Zhang Yuying (centre) attending a dance class at the Yiwu Industrial & Commercial College in Yiwu, in Zhejiang Province. Hordes of Chinese millennials are speaking directly to the country's 700 million smartphone users, streaming their lives to lucrative effect, fronting brands and launching businesses. They are known locally as "wanghong". Photo: AFP

Opinion

Across The Border by Laura He

How young internet ‘celebrities’ are driving online retail

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Internet starlets – sometimes catwalk models, or what are being referred to as ‘Wanghong’ – are believed to have generated US$8.68b in sales in 2016, US$1.5b more than China’s total box office

Laura He

Published: 3:00pm, 14 Aug, 2017

Updated: 10:31pm, 14 Aug, 2017

Zhang Yuying (centre) attending a dance class at the Yiwu Industrial & Commercial College in Yiwu, in Zhejiang Province. Hordes of Chinese millennials are speaking directly to the country's 700 million smartphone users, streaming their lives to lucrative effect, fronting brands and launching businesses. They are known locally as "wanghong". Photo: AFP

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Laura He

Before joining the Post, Laura worked for MarketWatch and The Wall Street Journal Digital Network in San Francisco and Hong Kong. She has also worked for Forbes in San Francisco and had stints at Xinhua News Agency as economics editor, anchor and financial correspondent in both Beijing and Hong Kong. She has an MA degree in digital journalism from Stanford University and passed CFA exams.