For some aspiring web celebrities, China's live streaming sites offer stardom. For others, they might just offer a living. The competition is tough and so is the work. Either way, with the world's largest online population at 668 million, there's money to be made for sites and performers.
Inside a cafe bar in downtown Beijing, Wang Weiyi is saying hello to her phone, talking with hundreds of adoring fans. She started live-streaming her college life five months ago.
It looks easy enough. But it sometimes requires part-time performers to put in 100 hours a month to gain enough followers.
She sees it as a hobby rather than a job.
"If you treat it as a job, you'll get tired of it. It's like after you left school, you still have to broadcast a certain amount of time. You feel tired, but you have to keep a smile on your face while performing. I would feel upset at some point about this," Wang Weiyi said.
Shows vary from gaming to dancing, singing and outdoor activities.
Users can comment in real time. And they can send virtual gifts. The price can start at 10 yuan...Some splash out for a fancy rocket worth as much as 500 yuan.
One of the biggest sites, YY, is listed on Nasdaq. Last year, it saw its revenues rise 60 percent to 5.9 billion RMB. It claims more than 120 million active users.
Zheng Lu, a sociologist from Tsinghua University, estimates that there are 20 to 30 million single men in China...strong contributors to the boom.
"There's a large number of young males in lower and middle classes that are inferior to their counterparts in the courtship market. But considering their sexual desire still needs to be satisfied, those online live streaming shows could offer them a chance to directly interact with beautiful girls," he said.
Zhai Li is a young office worker in Beijing. He watches at least four times a week.
"I think without exception, everyone likes to watch beautiful girls," he said. "They have higher overall quality, that's what makes them more delightful."
Zhang Qige has over two million subscribers. She is preparing for her night time show.
The 23-year-old has 400,000 real time viewers on average during each performance.
"They like me chatting with them," she said.
"They feel that the performer gets closer to them, because when I play computer games it was like a monologue, but by chatting with them, they feel like I'm talking to them face-to-face."
Zhang claims that she earns at least 1 million yuan a year.
Newcomers such as Wang Weiyi only earn about 2000 yuan per month.
Sun Bowen, the General Manager of Qihuang Company, claims that some celebrities can earn as much as 600 million yuan a year.
The company is one of the biggest in China in online live-streaming and celebrity packaging.
"To become a live streaming celebrity doesn't require much skill. As long as you have unique skills, for instance, singing, dancing, even cooking and swimming, which could provide a live streaming topic, you will be able to get fans," Sun said.
"It satisfies a desire of becoming well-known. That's why people struggle to be an online live streaming performer."
Weiyi Wang is live streaming outdoors today. She has only a handful of people watching.
"My ultimate goal is to earn some money for studying abroad. I knew it before I started doing this. That's why there's nothing that can change my mind. It's different from people who want to become well-known and get into the entertainment field," she said.
For grass-roots performers like Wang, the live-streaming platform is where the dream begins.
