In the West, people have PewDiePie. In India, there is the T-Series. In China, people have "李子柒 Liziqi" aka Li Ziqi.
Li Ziqi is best known as a Chinese food and country-life blogger, entrepreneur, and also an internet celebrity.
But when she first created her YouTube channel on August 2017, all she wanted was to create content about Chinese dishes, and cooking with basic ingredients and tools using traditional Chinese methods.
The last thing on the mind, was probably breaking the world record.
And that is what she exactly achieved on February 2021, when the Guinness World Records awarded her the title of the "most subscribers for a Chinese language channel on YouTube."
She was awarded when she had 14,100,000 subscribers on YouTube (as verified on 25 January 2021). But it should be noted that she was actually eligible for title since July 2020, after surpassing 11,400,000 subscribers.
According to GWS, "Li Ziqi’s videos have attracted fans from all over the world who love to watch her seemingly idyllic life in the countryside that is steeped in traditional Chinese culture."
She managed to gain that many audience with her skills, like weaving, cooking and farming. Li Ziqi learned those skills from her grandparents who lived in the countryside.
Li Ziqi moved in to live with her grandmother after her stepmother mistreated her.
Her popularity not only came from her fans and followers, but also from the government of China.
Li Ziqi rarely speaks in her videos.
Instead, she uses the sounds of nature, cooking, and calm music. This is why a Chinese state-run television praised her for commending China "without saying a word," and praised her ways for promoting the Chinese culture in a good way.
She was also awarded the People's Choice Award by the Chinese Communist Party's official People's Daily newspaper in September 2019. She was also nominated as a member of the All-China Youth Federation in August 2020.
Many of her fans described her videos as a channel for Chinese government soft power.
It should be noted that Li Ziqi earned a living by selling her agricultural products on Taobao, a Chinese e-commerce platform, before she became a YouTuber.
Following her success, she sells her own food brand under her name, sold pre-packaged on the internet. And for her channel, Li Ziqi works with her personal assistant and videographer.
