China Leverages YouTube Star’s Fame to Romanticize Countryside, Conceal Poverty

China Leverages YouTube Star’s Fame to Romanticize Countryside, Conceal Poverty
A farmer pulls his water buffalo along garbage-strewn trails in a village outside of Yueyang, Henan Province, China on Oct. 30, 2004. More than half of China's peasants are so poor that they are unable to look after themselves. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
Olivia Li
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Internet celebrity Li Ziqi is known for creating food and handicraft using traditional Chinese techniques. She makes her own soy sauce from scratch. She can even build a bench using bamboo she harvested from the forest, and put the parts together without nails or glue—a traditional Chinese carpentry technique. She collects rose petals, beeswax and mineral powders to create natural cosmetics. Dressed in traditional Chinese Hanfu clothing, Li performs her craftwork leisurely and gracefully—in perfect harmony with nature.

Li’s Chinese blog account is now followed by more than 20 million fans. Her Youtube channel, launched in August 2017, now has 8.3 million fans and many are non-Chinese.