Papi Jiang

Papi Jiang has started crazes among young internet users in China since 2016. With her catch phrase "I'm Papi Jiang, a lady possessing both beauty and talent" (in a self-mocking tone) she has accumulated over 44 million followers across multiple social media platforms by posting original fast-talking satirical videos in which she pokes fun at grass-root topics including everyday life, social issues, family relationships, entertainment and news. Papi Jiang as a brand has hit a valuation of 300 million yuan ($44 million) in 2016.

On April, 1st, 2016, Papi Jiang landed RMB 12 million (USD 1.8 million) from four investors including Zhen Fund (真格基金) and online video show Logic Talk Show (罗辑思维). Her videos have gotten more than 290 million hits on major media platforms in just four months. Four investors bought a 12% stake for RMB 12 million, valuing Papi Jiang at RMB 100 million, according to Tencent Tech. The anchor of Logic Talk Show, another Chinese cyber celebrity, Luo Zhenyu, was surprised by her quick rise to popularity. He said “Papi Jiang appealed 8 million followers only within a few months, but I obtained 6 million using the past three years through creating stories with rich information”.

One of her most popular videos is a rant about when people in love are engaged in PDA (Public Displays of Affection). She also parodied white-collar young women who gossip about and trash their more attractive colleague for sleeping with the boss. In another series of popular videos she parodies people who talk in a mixture of Shanghai's regional dialect, English and the occasional Japanese phrase. In July 2016 her first live broadcast, a 90-minute video, attracted 74 million views in one day. She was featured in an article in the New York Times in August 2016.

Media commented on her recent funding as a sign that China's domestic investors are willing to pay for original content.

Posting these satirical videos became her full-time job. She posted on Chinese social media such as Sina Weibo and Douban, as well as via global media such as YouTube.

In April 2016, China’s broadcast regulator ordered her to clean up the foul language in her videos, which occurs once in awhile. They made her take down most of the videos at least temporarily, which was seen as the government’s message that it desires to assert its control over this kind of online content.