Man becomes online celebrity in China for quarantine videos

During the quarantined days of the novel coronavirus epidemic, a young man from rural Henan province became an online celebrity by producing online videos of ordinary activities. He got the attention of more than 6 million people.

Li Hua, 26, a native of Xiangcheng county, Henan province, recorded his family’s daily life in short videos, mostly conversations and interactions with his mother, Li Xuexia, 49, whose specialty is cooking vermicelli mixed with meat and vegetables.

The exaggerated sound, funny action and unexpected reactions, grabbed the eye of millions after he released them on Douyin, a platform for short videos.

During the epidemic, Li’s followers increased by 3 million, with a particular short video alone getting over 2 million likes.

“I didn’t want to make it big in the beginning, just to record some interesting things happened in my daily life,” said Li, recalling how he started to produce videos on Douyin in Oct 2018.

“It never occurred to me that my short videos could make so many people happy, especially during the epidemic,” he said. “I hope the videos will help some people out of their suffering and bring laughs and happiness to more families.”

Li also co-operated with the local government to promote agricultural products. Vermicelli, duck eggs, rapeseed oil and chilies have been sold by the tens of thousands per month through Li’s livestreaming sales effort.

Some consumers in South Korea and the United States also paid attention to his sales success and bought the vermicelli regularly, Li said.

“In the future, I hope more people will notice my hometown, Xiangcheng county, and I hope more will pay a visit.”