Li Ziqi (blogger)


Li Ziqi is a Chinese food and country-life blogger, entrepreneur, and internet celebrity. She is known for creating food and handicraft preparation videos in her hometown of rural Pingwu, Mianyang, Sichuan, often from basic ingredients and tools using traditional Chinese techniques.

Early life

Li was born on 6 July 1990 in Sichuan, China. She was orphaned at a very young age. In an interview with Goldthread, Li stated that she moved in with her grandparents after her stepmother mistreated her.

Career

Li started posting her videos on Meipai in 2015. As of June 2020, she has over 10 million subscribers on YouTube, over 25 million followers on Sina Weibo, over 3 million followers on Facebook, and has inspired many bloggers to post similar content.
Her mainland audience includes urban millennials. Li's popularity may be attributed to fugu, a growing appreciation in modern China for traditional culture. In an interview with Goldthread in September 2019, Li stated "I simply want people in the city to know where their food comes from."
A majority of Li's videos focus on traditional foods and antiques. Besides food preparation videos, other popular videos of Li's include creating makeup and dresses from grape skins. Li rarely speaks in her videos, and the sounds of nature, cooking, and calm music are most prominent. Hemispheres Magazine stated "the only narration is friendly banter between Li and her grandmother, but the sounds—the singing of birds, the crunch of frost underfoot, the thwack of a cleaver, the sizzle of frying garlic—lure you into an ASMR trance, so you don't even notice how many videos you’ve binged."
She was awarded the People's Choice Award by the People's Daily newspaper in September 2019. CCTV praised her and stated "Without a word commending China, Li promotes Chinese culture in a good way and tells a good China story".

Personal life

Li lives with her grandmother, who occasionally appears in videos, in the countryside of Mianyang in Southwest China's Sichuan. As a young adult she lived in the city, working various jobs such as waitress, a music DJ, and singer. When her grandfather died, she moved back to take care of her grandmother. Initially doing all photography and editing by herself, as she gained popularity and experience, her recent online videos are produced using a personal assistant and a videographer.