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Reuters

In a short online video, a Chinese man with a round face and a buzz cut pops open a beer cap with a single chopstick.
After a sip, he quickly lifts the bottle to his mouth while giving it a few sharp turns.
A small “tornado” forms in the bottle, and Hebei Pangzai, or “Fatty from Hebei province”, as the 34-year-old is known on Twitter, drinks it all in seconds.
Hebei Pangzai’s real name is Liu Shichao. The odd-job labourer hails from Zhengyuansi, a nondescript village where everyone knows everyone.


Thanks to the internet, Liu now has more than 130,000 followers on Twitter, drawn to his beer-drinking clips. This week, he even had three new American friends visit him in his village.
His claim to fame was an old video shared on Twitter in August. It went viral, gaining 12 million views.

 
In the video, Liu opens a beer bottle with a chopstick, mixes the beer with several other liquors, including baijiu, a potent Chinese liquor made from grain.
Kuaishou is China’s original short-video king, and it now hosts ‘little shops’ and live streaming
He lights the concoction, uses his finger to carry off a bit of the flame to light his cigarette, then drinks the whole thing.

He said he knew something was up when he first got hundreds of new followers on Kuaishou, a short video-sharing platform popular among people in small Chinese cities and the countryside. All of them wrote their comments in English.
After some internet sleuthing, Liu got onto Twitter, which connected him to an audience outside China.
From Douyin to Kuaishou: A visual look at China’s hottest short video apps
He declined to say how exactly he logs on to Twitter, which is blocked in China. While software to circumnavigate China’s Great Firewall is not technically banned, it remains a murky legal area.
Liu started on Kuaishou in 2016. “One of the first videos I saw was a brick-breaking video,” he said. “Those videos looked fake, and I thought I could do a real one.”

So he did. He also started making the drinking videos and, later, cooking videos.
At the peak of his fame on the Chinese internet, he had more than 400,000 Kuaishou followers. When he held live broadcasts, he could earn up to 300 yuan (US$43) on a good day.
China’s Kuaishou, TikTok close gap with YouTube among highest-grossing video apps
As for his current fame, Liu remains sceptical about becoming a career influencer.
“You can’t depend on this for a living,” he said. “This is just for when I have some free time.”


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China society

Chinese ‘fatty’ becomes Twitter sensation by drinking beer

Liu Shichao, known as Hebei Pangzai, or Fatty, performs his beer-drinking “tornado”. Photo: Reuters

Liu Shichao, known as Hebei Pangzai or "Fatty" on social media, sits at a room during an interview with Reuters, at his home in Zhengyuansi village, Xingtai, Hebei province, China December 17, 2019. Picture taken December 17, 2019. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang

Liu Shichao, known as Hebei Pangzai or "Fatty" on social media, performs brick-breaking at his home in Zhengyuansi village, Xingtai, Hebei province, China December 17, 2019. Picture taken December 17, 2019. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang

Chinese state media joins rural life blogger Li Ziqi’s millions of followers

Li Ziqi’s videos of rural life are a powerful means of promoting China, state media say. Photo: Li Ziqi

In her videos, Li often prepares elaborate meals for her grandmother using basic ingredients and traditional techniques. Photo: Li Ziqi

Vblogger Li ziqi. Photo: Liziqi Youtube Channel

Li Ziqi harvesting ears of corn in a video, in which she whips up a spread of corn dishes. Photo: Li Ziqi

Chinese policeman detained for five days after video of assault on girlfriend goes viral

A police officer from Shenzhen has been detained after a video showed a man dragging a woman from a flat and punching her to the ground. Photo: Weixin

A police officer in Shenzhen, southern China's Guangdong province, has been suspended and detained for domestic violence, the local police bureau said in a statement on Wednesday night. The incident had previously gone viral online when footage of the abuse was leaked, and the statement had sparked discussion on what self-protection measures remain when the abuser is a member of the law enforcement team.ÊPhoto:weixin

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China

People & Culture


Villager’s videos gain huge following overseas as his fame spreads from Chinese video-sharing platform to Western social media
Liu Shichao’s online alias Hebei Pangzai, or Hebei fatty, has become well known for his drinking games and other exploits



Villager’s videos gain huge following overseas as his fame spreads from Chinese video-sharing platform to Western social media.
