Category Archives: Uncategorized

“Tea Time at 3 PM,” This Viral Video is Speaking to China’s Overworked Youth

“Dude, it’s 3:00 PM, drink tea first! Don’t work too hard, your boss doesn’t give a shit.”

An unlikely man and his videos have gone viral on Chinese social media, with netizens responding warmly to this sunglasses-wearing hero and his harsh voice and well-intentioned message that life is more important than work.

For people who don’t understand Cantonese, he’s basically yelling at you to stop working and have some milk tea — can’t argue with that!

When the clock hits seven, he kindly urges you to get off work and, again, have a cup of tea.

“Don’t work so hard, where does that money go to? Money is useless if you work yourself to death,” he says in another video.

Netizens are so fond of him, they’ve already given him a nickname — “tea-drinking older brother” (饮茶哥 Yinchage). Some are even saying that he is the only person who cares about their lives and tea-drinking habits, in a world where everyone is pushing them to work harder, meet KPIs, and earn more money.

After the two videos went viral on Chinese streaming site Bilibili, netizens quickly adapted them and made their own versions, by adding regional dialect subtitles and playing with lines from animations and TV dramas. At the time of writing, there are thousands of relevant videos uploaded on the site with the most popular of them having gotten over 3 million views.

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“Fake positivity: C’mon, workers. Real positive message: drink tea first at three o’clock,” says one commenter.

“So sad, a stranger cares more about me than I do myself,” another says.

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The original video seems to have been posted on Facebook from Malaysia a year ago, but it’s hard to verify if the original poster is the person in the video. While there’s not much information available about “Yinchage,” his messages have clearly spoken to China’s overworked youth, who have actively responded to his call (by making memes, that is). After all, it’s not up to them when they get off work in China’s “996” culture.

The trend of people sharing tips on how to “touch fish” (摸鱼), a slang term for slacking off at work, is another example of how young people are increasingly disillusioned with work.

One thing people can do to make the working day a little bit more pleasant, however, is to order milk tea at 3:00 PM.

Cover photo: screenshot from Bilibili video

Netizens Call to Cancel Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe After Racist “Joke”

Another day, another racist. Chinese netizens are enraged about American comedian and writer Tony Hinchcliffe’s openly racist comment made towards Chinese comic Peng Dang after the latter introduced him on stage. Here’s what he said:

 

Hinchcliffe took the stage after Dang nicely introduced him at Big Laugh Comedy in Austin, Texas on May 6. He proceeded to call Dang a “filthy fucking little ch**k,” while also making offensive comments about Chinese people before he was eventually kicked out of the club by security guards.

The racist remarks have gone viral online and caused widespread anger after a short video of the performance leaked online. The fact that it happened during Asian Pacific American Heritage Month makes the remarks even harder to swallow.

Dang and another Chinese comedy blogger Modelwtx then took to social media to fight back by posting a video of the comments on Twitter and Chinese microblogging site Weibo, calling on netizens to boycott Hinchcliffe, who is famous for writing for the Comedy Central Roast series and for his appearances on Joe Rogan’s podcast.

The hashtag #CancelTonyHinchcliffe has received millions of views and posts on Weibo and Twitter.

Meanwhile on Weibo, Chinese netizens have been weighing in. The hastag #CancelTonyHinchcliffe# has been viewed over 5.5 million times on the site.

“He has no professional ethics at all to belittle a person who does warm-up for him, let alone to use racial discrimination,” says one commenter. “I hope he won’t blame others when his mother is ashamed because after all it’s just comedy,” one commenter jokes.

The trend of anti-Asian hatred has been escalating over the past year with about 3,800 racially motivated attacks against Asian Americans reported in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Communities of Asians and allies are banding together to campaign for racial equality and an end to anti-Asian violence, however. The Yellow Whistle Campaign is one such project, which uses the color yellow, which has been weaponized against Asians as the color of xenophobia for years, and the whistle as a symbol of self-protection and solidarity.

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Cover image: screengrab via YouTube

“Not Girlboss” — Female Rapper NINEONE Blasted Over “Anti-Feminist” Speech

The 2021 internet buzzword for China’s rising feminist movement is “男女对立” — “antagonism between the sexes”. Commonly seen in official state criticism or angry internet comments, the derogatory phrase is used to shut down vocal proponents of gender equality, accusing them of “disrupting” the harmony between men and women.

Just a week ago, the expression trended again on Weibo after an on-stage statement by female rapper NINEONE. Her comments didn’t go over well, drawing backlash from audiences who felt they were out of touch with the feeling of the moment:

“Boys have always dreamed of becoming an athlete or a pro-gamer, but after they turn 18, they must abandon their dreams,” said NINEONE. “In order to be a good husband and father, their entire life is centered around buying a house and car. I hope that everyone can understand and empathize with their situation. Boys should be daring in chasing their dreams and girls should also strive to be themselves. Then we can achieve true equality.”

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Users on Weibo and Douban blasted NINEONE, saying that while her statement appeared to champion gender equality, it ignored the structural inequalities that led to those social norms in the first place.

In China, to be considered an “eligible bachelor” on the marriage market, men are expected to be able to afford a house and a car. Often, the bride’s family will also request a caili (彩礼) from the groom, which can range from a direct payment to gifts such as cars, appliances, or jewelry. According to a report published by the Paper, caili in China tend to range from 50,000 to 200,000 RMB.

Although women may dodge some of those financial pressures, they face enormous pressure to marry, and a slew of other social challenges. Issues of harassment, sexual assault, and inequality in the workplace have gained traction in mainstream discourse; meanwhile, China’s government has been struggling to encourage marriage in the face of a declining national birthrate.

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NINEONE appeared briefly during Rap of China auditions in 2018, but blew up the following year with the release of her debut album, Dear X. Since then, she has announced a solo tour, performed in music festivals around the world, and placed 10th in the latest season of Youth with You.

After the video of NINEONE’s speech blew up, her Weibo was flooded with comments. The rapper, meanwhile, has responded that she will not back down from the “hate,” and stands by her statement. That stance also won her some supporters, most of whom consider China’s growing feminist sentiment to be a form of discrimination and hatred against men. One of the comments on Weibo read:

“What is so difficult about you women’s lives? No one ever demands that women must have savings, lead a successful career and support their families. All you ever do is just lie around at home. Bearing children doesn’t make you special. You accuse us of hogging all the resources but would you ever marry a penniless man?”

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The artist’s fans also expressed their disappointment in the comments section. Many followed NINEONE for her outspoken nature and the rebellious force that she represented in a male-dominated industry. But her actions didn’t align with the “girl boss” image that her agency promoted. One fan wrote:

“Why can’t you understand that women also carry financial burdens? Many of us, too, have to afford housing and pay back our loans. Our mothers and aunts and grandmothers are still responsible for performing a fair share of household chores. Who will empathize with and understand them? I enjoy your music but I will not remain silent about this issue.”

China has been undergoing an awakening around gender equality, giving rise to new icons such as education pioneer Zhang Guimei and comedian Yang Li.

That movement, however, has received significant pushback from both individuals and the state; in April 2021, Douban shut down at least ten of its feminist communities, citing incitement of radical ideological views. Despite official efforts, China’s rising wave of gender equality is becoming harder to contain.

Cover image: Youth with You IQIYI/青春有你爱奇艺

Huge Light Show Accompanies the Launch of Pokemon’s Newest Game in China

Pokemon Quest has finally been released in China, three years after it came out on Nintendo Switch and mobile devices around the world. The game, which features blocky, lego style characters and scenery was greeted with plenty of hype in China.

As video game analyst Daniel Ahmad pointed out on Twitter, 700,000 LED lights are being put to use to promote the game across 2.3 kilometers in central Hangzhou. The light show features iconic symbols such as pokeballs as well as pokemon running across buildings. It will again take place in Hangzhou at 8pm CST on May 13 (today).

The Chinese version of the game will differ from international versions, and has added features for players, including boss battles and player versus player features. It’s been released by Netease, which evidently invested quite a bit of money into advertising around the game.

Besides the light show in Hangzhou, a group of Pikachus descended on Shanghai’s Bund earlier in the week to perform a dance ahead of the launch.

These marketing methods seem to have worked. The game has been downloaded over 500,000 times on the Huawei App Store alone since launching.

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Netizens have been reacting with glee to the news of the launch of the game. Under a post with a video of trucks beaming out footage of Pokemon Quest, one user wrote, “hahaha, log in to pick cute Pikachu.”

Another user commented on a video of the Hangzhou light show and took the opportunity to slam Pinduoduo, one of the biggest companies in China, saying, “So great, I hope there won’t be any Pinduoduo activities in the future.”

Famously, one of Nintendo’s previous Pokemon games, Pokemon Go was banned in China in 2017, as it was deemed to have a big social risk.

Cover image by Thanakrit Gu

6 Stunning Statistics from China’s Population Census

The results of China’s Seventh National Population Census have finally been released, triggering a wave of headlines and social media hot takes. There’s a lot of data to sift through, but here are six bits of info that made us sit up and take notice.

The Population Increased to 1.412 Billion

That’s the real headline stat here, with the word increased especially important. In the weeks running up to the official release of census data, there were reports that mainland China might see its first population decline in decades. The government pushed back against such speculation and now here’s the big rebuttal: it’s up from 1.339 billion in 2010 and still up on last year, after the country surpassed the 1.4 billion mark in 2019.

Yet these numbers come with a big “but”: state media outlets noted that “demographers said the country’s population growth has slowed and may start to decline as early as 2022,” as The Global Times put it.

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Only 2 Provinces Have More Women Than Men

A lot’s been made of China’s gender imbalance in recent years, but even so this is a pretty stunning statistic. Liaoning and Jilin — both in the country’s northeast — are the two areas where women (just) outnumber men, out of a total of 34 administrative regions claimed by the PRC.

Otherwise, the male:female ratio in the country overall is 105.07, or in other words the population is 51.24% male and 48.76% female according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The Urban Population Rose to 901.99 Million

That’s up from 665.57 million in 2010. In other words, the percentage of urban population increased by 14.21% in the past decade.

With the country’s gradually loosening-up of internal migration policies, China has seen steadily advancing urbanization. In 2020, 124.84 million people traveled between provinces, possibly looking for more job opportunities and better living conditions, up 69.73% from ten years ago.

Second Children Made Up 50% of All Newborns

Or at least, they did in 2017, the most recent year that the census shared data on this subject. That’s up from second children comprising 30% of all new babies in 2013.

Ning Jizhe, director of the National Bureau of Statistics of China, stated on Tuesday that the “second-child” birth rate has “apparently” increased. The young population aged 0-14 has also increased by 30.92 million, a 1.35% rise compared to the census data of 2010.

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However, this comes as China’s total fertility rate has reportedly fallen below the “warning line” and reached its lowest point, according to data released from the same National Bureau of Statistics in January 2020.

“So please don’t pressure people to get married or give birth to babies; it all looks about right,” reads the top upvoted comment under a related post on social media platform Weibo. “It means the ‘first-child’ birth rate has decreased apparently,” writes another user.

218 Million People in China Hold College Degrees

State media channel CCTV News posted this stat on Weibo this morning, and it soon became a hit on the site, accumulating 160 million views in just a few hours. The post also notes that the average years of schooling of the population aged 15 and above increased from 9.08 years in 2010 to 9.91 years in the most recent census, while the illiteracy rate dropped from 4.08% to 2.67%.

Chinese netizens are not ready to celebrate the news however. Comments below the post are full of calls for justice regarding the death of a 17-year-old boy who fell from a building at Chengdu No. 49 Middle School on May 9. According to the mother of the deceased, the school has refused to disclose surveillance footage or any other details regarding the case.

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Elsewhere, questions are also flying around regarding the value of this multitude of college degrees. “There are only a few college degree-holders who are actually qualified,” one lawyer commented. “The increasing college enrollment rate only generates pretty numbers, not well-educated students. Perhaps their true level is merely equivalent to junior high kids from the last century.”

The Average Age of People in China is 38.8 Years Old

That’s three years older than the average age of the country in 2010. It’s projected that the country’s population will reach 46 years old on average by 2050.

Reigniting fears of China’s aging population, the number of Chinese people aged 60 or over rose a whopping 5.44% to 18.7%.

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After around three decades of China’s one-child policy, the country introduced a two-child policy in the middle of the last decade, in an effort to spur population growth, with worries about the economic strain that will be put on state services with an increasingly aged population.

This policy seems to have had a small impact on the country’s birth rate however, with the number of people aged between 0-14 rising by 1.35% to 17.95%.

Cover photo: 东旭 王 on Unsplash

What Is LARPing? And Why Do Chinese Youth Love to LARP?

Never heard of LARPing? You’re not alone. Below, we answer the question “What is LARPing?” and explain why the activity has become so popular in China.

Samuel Zhuang is hell-bent on power. One of the country’s top generals, the 28-year-old’s rise through the military ranks has been meteoric, helped by his fabricating of charges against his superiors. Yet even now, he’s not satisfied and is busy plotting his way to the very top.

Then again, this is all just a weekend activity for Zhuang — and on Monday he’ll be back at his day job as an investment consultant. Because Zhuang is a LARPer, a Live Action Role Player. And he’s one of a huge number of young city-dwellers across the country who are eschewing more conventional ways of getting together with friends in favor of elaborate costumed role-playing games.

What is LARPing?

Live Action Role Playing (LARP), particularly centered around solving a murder mystery, made its first significant splash in China in 2016, courtesy of a hit TV show. And the last two years especially have seen explosive growth in its popularity.

According to a recent study conducted by the data analysis and market research company iiMedia, 84.9% of Chinese netizens surveyed have participated in a LARP game either online or offline (in China, “LARP” is used as an umbrella term for both). iiMedia also predict that the market size of LARP will reach 17 billion RMB (around 2.63 billion USD) by the end of 2021, up from 10 billion RMB (around 1.54 billion USD) in 2019.

A group of LARPers at an immersive studio in the city of Chengdu in Sichuan province

A group of LARPers at an immersive studio in the city of Chengdu in Sichuan province. Image courtesy of Luo Ge

In addition, the total number of LARP studios nationwide had reached 30,000 by the end of November in 2020, representing 150% growth compared to 2019, according to leading Chinese booking platform Meituan.

So how has this activity attracted so many young people seemingly out of nowhere?

Dungeon Masters and Day Trips

A typical LARP experience usually takes place among a group of 4-12 players and lasts for 3-5 hours each session, depending on the complexity of the script. The progression of the game is meant to be unique each time as it is up to how participants communicate their roles, interpret the development of the story individually, and how the team move forward with the game with the information available.

During the course of the game, under the instruction and guidance of the host — the so-called “DM” (Dungeon Master) — LARPers are given the basic plot-lines of the story and descriptions of their characters, before introducing themselves to the group. They then engage with fellow players and non-player characters (NPC) as the story progresses.

Based on this framework, LARP games can range from straightforward online interactions and tabletop games, to actor-led, fully immersive experiences in elaborate settings.

An immersive LARP studio in the city of Chengdu in Sichuan province

An immersive LARP studio in the city of Chengdu in Sichuan province. Image courtesy of Luo Ge

Luo Ge, who previously ran a traditional tabletop game shop in Chengdu, just launched China’s first ever overnight LARP package through his venue Yidiantanan, where participants can play out a variety of storylines in two specially-designed 1.48 and 0.25 acre sites featuring a blend of traditional style buildings and natural scenes.

“The idea of including a one-night stay is to create a real mind-blowing immersive experience for customers,” says Luo, who first opened the studio in 2018. “A lot of our customers are not locals; they travel here just for this game.”

This is borne out by reviews for Yidiantanan on the Yelp-like customer reviews site Dianping, where the venue has an average rating of 4.84 out of 5. “I travelled from Shanghai to Chengdu to experience this one-night immersive LARP game and it has far exceeded my expectations,” writes one of the top commenters.

There’s currently a three- to four-month wait to book a weekend session at Luo’s studio and he’s confident that its popularity isn’t going away any time soon. “Immersive LARP will definitely be a big trend going forward,” he says.

Looking for More Than Malls

Murder mysteries first caught the attention of young people in China back in 2016, with the launch of Mango TV’s celebrity reality show Who’s the Murderer. After several successful seasons, the show helped spark a wave of interest in roleplaying, spurred on by the growth of LARP-focused apps such as Woshimi (我是谜) and Baibiandazhentan (百变大侦探).

In the first half of 2020, LARPing really came into its own as people searched for new activities to occupy their time while stuck at home because of Covid-19. The activity’s popularity then spread to the offline world once it was safe again for groups of people to gather, dovetailing with the country’s surging interest in period dramas and Hanfu costumes. The growth in venues — Shanghai currently has a total of 561 LARP studios for example — has been joined by a boom in LARP script trading sites and even script conventions for the industry.

A LARPer at a LARP studio in the city of Mianyang in Sichuan province

A participant at a LARP studio in the city of Mianyang in Sichuan province. Image courtesy of Huo Xin

Given LARP’s online roots, the development of VR and AR technologies may still pose a threat to the growth of offline LARP venues, especially in China’s more developed cities, where high rents combined with the slow turnover of customers could prove prohibitive to further expansion. Yet for many, the offline aspect of LARP is all part of its appeal.

“The growing LARP craze has something to do with a lack of networking channels for young people traditionally,” says Huo Xin, the 25-year-old owner of a LARP studio that was opened last year in the city of Mianyang, in Sichuan province. “Besides watching films, going for drinks or shopping, there really were not a lot of fun activities out there. LARP can offer a brand new social experience for people to make new friends. And it’s pretty affordable — the average cost for each person is around 50-200RMB [7.70-30.90USD], at least in our studio.”

Live Action Networking

For Zhuang, it’s the networking aspect that also appeals to him. “I have been going to LARP games quite a lot in the past half year and I believe the most vital reason behind the rising popularity of LARP is its multidimensionality as a social activity,” he says. “It is an innovative form of networking whereby a group of people get to know each other by engaging in conversations and sharing interactive and exciting problem-solving tasks together.”

While some aspects of this are available through online LARP games, Zhuang feels the offline experiences offer something extra. “The immersive nature of LARP intensifies the whole experience and helps create special bonds between the group of players. Compared with traditional tabletop games such as Werewolf, LARP provides space for individuals’ dramatic expression.”

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Another key ingredient is simply the intrigue and problem-solving that comes with any murder mystery activity.

Based on the aforementioned iiMedia study, the most popular type of script among young Chinese LARPers is one with significant “mind-stretching” (46.2%), followed by comedy (33.5%) and romance (18.8%).

“Period drama-inspired scripts that are characterized by internal conflict in the palace are my favorite type of LARP,” reflects Zhuang, “as these require an intensive thinking process.”

And of course, a little dramatized conflict and intrigue will always hold a certain appeal for those looking for an escape from their day-to-day. As Huo puts it, “It is young people’s way of living another life outside of their stressed work routine.”

Cover image: a group of LARPers at an immersive studio in the city of Chengdu in Sichuan province, courtesy Luo Ge