China's premier vlogger Li Ziqi makes a comeback following a 3-year hiatus, releasing two new videos
Li Ziqi, the renowned Chinese vlogger celebrated for her lyrical depiction of rural life, made a much-awaited return on Tuesday afternoon, releasing two new videos after an absence of over three years. Her comeback has sparked considerable excitement across various platforms.
TroibNews 
Li Ziqi, the renowned Chinese vlogger celebrated for her poetic depiction of rural life, made a much-anticipated comeback on Tuesday afternoon with the release of two new videos after a hiatus of over three years. Her return has sparked significant excitement across various online platforms.
The videos were uploaded not only on Sina Weibo, China's social media platform similar to X, but also on Douyin, YouTube, and Xiaohongshu, where they quickly went viral. Several related topics soon climbed the trending charts, captivating millions of viewers.
One of her recent videos focuses on China's intangible cultural heritage of lacquerware, showcasing Li's creation of a purple lacquer closet from the ground up, highlighting the unique aesthetics and craftsmanship of Chinese lacquerware. The other video illustrates how Li constructed her own cloakroom out of a woodshed.
As of now, the lacquerware video has accumulated 120 million views with over 1.8 million interactions on Weibo, while the cloakroom video has received more than 30 million views.
Li has surpassed 26 million followers on Weibo.
Netizens expressed their enthusiasm and support for her return online.
"Three years! It's been three years since you last updated! Do you know how I've survived these three years? You're finally back! I'm so excited!" exclaimed one Weibo user. Another fan on YouTube remarked, "Liziqi is THE only Youtuber/Youtube channel that was able to have its subscribers increased from 14m to 20m in three years with 0 contents uploaded. You immediately know people loving her so sooo much. She's the GOAT of lifestyle yt!"
According to a source close to Li, during her time away, she visited numerous intangible cultural heritage inheritors. She engaged with them, learned their skills, and explored folk culture, gaining an understanding of the narratives and historical context surrounding these crafts and their materials.
"For Li, taking a break is a form of self-cultivation," reported the Paper, citing the source.
Li, born in 1990 in Sichuan Province, began making short cooking videos in 2015.
She first gained popularity in 2016 with a viral video featuring her hand-made Lanzhou noodles. Li started posting videos on Weibo and launched a YouTube account, documenting her daily life.
In her videos, she creates everything from scratch, whether it involves food, clothing, furniture, or handicrafts like Sichuan embroidery or Shu Xiu, a traditional embroidery style from Sichuan and Chongqing.
Her allure lies in her poetic portrayal of rural existence, showcasing unique Chinese cultural traits and aesthetics. Her slow-paced, whimsical lifestyle, coupled with her traditional cooking techniques and cultural practices, has attracted a vast audience both domestically and internationally.
In 2020, she set a Guinness World Record for the most subscribers on a Chinese-language YouTube channel, amassing 11.4 million followers at that time, a number which has now surpassed 20 million.
However, her career faced a setback in July 2021 due to a legal dispute with her agency, Hangzhou Weinian Brand Management Co., Ltd. While the specifics of the dispute remain unclear, some speculated that Li's hesitance to overly commercialize her content played a role, while others pointed to potential equity issues.
A settlement was reached by the end of 2022, but Li did not resume posting videos, making only sporadic appearances online.
On Wednesday morning, reports emerged on Weibo that the legal issues between Li and Weinian had been completely resolved.
Professor Li Jinzhao from Beijing Foreign Studies University suggested that Li's popularity could be attributed to a shared anxiety about an increasingly modernized world, coupled with a desire for a quieter, nature-centric lifestyle. Dong Yikun, also from BFSU, noted that while Li's videos do not accurately reflect the daily realities of most rural residents, they offer a creative perspective on the mundane aspects of rural life in China. "The belief in life and the positive attitudes towards family bonds are part of rural culture's heritage," she remarked.
"She is just enjoying what she does," Professor Li stated. "She is romanticizing it, but that life is what we want to see."
Camille Lefevre for TROIB News
The videos were uploaded not only on Sina Weibo, China's social media platform similar to X, but also on Douyin, YouTube, and Xiaohongshu, where they quickly went viral. Several related topics soon climbed the trending charts, captivating millions of viewers.
One of her recent videos focuses on China's intangible cultural heritage of lacquerware, showcasing Li's creation of a purple lacquer closet from the ground up, highlighting the unique aesthetics and craftsmanship of Chinese lacquerware. The other video illustrates how Li constructed her own cloakroom out of a woodshed.
As of now, the lacquerware video has accumulated 120 million views with over 1.8 million interactions on Weibo, while the cloakroom video has received more than 30 million views.
Li has surpassed 26 million followers on Weibo.
Netizens expressed their enthusiasm and support for her return online.
"Three years! It's been three years since you last updated! Do you know how I've survived these three years? You're finally back! I'm so excited!" exclaimed one Weibo user. Another fan on YouTube remarked, "Liziqi is THE only Youtuber/Youtube channel that was able to have its subscribers increased from 14m to 20m in three years with 0 contents uploaded. You immediately know people loving her so sooo much. She's the GOAT of lifestyle yt!"
According to a source close to Li, during her time away, she visited numerous intangible cultural heritage inheritors. She engaged with them, learned their skills, and explored folk culture, gaining an understanding of the narratives and historical context surrounding these crafts and their materials.
"For Li, taking a break is a form of self-cultivation," reported the Paper, citing the source.
Li, born in 1990 in Sichuan Province, began making short cooking videos in 2015.
She first gained popularity in 2016 with a viral video featuring her hand-made Lanzhou noodles. Li started posting videos on Weibo and launched a YouTube account, documenting her daily life.
In her videos, she creates everything from scratch, whether it involves food, clothing, furniture, or handicrafts like Sichuan embroidery or Shu Xiu, a traditional embroidery style from Sichuan and Chongqing.
Her allure lies in her poetic portrayal of rural existence, showcasing unique Chinese cultural traits and aesthetics. Her slow-paced, whimsical lifestyle, coupled with her traditional cooking techniques and cultural practices, has attracted a vast audience both domestically and internationally.
In 2020, she set a Guinness World Record for the most subscribers on a Chinese-language YouTube channel, amassing 11.4 million followers at that time, a number which has now surpassed 20 million.
However, her career faced a setback in July 2021 due to a legal dispute with her agency, Hangzhou Weinian Brand Management Co., Ltd. While the specifics of the dispute remain unclear, some speculated that Li's hesitance to overly commercialize her content played a role, while others pointed to potential equity issues.
A settlement was reached by the end of 2022, but Li did not resume posting videos, making only sporadic appearances online.
On Wednesday morning, reports emerged on Weibo that the legal issues between Li and Weinian had been completely resolved.
Professor Li Jinzhao from Beijing Foreign Studies University suggested that Li's popularity could be attributed to a shared anxiety about an increasingly modernized world, coupled with a desire for a quieter, nature-centric lifestyle. Dong Yikun, also from BFSU, noted that while Li's videos do not accurately reflect the daily realities of most rural residents, they offer a creative perspective on the mundane aspects of rural life in China. "The belief in life and the positive attitudes towards family bonds are part of rural culture's heritage," she remarked.
"She is just enjoying what she does," Professor Li stated. "She is romanticizing it, but that life is what we want to see."
Camille Lefevre for TROIB News
