'I missed you very much': China's social media darling returns

Li Ziqi, a beloved Chinese social media influencer, has made a much-anticipated return to the internet after a three-year break. Known for her enchanting videos that depict her life in a picturesque village alongside her grandmother in Sichuan province, the 34-year-old influencer uploaded three new videos on Tuesday, which have already garnered millions of views. Li first gained popularity in 2016 when social media users in China found solace in her serene and slow-paced videos that showcased traditional cooking and handicrafts. Her comeback is celebrated by fans worldwide, especially in light of a recent government crackdown on influencers whose content is deemed inappropriate. Li's absence from the online world was due to a legal dispute with the agency that managed her accounts. In late 2021, she filed a lawsuit against the company over the rights to her brand, which led to her stopping the upload of new videos. Although they reached a settlement in 2022, Li did not return to the internet until this week. In recent months, several influencers have vanished from the Chinese internet as officials intensified efforts to regulate online culture by targeting those accused of spreading harmful content. However, Li has managed to survive this wave of censorship. Her substantial following on platforms like YouTube and TikTok, which are banned in China, has raised questions about whether her videos serve as a form of soft propaganda. It appears that she has the approval of the Communist Party, as the state-run Xinhua news agency conducted an interview with her the day after her return, a rare occurrence for influencers. In the interview, Li revealed that she had spent the past three years 'catching up on sleep' and taking her grandmother to explore the 'outside world. ' She expressed that she now has 'a higher goal' and is determined to 'try her best. ' Li has always been a favorite of state media, with Xinhua referring to her as the 'vlogger who amazes the world with China's countryside life,' while China Daily praised her for 'spreading Chinese culture to the world. ' For the Chinese government, Li's idyllic videos promote tourism and resonate with President Xi Jinping's call for a renaissance of Chinese culture. One of her videos featuring a traditional noodle dish became a sensation after it was showcased, highlighting how her content can also elevate Chinese cuisine. Additionally, her videos provide a welcome distraction from the harsh realities of rural China, which is often poorer and older than the bustling urban centers. Li's international fame skyrocketed during the pandemic when China's relations with the West began to deteriorate. As people around the world were confined to their homes, many became captivated by her videos. While China's lockdowns were strict, they primarily affected urban areas, allowing her brand to flourish. As her popularity grew, she began selling food products and sauces under her name on the Chinese e-commerce platform Taobao. Reports in 2020 indicated that her product sales exceeded 1. 6 billion yuan, equivalent to approximately 220 million dollars. By 2021, she had become a major influencer, boasting over 20 million followers on social media, with an additional three million on TikTok. On Tuesday, she announced her return with a 14-minute video across all her social media platforms, including Chinese sites like Weibo, Douyin, and Xiaohongshu, as well as YouTube and TikTok. The video, which features her crafting a wardrobe for her grandmother using traditional lacquering techniques, has already been viewed over 10 million times on YouTube and more than three million times on TikTok. In her post, she expressed, 'I missed you very much,' and her fans echoed her sentiments. One highly-liked comment on YouTube read, 'When the world needed her the most, she returned. Welcome back. ' Another comment on Weibo, which received over 13,000 likes, stated, 'We need the slow-paced Li Ziqi in this age of information explosion. ' Many fans shared their joy at her return, with one comment saying, 'Did anyone else literally cry happy tears? I'm so glad to see her gran doing so well! So happy to see you back.