Editor’s note: A version of this post by Yiling Pan first appeared on Jing Daily, the leading digital publication on luxury consumer trends in China.
The economy of the wanghong, or live-streaming host, is exploding in China. With successful cases such as Papi Jiang, who partnered with the Swiss watchmaker Jaeger LeCoultre, and Taobao’s superstar seller Zhang Dayi, who earned RMB 20 million (approximately $3 million) in a two-hour live-streaming event, being an online celebrity seems to be a lucrative career path for many Chinese youths.
However, a recent report by the domestic Chinese media Beijing News exposes the less glamorous part of the wanghong industry in China, revealing the long working hours, meager wages and poor living conditions of most live-streaming hosts.
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