In this technology-dominated era, changes can happen in the blink of an eye. Yet, a Chinese girl is using the technology to preserve the old way of living, and with it, her videos have gone viral both at home and abroad. 

Living a slow-paced, fairytale-like rural life in southwest China's Sichuan Province, Chinese Vlogger Li Ziqi is impressing millions of viewers around the globe with her videos.

In her videos, Li makes everything, ranging from paper to cloth, dresses and even a sofa, from scratch with her own hands.
Professor Li Jinzhao from Beijing Foreign Studies University spoke highly of her videos, which she said is pleasing the eyes of her audience. "It is really soothing, relaxing, and even therapeutic to watch her making things," she added.

In the ultra-competitive field of online videos, she manages to attract over 21 million fans on Chinese Twitter-like social media platform Weibo and eight million overseas on YouTube. On YouTube, a video showing her making exquisite snacks for Spring Festival has received over 40 million clicks.

Talking about why Li Ziqi is so popular, Prof. Li pointed to the anxiety people share towards an over-modernized world and the urge to live a quiet and nature-oriented life.

According to the data provided by Malaysian film and television company WebTVAsia, Li Ziqi's YouTube channel top six subscribers by country, as of December 17, 2019, were Vietnam, the United States, India, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines. The U.S. accounted for 11 percent of the total number of subscribers.

Dr. Dong Yikun from Beijing Foreign Studies University also added that what Li shows in her videos does not represent how the majority of rural residents live their lives, she provides an interesting and creative perspective to look at trivial and ordinary living style in rural China. "The belief of life and the positive attitudes towards family bond is the heritage of rural culture," she said.

"She is just enjoying what she does," Prof. Li concluded. "She is romanticizing it, but that life is what we want to see."

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