How Long can Wanghong Survive?

The Rise of Chinese internet celebrity Papi Jiang

If youre arent active on the Chinese web， its likely you havent ever heard of Papi Jiang. Shes one of the most popular online celebrities in China， known for her fast-talking satirical videos that mock everyday life， relationships， movies and social issues.

In China， such fame doesnt go unnoticed by authorities， however， and last month she was the target of the countrys Internet censors， who took down some of her videos from Youku， Chinas most popular video platform.

Behind the Papi Jiang avatar is 29-year-old Jiang Yi Lei， who graduated from Chinas Central Academy of Drama. Her videos， in which she delivers comedic monologues or imitates high-profile figures or celebrities in her trademark high-pitch， rapid-fire voice， have earned her 11 million followers on social media site Sina Weibo.

Papi Jiang started posting videos in October 2015， and within months she became a top online celebrity. She proudly identifies herself as “leftover woman” （sheng nu）， a derogatory term used to describe single women who are over the age of 30. Many of her popular videos center on the frustrations of young urban women in their careers， family and romantic relationships. She often curses and uses vulgar language in her performances.

Below is a typical video from Papi Jiang， this one uploaded to YouTube. The one-and-a-half-minute video is a satirical monologue titled “You have no idea the pain of being a beauty”：

The foul language in her videos is officially the reason why Chinas State Administration of Press， Publication， Radio， Film and Television（SAPRFT） took down most of her videos from Youku last month. The censors said if she removed her use of expletives， her videos could go back up.

Just one month before her videos were taken down， she received RMB 12 million yuan （about US $1.83 million） from a number of venture capital firms that invest in social media products. While some thought the SAPRFTs actions would hamper Papi Jiangs career， she still managed a few days after she was censored to sell advertising spaceon her weekly videos on April 21 for RMB 22 million yuan （approximately US $3.5 million） in an auction run by Ali Auction， an affiliate of the e-commerce giant Alibaba.

Since then， most of her videos have been restored online with the vulgar language edited out.

China not only has the worlds largest Internet user population， but also the largest online video user base. According to Internet giant Tencent， the countrys online video users reached 461 million by June 2015， and the video market accounted for RMB 11.53 billion yuan （US $1.9 billion dollar） in the third quarter of 2015.

That figure will continue to rise as the Internet population keeps growing. The China Internet Network Information Centers latest report shows that China had 688 million Internet user by end of 2015， and the penetration rate has reached 50.3 percent. A total of 90 percent of the users access the Internet via mobile phones， a device that favors the consumption of information through visual and audio means.

In the US， Internet content providers such as Netflix， Amazon and Hulu have been producing their own programs in order to lower the costs on copyright licensing. A similar trend is happening in China. Internet content providers are now competing directly with state-owned television producers. Yet smaller scale firms find it difficult to make a profit due to the high costs of production， bandwidth and copyright licensing， so more and more production teams have started using Youku and Tudous video ad space to boost revenue. Papi Jiang is one of the most vivid examples of this model in action.

A Year of Wanghong Economy Boosts

The year of 2016 is an outbreak year of Chinas Wanghong（网红）economy. Investors go after it with great passion， which draws capital markets unprecedented attention to Wanghong and Wanghong economy. Instant online celebrities and Wanghong economy has created an miracle of new media. As many insiders said， Wanghong economy is cutting the edge.

On June 16th， Super Celebrity Summit Forum of 2016 was jointly held by Weibo and Rongyao in Shanghai. Dozens of brokers， investing organizations and Wanghong practitioners in the industries of video， fashion and live show participated in the forum. The topic was centered on the status and future of Wanghong economy.

The White Paper of Wanghong Ecosystem of 2016（hereinafter referred as White Paper） jointly released by iResearch Consulting Group and Weibo is the first to summary and analyze the current situation of Wanghong Industry and the future developing trend of Wanghong economy. The White Paper points out， Wanghong has grown to an economic industry more than a simple phenomenon. The Wanghong economy featured as short videos， live shows and E-business has drawn unprecedented interest of investors.