Hebei Pangzai

Liu Shichao (Chinese: 刘世超; pinyin: Liú Shìchāo), popularly known as Hebei Pangzai (Chinese: 河北胖仔; pinyin: Héběi Pàngzǎi; lit. 'Hebei fatty' or 'Hebei fat guy'[1]), is a Chinese Internet personality. After gaining a following inside China, Liu went viral abroad in late 2019 when Kuaishou videos showing his ability consume large amounts of food and drink in a short period of time went viral on Twitter.

Videos

Liu registered on Kuaishou, a Chinese short video app and competitor to TikTok, in 2016, eventually focusing on videos of himself drinking and cooking.[1] His video stunts typically involve outlandish drink portions and combinations, such as "beer, rice wine, spirits, a can of Red Bull, and an egg" mixed together and drunk within eight seconds.[2] He reached over 470,000 followers on the app, earning up to 300 Renminbi per day through live broadcasts,[3] before his account was shut down by Kuaishou for "unhealthy content."[2][4]

In April 2018, the Cyberspace Administration of China, a regulatory body that oversees online censorship in the country, initiated a crackdown on content it considered vulgar or unhealthy. Kuaishou was a major target of the campaign and was temporarily pulled from mobile app stores. As a result, Liu's account was suspended for four months, most of his popular videos were deleted, and he lost over 100,000 followers.[5]

In August 2019, an American uploaded some of Liu's videos on Twitter without Liu's knowledge. He subsequently decided to sign up for Twitter, obtaining over 70,000 followers in less than a month.[1] He posted old content from Kuaishou of his drinking, and also started to focus more on videos portraying his everyday life.[1]

Personal life

Liu is from the village of Zhengyuansi (正元寺) in Baixiang County, Hebei, where he has worked odd jobs as a laborer[3] and on his parents' farm.[6] He has a middle school education and does not speak English; he communicates with international fans through translation apps[7] or asks friends for help if needed.[8] He once owned a restaurant called Pangzai's Hot Pot,[1] but closed it down in 2016.[6]

Liu has a wife and two children. His wife did not approve of his drinking at first, but later grew accustomed to it, saying his videos could help foreigners understand everyday life in China.[7] Liu maintains that he only drinks "within the scope of [his] ability" for his videos.[2]

References
  1. Novia, Jessica (15 January 2020). "Chinese Twitter star Hebei Pangzai is an introvert and family man". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  2. Amos, Owen (24 October 2019). "Liu Shichao: The Chinese 'peasant' whose binge drinking went global". BBC News. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  3. Wu, Huizhong (23 December 2019). "With 'tornado beer' and brick-breaking, Chinese villager becomes Twitter sensation". Reuters. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  4. Hoffman, Ashley (24 October 2019). "People Are Binging on All of the Eggs, Fire, Beer and Attitude in Liu Shichao Drinking Videos". Time. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  5. Colwell, Jessica (28 November 2019). "How Chinese Kuaishou Rebel 'Pangzai' Became a Twitter King". What's on Weibo. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  6. Teixeira, Lauren (23 October 2019). "An Interview With The Viral Chinese Stunt Drinker Who Became Our King". The Concourse. Deadspin. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  7. "Hebei 'chubby man' builds cultural bridges". China Daily. 5 June 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  8. Li, Xueqi (5 June 2020). "柏乡小伙儿刘世超成网红 [Liu Shichao, Guy from Baixiang, Becomes Internet Star]". Xingtai Daily [邢台日报]. Retrieved 11 November 2020. Quote: “刘世超初中毕业，英文不太好，为了看网友的信息，他一般借助翻译软件，然后用同样的方式回复。遇到翻译软件不准确时，他就会找朋友帮助。” Translation: "Liu Shichao is a middle school graduate and his English is not very good. In order to read netizens' messages, he generally uses translation software, and replies using it as well. When the software is inaccurate, he finds a friend to help him out."
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