Virus-hit China turns to live-streaming for revenue, to keep fans happy and to beat boredom

China is taking to live-streaming in a big way, with millions at home during the virus lockdown

People stuck at home, businesses, artists and museums are making the most of their captive audiences

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China is taking to live-streaming in a big way during the virus lockdown. Individuals, museums and businesses are, Photo: M Woods Museum

Published: 5:30pm, 21 Feb 2020Updated: 5:30pm, 21 Feb 2020

Bored and housebound due to the coronavirus outbreak, 26-year-old Li Guoguo has been live-streaming her closet filled with ancient Chinese clothing or hanfu, and describing how she mixes and matches them with her wide collection of accessories.

“I can’t go out to make videos of myself modelling hanfu as before. There’s too much time at home. It’s good that I can talk to people through live-streaming,” she says.

The Shanghai native who is known as Afoxmeng on Instagram is among the countless housebound Chinese who have taken up live-streaming to fend off boredom, and to expand their fan base at a time when the whole country’s population can turn to only home entertainment to while away time.

While the fortunes of a multitude of industries including travel, dining and transport have nosedived following the Covid-19 outbreak, live-streaming, like online shopping and other internet-based businesses, has enjoyed a spectacular boom.

Li Guoguo has been live-streaming her collection of ancient Chinese clothing while stuck at home because of the coronavirus.

According to a QuestMobile report this week, short video platforms with live-streaming features recorded a sharp increase in user activity over the Lunar New Year period.