livestream

Int’l Luxury Brands Embrace E-Commerce to Attract Chinese Buyers

Timely reports on issues and events from across China. Drawing on a vast range of sources, these succinct articles provide insights into the significance of each issue in a wider context.

NEWS

Sales of high-end products online have dramatically increased compared to offline shopping.

Sixth Tone

Hong Kong TV Company Deploys Stars as Salespeople on Taobao

The television broadcasting company is evoking nostalgia while trying to cash in on the mainland’s e-commerce livestream boom.

Ye Zhanhang

Restaurants to Livestream From Kitchens to Ensure Food Safety 

The move aims to make food preparation more transparent amid growing complaints from consumers.

Li Xin

The Once and Future CEO

Smartisan founder Luo Yonghao has been an online celebrity, a smartphone maker, and $89 million in debt. Now he’s starting the cycle over again.

Their Secret Sales Weapons? Language Lessons

After a crackdown on after-school tutoring, New Oriental pivoted to online sales. It went poorly until their teacher-turned-livestreamers began offering free English lessons while pitching encyclopedias.

Ni Dandan

A Beijing Artist Is Self-Quarantining in the Name of Art

Pang Kuan is livestreaming his 14 days of isolation around the clock from a gallery space.

Wu Peiyue

The Fitness Influencer Making Locked-Down Chinese Sweat

Liu Genghong has emerged as an unlikely entertainer through his viral workout sessions helping people keep fit indoors.

Zhang Wanqing

China’s ‘Anti-Sissy’ Campaign Unleashes a Wave of Online Transphobia

Articles that cut to the core of contemporary China. In-depth, informed, and carefully crafted, every piece is carried by the voices of the story’s participants.

FEATURES

A growing number of transgender Chinese were finding success as social media influencers. Then came a crackdown on “sissy” men.

Jiang Yaling

In Taobao Villages, Merchants Say They’re Struggling with Livestreaming

As live-streaming disrupts China’s e-commerce landscape, gaps between urban and rural sellers may be getting wider.

In Rural Sichuan, Poverty and Profit Are Just a Click Apart

Translations, cross-publications, and collaborative projects from Sixth Tone’s external partners. 

SIXTH TONE ×

To eke out a living, many put poverty on display in short videos or livestreams. But this clashes with the government’s narrative.

Ji Guangxu

New Oriental Livestream Sales Event Receives Lukewarm Reception 

The CEO of the education powerhouse sold fruits and vegetables in a virtual broadcast.

China’s Stream Sales Queen Vanishes Following Record-Breaking Fine

Top e-commerce livestreamer Viya deletes all public accounts after tax authorities issue $210 million fine for tax evasion.

Wang  Xinyi

New Oriental Is Switching From Teaching English to Selling Vegetables

Crackdown on the tutoring sector forces an education giant to take an unexpected turn.

China’s Biggest Influencer Pushes a New Message: Buy Chinese

Li “The Lipstick King” Jiaqi has risen to become China’s most powerful livestreamer. Now, he’s jumping on a new trend: an upsurge in Chinese patriotism.

Wang Lianzhang

Fan Yiying

Chinese Vloggers Step Into the Past, Dressed for Clicks

Many users on video-streaming site Bilibili are keeping up with guofeng, a trend helping them bring in more clicks, and cash.

A Chinese County Has Gone Viral for Being Gloriously Dull

Millions of people are talking about Cao County thanks to a local livestreamer’s effusive pride in his hometown.

Li You

Livestreamer Banned After ‘Engagement Event’ Turns Into 5-Hour Sale

Viewers who tuned in to see Yin Shihang propose to his on-and-off girlfriend were instead bombarded with product promotions, leading to over 230,000 complaints.

Kenrick Davis

China’s Hottest Livestream Trend: Fraud

As the commercial livestreaming buzz fades, Chinese influencer agencies are searching for ways to keep viewing figures high. Many are turning to a tried-and-tested method: faking it.

The Man Who Accidentally Became a TikTok Megastar

Visual stories that get up close and personal with contemporary China. A mix of short videos, documentaries, photography, and data visualization.

MULTIMEDIA

Cheng Yunfu scraped a living selling noodles on the streets. Then, he suddenly started trending on Chinese social media — and his life took a strange and unsettling turn.

Wang Jiaqi

He Was Bilibili’s Top Livestreamer. Then He Insulted Some Fans.

LexBurner’s disparaging comments about a popular Japanese anime series and its viewers prompted a streaming platform to give him the boot.