China's online entertainment industry expands amid epidemic

BEIJING — China's online entertainment industry has shown strong vitality due to people's growing online cultural and entertainment consumption during the novel coronavirus epidemic, the People's Daily reported on March 16.

Wang Jingjing, a yoga teacher in Beijing, livestreams yoga classes every morning through video-sharing app Douyin, also known as TikTok. Wang's yoga studio was closed temporarily during the epidemic so she decided to start a livestream class online for her studio members. As she continues to enrich the course content, more yoga lovers are attracted by her classes.

During the epidemic, short videos have become a part of many people's lives, and the number of short video platform users has increased rapidly. According to statistics cited by the newspaper, the number of daily active users of Douyin reached 311 million during the Spring Festival holiday, up 93.1 percent from the same period in previous years.

People also use short video platforms and video websites to get timely information about epidemic prevention and control. For example, the Yangshipin app, a new media platform of the China Media Group, has gained popularity for livestreaming the construction of the Huoshenshan and Leishenshan hospitals in Wuhan.

Figures cited by the newspaper show that travel-themed and food-themed videos have also attracted many viewers amid the epidemic.