China’s Top 10 Online Celebrities
China Internet Weekly just released their 2015 Web Celebrity List, ranking celebrities on the internet according to their reputation on social media, creativity and influence. AllChinaTech has compiled the top 10 most popular web celebrities for you.
10: Zhang Zetian
Known as the “milk tea girl”, Zhang Zetian, who became famous as early as 2009 simply for a photo of her holding a cup of milk tea, is well-deserving of the title “the predecessor of web celebrities”. Her story sounded pretty similar to many teenagers who shot to popularity online overnight, such as Alex from Target in 2014, but it changed when she met Richard Liu, the founder of e-commerce giant JD.com, at Columbia University in 2014.
It then turned into a Cinderella tale, as this 22-year-old girl got hitched with the e-commerce mogul in August 2015. The couple, who have an age difference of 19 years, became a hot topic among Chinese netizens.
9: Zhang Dayi
With regards to Zhang Dayi, one has to admit that she is a very business-minded web celebrity. As a model, Zhang became famous for her dressing style, which drew the attention of teenage girls in China. Later, Zhang took advantage of this to run her own clothing store on Taobao.
Now, the monthly turnover of her store has exceeded RMB one million (USD 154,000).
8: Mu Yalan
Unlike other female web celebrities who tend to rely on their charming appearances, Mu Yalan choose an unusual method, i.e. funny videos, to win popularity. Mu’s videos, usually no more than three minutes long, are a draw for her hilarious expressions and sped-up voice, a little like Alvin and the Chipmunks. Now, she has 2.7 million followers on Weibo, China’s leading social media platform, ranking ahead of many Chinese pop stars.
7: Gossip_I’m really too pure
Gossip_I’m really too pure is a well-known account on China’s Twitter-esque SNS Weibo. The owner of the account often exposes celebrity gossip, delivers movie reviews and tells funny jokes online. With its highly personal character, the content is close to the hearts of Weibo users. Recently, the account was awarded the title of “the Movie Star of Weibo”, an indication of its influence on the internet.
6: Jiaoshou Yi Xiaoxing
Yi Xiaoxing is a wretched man who became famous on Chinese online community mop.com a long time ago. He first acquired his fame as an amateur gaming live cast anchor but soon went viral because of his funny video series featuring his online avatar Jiaoshou. The name can be literally translated to Call Monster, a sarcastic and disrespectful way of addressing professors in Chinese.
Now with several classic cyber dramas series including “Never thought” and “Report the boss”, Yi Xiaoxing has built up a professional production team, becoming one of the most popular online drama producers in China. Last year, Yi Xiaoxiong entered the film industry with his first movie “Never thought”.
5: Little Vest Just for Memories
An ugly man who’s only 1.5 meters tall with short legs and a bald head– this is the Chinese netizen’s definition of famous Blogger Ma Jianguo. Better known as Little Vest Just for Memories, which was the pseudonym he used for his Weibo account, Ma is the most popular cat (and dog) blogger in China.
Created as a place to store his memories at the beginning, the account became very popular because of his two pets, a Scottish Fold and a Samoyed. Now, the account has more than 24 million followers on Weibo — after all, people’s love for fluffy little animals is universal.
4: Aikelili
Aikelili is a photographer who likes to make fun of himself by dressing up as a funny woman wearing ugly make-up. It is his humor that draws attention online. His fans affectionately named him “Xiaogongju”, which means little princess in English.
3: Little Talented Panda
When it comes to Little Talented Panda, only one word can describe him — a genius. He is known for creatively planting advertisements into his blog posts, which has become a new mode of copywriting popular with readers.
Little Talented Panda only updates his posts once or twice a month, but each of his posts normally get tens of thousands of retweets and millions of views. His black humor distinguishes him from the other boring, mediocre punsters in China.
2 : Papi Jiang
Who is Papi? Many people have started asking after she landed a RMB 12 million investment last week.
If you watch Papi’s video for the first time, you may get the impression of a crazy woman. A graduate from China’s Central Academy of Drama, Papi became a hit by uploading funny videos online. Papi’s most popular catchphrase is: “I’m Papi Jiang, a woman possessing both beauty and talent,” although most of her followers would prefer to call her a woman possessing a flat chest and little money.
Working on her master’s degree in directing from China’s top acting academy, Papi is skilled at acting as several different characters in one single video to voice her opinion on interesting topics such how people gossip behind each other’s backs at work. Her following on Weibo has exceeded 8 million and her 39 videos have been viewed a total of 64 million times on Youku, China’s top video streaming site.
1 : Wang Sicong
Not surprisingly, the coveted number one spot goes to Wang Sicong, the son of China’s richest man Wang Jianlin.
Wang Sicong, 28 years old, projects an image of a loud-mouthed and promiscuous playboy. He reportedly spent RMB 2.5 million (USD 385,000) on KTV in one single night. Still, he has gained the nickname “The People’s Husband” due in no small part to his wealth, charm and legions of female fans.
It’s rumored that Wang once said, “I don’t care whether my friends are rich or not, because no matter how rich they are, they won’t be richer than me.” He definitely deserves the title of richest cyber celebrity in China.
Originally published at cn.allchinatech.com on March 23, 2016.
