest for new media in China. She has a BA in International Relations from Beijing Foreign Language University, and is specialized in China's cultural memory.

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China Brands, Marketing & Consumers

Tick, Tock, Time to Pay Up? Douyin Is Testing Out Paywalled Short Videos

Is content payment a new beginning for the popular short video app Douyin (China’s TikTok) or would it be the end?

Manya Koetse

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The introduction of a Douyin novel feature, that would enable content creators to impose a fee for accessing their short video content, has sparked discussions across Chinese social media. Although the feature would benefit creators, many Douyin users are skeptical.

News that Chinese social media app Douyin is rolling out a new feature which allows creators to introduce a paywall for their short video content has triggered online discussions in China this week.

The feature, which made headlines on November 16, is presently in the testing phase. A number of influential content creators are now allowed to ‘paywall’ part of their video content.

Douyin is the hugely popular app by Chinese tech giant Bytedance. TikTok is the international version of the Chinese successful short video app, and although they’re often presented as being the same product, Douyin and Tiktok are actually two separate entities.

In addition to variations in content management and general usage, Douyin differs from TikTok in terms of features. Douyin previously experimented with functionalities such as charging users for accessing mini-dramas on the platform or the ability to tip content creators.

The pay-to-view feature on Douyin would require users to pay a certain fee in Douyin coins (抖币) in order to view paywalled content. One Douyin coin is equivalent to 0.1 yuan ($0,014). The platform itself takes 30% of the income as a service charge.

According to China Securities Times or STCN (证券时报网), Douyin insiders said that any short video content meeting Douyin’s requirements could be set as “pay-per-view.”

Creators, who can set their own paywall prices, should reportedly meet three criteria to qualify for the pay-to-view feature: their account cannot have any violation records for a period of 90 days, they should have at least 100,000 followers, and they have to have completed the real-name authentication process.

On Douyin and Weibo, Chinese netizens express various views on the feature. Many people do not think it would be a good idea to charge money for short videos. One video blogger (@小片片说大片) pointed out the existing challenge of persuading netizens to pay for longer videos, let alone expecting them to pay for shorter ones.

“The moment I’d need to pay money for it, I’ll delete the app,” some commenters write.

This statement appears to capture the prevailing sentiment among most internet users regarding a subscription-based Douyin environment. According to a survey conducted by the media platform Pear Video, more than 93% of respondents expressed they would not be willing to pay for short videos.

An online poll by Pear Video showed that the majority of respondents would not be willing to pay for short videos on Douyin.

“This could be a breaking point for Douyin,” one person predicts: “Other platforms could replace it.” There are more people who think it would be the end of Douyin and that other (free) short video platforms might take its place.

Some commenters, however, had their own reasons for supporting a pay-per-view function on the platform, suggesting it would help them solve their Douyin addiction. One commenter remarked, “Fantastic, this might finally help me break free from watching short videos!” Another individual responded, “Perhaps this could serve as a remedy for my procrastination.”

As discussions about the new feature trended, Douyin’s customer service responded, stating that it would eventually be up to content creators whether or not they want to activate the paid feature for their videos, and that it would be up to users whether or not they would be interested in such content – otherwise they can just swipe away.

Another social media user wrote: “There’s only one kind of video I’m willing to pay for, and it’s not on Douyin.”

By Manya Koetse

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©2023 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

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China Brands, Marketing & Consumers

Tsingtao Brewery ‘Pee-Gate’: Factory Worker Caught Urinating in Raw Material Warehouse

The pee incident, that occurred at a subsidiary Tsingtao Beer factory, has caused concerns among consumers.

Manya Koetse

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A video that has circulated on Chinese social media since October 19 shows how an alleged worker at a Tsingtao Beer factory climbs over a wall at the raw material production site and starts to urinate.

The incident reportedly occurred at the Tsingtao Beer Factory No. 3, a subsidiary of the Tsingtao Brewing Company, located in Qingdao, Shandong.

After the video went viral, the Tsingtao Brewery Company issued a statement that they took the incident very seriously and immediately report it to the authorities, who have started an investigation into the case. Meanwhile, the specific batch in production has been halted and shut off.

The incident has caused concern among consumers, and some commenters on social media wonder if this was the first time something like this has happened. “How do we know this hasn’t happened many times before?”

Others speculate about what might have motivated the man to urinate at the production site. There are those who believe that the man is part of an undercover operation orchestrated by a rivaling company, aimed at discrediting Tsingtao. It’s even suggested that there were two ‘moles’ leaking in this incident: one doing the urinating, and the other doing the video ‘leak.’

Meanwhile, there are voices who are critical of Tsingtao, suggesting that the renowned beer brand has not effectively addressed the ‘pee gate’ scandal. It remains uncertain how this incident will impact the brand, but some netizens are already expressing reservations about ordering a Tsingtao beer as a result.

But there are also those who joke about the “pissing incident,” wondering if Tsingtao Beer might soon launch a special “urine flavored beer.”

By Manya Koetse

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Featured photo by Jay Ang (link).

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©2023 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

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