Live-streaming apps are fuelling fame in China

Signal31 May 2016

In China, people are using their smartphones to stream themselves doing anything and everything – from cooking and eating dinner to singing karaoke. The craze is fuelling a new wave of online celebrity – and even movie stars are jumping on the bandwagon.

©Terry Chapman (2015)

case study·
21 Nov 2014

YY.com: an online peep show for China’s single men

case study·
21 Nov 2014·
LAST UPDATED 17 Jan 2023

China’s lonely single men are fuelling its ‘hormone industries’, finding an outlet for their desires in anime, social networks, and games that hint at sex. YY is China’s top video cam karaoke site – but is it for playful teens, or the next stage in China’s faux-coy hook-up culture?

case study·
11 Sep 2015

Youku Tudou: streaming video from behind the Great Firewall

case study·
11 Sep 2015·
LAST UPDATED 13 Oct 2023

China’s Golden Shield Project – or the ‘Great Firewall’ – has long posed problems for video moguls looking to please domestic audiences. But with new regulations tightening censorship even further, how are media sites staying relevant in an increasingly crowded and insular market?

case study·
3 Aug 2015

Monster Hunt: China's beastly summer blockbuster

case study·
3 Aug 2015·
LAST UPDATED 13 Oct 2023

While Jurassic World dominated screens in the US, a very different beast was making its mark in Chinese cinemas. Monster Hunt, the story of Wuba, a cute, adorable ‘monster’ born to be king, became the highest grossing Chinese movie of all time. What’s driving people to cinemas? And could the domestic industry ever rival Hollywood?