Bilibili: China’s leading platform for ACGN and beyond
Bilibili, also known as B-site (B站), is a popular Chinese video streaming platform founded in 2009. In the beginning, it was a small and niche business concerned with the creation and sharing of videos about the Anime, Comics, Games and Novels (ACGN) subculture. However, over the years, Bilibili gained popularity and enriched its content, quickly […]
Douyin marketing: the gateway for reaching over 680 million users
China’s short video industry has become a battleground for some of the country’s biggest tech giants, including Tencent, Baidu, and Kuaishou. Among them, ByteDance’s application, Douyin (抖音), emerged as a key player. The company launched Douyin (known as TikTok outside China) in September 2016, and in just six years, the platform has attracted an astonishing […]
“What kind of unbelievable methods do young people use to manage finances”: Trending hashtag on Chinese social media
A recent survey on financial management among Chinese young people born in the 90s and 00s was conducted by Tencent-owned survey platform, T-ask. The survey showed that there is a growing awareness amongst this demographic of the importance of financial literacy. The survey (n=3,193) results showed that over 80% of the participants either already have or are […]
“Are you an old spirit (精神老年人)”: Trending hashtag on Chinese social media
Although having a busy schedule is often perceived as being successful or at least competitive in the workplace, some young people are turning their backs on the hustle culture. On Chinese social media, Douban (豆瓣), there is a group of users who call themselves “old spirits (精神老年人)”, which refers to young people whose lifestyle, daily […]
“What do you think of special forces tourism”: Trending hashtag on Chinese social media
Due to the easing of Covid-19 restrictions since last December, China has seen a rebound in tourism, expecting an 80% increase in domestic trips this year compared to last year. Amid this speedy tourism recovery, there has been a rising travel trend called “special forces tourism (特种兵式旅游)”, which refers to ticking off as many tourist spots, using […]
“Nearly 1,000 hotels are waiving room charges for Labor Day customers”: Trending hashtag on Chinese social media
With the ease of COVID-19 restrictions, China is witnessing a surge in international travel bookings as well as domestic ones, reaching pre-pandemic levels. Due to the increased demand for domestic travel, many hotels in China have already been fully booked weeks before Labor Day holidays. #The average hotel room rates for Labor Day have gone up […]
“Is the 30 RMB bamboo-tube milk tea an IQ tax?”: Trending hashtag on Chinese social media
Recently, “bamboo-tube milk tea (竹筒奶茶)” has become a new top-stream product in China’s milk tea industry and a popular check-in activity on social media due to the aesthetics of the bamboo container featuring big labels of internet-famous cities (网红城市) such as Hangzhou, Suzhou, Changsha, Xiamen, etc. Usually taking an hour to prepare, a cup of […]
“How popular is Chinese canned food in foreign countries?”: Trending hashtag on Chinese social media
Last December, in the midst of the pandemic, people in China were stocking up on canned yellow peaches (黄桃罐头). These canned fruits were perceived as a “magic medicine” or elixir that relieves the symptoms of coronavirus as it is rich in Vitamin C. Meanwhile, others were buying it for emotional comfort. The word “peach” (桃) […]
Weibo marketing strategy: What brands should know
Sina Weibo is a micro-blogging social media platform that was launched in 2009 by Sina Corporation. It sees itself as a leading social media that combines the means of public self-expression in real time with a powerful platform for social interaction, content aggregation and content distribution. Weibo is an essential tool for social media campaigns […]
Heat wave in China sparks netizen discussions of environmentalism and calls for government to act
Starting June this year, a severe heat wave hit the southern part of China, leading to extreme heat and drought for over 70 days straight. According to the China Meteorological Administration (CMA), it is the country’s worst heat wave on record. Daily maximum temperatures at 262 weather stations break historical poles; the soaring temperatures lead […]
Will livestreaming migrate from Taobao Live to Douyin after influencer Austin Li’s disappearance?
This article on Douyin e-commerce was originally published by Azoya More and more Chinese consumers are accustomed to shopping via livestreaming and the penetration rate of livestreaming e-commerce keeps on increasing. According to iiMedia Research, as of June 2021, the number of China’s livestreaming users reached 638 million, an increase of 47.2% compared to the […]
China’s mental health industry on the rise due to prolonged lockdowns
As lockdowns prolong in cities of China like Shanghai, people appear to be less high-spirited due to problems like food shortages and overpriced supplies, which potentially increase the demand for mental health services in China. The impact of long-period home quarantine could be detrimental to mental health, which could potentially lead to a serious mental […]