In China, bloggers stream in rich neighborhoods right on the street to get more donations

Naomi Wu, a popular Chinese tech blogger, posted a video on Twitter of one of China’s wealthy districts, where bloggers gather under a mainline bridge and broadcast live to their followers.

Many of Wu’s followers were surprised by this behavior of Chinese influencers, but she assured them that the bloggers' actions were justified. For example, it is profitable for streamers to conduct live broadcasts using the geolocation of prestigious areas of megacities. This way, wealthy viewers can understand how accessible their favorite blogger is. As a result, the opinion leader receives more generous donations for streams.

Blogging is a good part-time job for those who work during the day and find the energy to stream at night. The audience comes to evening broadcasts more willingly and pays much more than for daytime broadcasts. However, not all bloggers in China are as successful as it is commonly believed. To attract an audience, a blogger must invest not only in high-quality equipment for filming content, but also in their appearance and develop skills.

However, street streaming in China is not authorized, so girls are often asked to leave rich neighborhoods or simply arrested. Blogging in China is actively regulated by the state apparatus. Last year, WeChat’s security center released a description of more than 70 «violations» that were discovered during daily monitoring of influencers' live broadcasts. Chinese bloggers are prohibited from picking their noses or performing «vulgar» actions. Deliberate demonstration of tattoos, live broadcasts by women in only underwear, bikinis or bath towels are also prohibited. The topic of religion cannot be exploited to make money.

Of course, any politics is out of the question, as is criticizing the current Chinese government. For «illegal» actions, a blogger risks not only being blacklisted, but also never being able to return to show business.

As a reminder, at the end of 2022, an Apple executive lost his job because of a comment he made to a blogger on TikTok. Tony Blevins, a senior executive at Apple, was fired after he joked on viral TikTok that he «admires women with big breasts.»