News on Entertainment & Culture in China

Paying the price
Financial pain as celebrity love lives unravel on social media
May 1, 2020 (WiC 493)

In this day and age, is a relationship real if it’s not being flaunted on Instagram? In China, no break-up is official unless you post news of it on Sina Weibo, it seems. Last week, online influencer Zhou Yangqing penned an explosive post ...

Attention to detail
A lavish costume drama about Song Dynasty wins over the critics
Apr 24, 2020 (WiC 492)

It wasn’t the longest-reigning dynasty in Chinese history and it wasn’t the most powerful either. However, historians generally believe the Song Dynasty was well ahead of contemporary powers when it came to technology and invention. For ...

Buddy show
Music idol Jay Chou attacks Netflix for not promoting his travelogue
Apr 17, 2020 (WiC 491)

In the HBO hit Entourage, Vincent Chase (played by Adrian Grenier) is an actor who becomes a Hollywood star. Despite finding fame, he keeps his old friends close and they free-ride on his celebrity, enjoying the lifestyle that Hollywood ...

And for his next act…
A former phone entrepreneur relaunches his career as a livestream host
Apr 10, 2020 (WiC 490)

He was formerly a construction worker, a bookseller and a self-taught English teacher. He founded a blogging site before it was closed down for failing government content standards. And despite not having a background in tech, Luo Yonghao then ...

A 28 billion phenomenon
New girl band reality show breaks iQiyi’s record for popularity
Apr 3, 2020 (WiC 489)

While the world is struggling to contain the coronavirus outbreak, China has slowly reopened schools in areas like Guizhou, which are deemed low risk. Flights to Hubei province – with the exception of Wuhan, the capital city of the province – ...

Curtain call
Cinemas are reopening in some provinces, although audiences are small
Mar 27, 2020 (WiC 488)

Just before the coronavirus outbreak started to become more widespread in the US and Europe, Disney hosted the premieres of its latest offering in the live-action genre, Mulan, both in Los Angeles and London in early March. Only a few ...

Fanning controversy
How the protests of fans over an online novel backfired on pop star
Mar 13, 2020 (WiC 486)

Before Liu Bang established the Han Dynasty, his most trusted adviser and friend was Xiao He (257 to 193 BC). Xiao subsequently came across a young man named Han Xin and quickly recognised his military talent, recommending him to his leader. ...

Big in Japan, but not Jiangxi
Why do Chinese remakes of Japanese hit TV shows always seems to bomb?
Mar 5, 2020 (WiC 485)

While many say that acts of kindness – no matter how big or small in monetary terms – can make a difference, China’s netizens do not seem to think so. WiC reported last week that real estate tycoon Pan Shiyi’s lacklustre charitable ...

Sale of the century
A new reality show uses celebrities to launch a clothing brand
Feb 28, 2020 (WiC 484)

In 2017, online video site iQiyi released The Rap of China, a ‘rap battle’ reality show. It was such a success that in addition to racking up billions of views for the platform, it brought more of China’s underground street culture ...

Just another love story?
The most-watched show during the virus period provokes a gender debate
Feb 21, 2020 (WiC 483)

With parts of China still in residential lockdown, people have been looking for creative ways to relieve the tedium. Homemade videos on Douyin (also known as TikTok outside China), show some of the ideas on offer, including playing snooker with ...

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