Chinese influencers are making waves across the web. Here’s who to follow.
Chinese Influencers: Li Ziqi
Li Ziqi is a Chinese influencer who has gained widespread popularity on YouTube. She creates videos that revolve around her rural life in Pingwu, Sichuan with her grandmother. Millions of viewers flock to her channel to watch her cooking and crafting. One thing that makes her stand out is her minimalism and self-sufficiency. Typical videos will see her cook dishes and craft items using the natural resources around her. In China, she has become particularly amongst urban millennials. However, her fans aren’t only Chinese. Li Ziqi has amassed a strong global following which is why she has won the Guinness World Record for most subscribers to a Chinese language channel. Along with 22 million followers on Weibo, she now has 11.4 million subscribers on Youtube.
Li Ziqi now has a small production crew and her own shop. She has also become an influential figure within Chinese society and was given the People’s Choice award by China’s People’s Daily in 2019! She is seen by the government as a great ambassador for promoting traditional Chinese culture.
Chinese Influencers: Li Jiaqi
Li Jiaqi is the “King of Lipstick” – one of china’s most influential online sellers. He has gained 40 million fans on the Chinese TikTok app, Douyin. His fans love him for his make-up reviews, especially lipstick. He actually began his online career by providing live reviews on Taobao – the e-commerce site. It’s not just netizens who love him; brands love working with him for his selling abilities. In one live stream, he sold managed to sell 15,000 lipsticks in just five minutes. What makes Li Jiaqi stand out is that he tries on all the products he recommends. Just like Li Ziqi, Li Jiaqi also holds a Guinness World Record. He won the record for the most lipstick applications in one 30 seconds!
Luxury brands have to be wary of his reviews. After giving a bad review of luxury Hermes lipsticks to 12 million live viewers, viewers vowed not to buy the lipsticks. This was a major blow to the brand as it had spent 5 years developing the products and China is one of their biggest markets. Some commenters even said, “If Li Jiaqi can’t rock Hermes colours, neither can we.”
Chinese Influencers: Fil Xiaobai
If you’re looking for your next fashion fix, then look no further than Fil Xiaobai. Fil has gained a massive following for her unique style which combines luxury with street style. Her tattoos and multicolour hairstyles made her stand out amongst Chinese netizens. Her style, especially tattoos, are a far cry from traditional Chinese style. Because of this, her modern style appeals greatly to millennial Chinese and celebrities. She first came on the radar when she won a street style competition. From then on, she carved a career being a celebrity stylist and doing collaborations with major fashion houses.
Some of her highlights include being the only (female) Chinese influencer for the Dolce and Gabbana show in 2017. Her success didn’t stop there, she was the only Chinese model chosen for a Stella McCartney advertising campaign. This allowed her to represent China alongside global superstars such as Dua Lipa. Although she doesn’t have a following as large as other Chinese fashion influencers, her 3 million fans on Weibo love her – and so do brands.
Will you be following any of these influencers? If you want to practice your Chinese, study our article about Li Ziqi!
