Chinese Internet Sensation Li Ziqi Is The New Domestic Goddess Peg

The South China Morning Post describes Li Ziqi, the Chinese Youtube star as a “celebrity is famous for her videos in which she performs the work of a farmer with the grace of a fairy.”  This internet superstar boasts a following of 8.45 million subscribers on her Youtube channel, a platform where she portrays the idyllic life in the Chinese countryside.

Providing a sense of respite and inspiration for many, Li Zi Qi’s videos celebrate the virtues of making everything from scratch, armed with her vast knowledge of Chinese culture and food.  These videos have a cinematic quality to them, showing sweeping views of the Chinese countryside and Li Ziqi’s environment, populated by her pet lamb, dogs and her grandmother.  She seems to be enjoying a very fulfilled domestic life on her own with ease: rhythmically chopping vegetables; merrily harvesting bamboo for some furniture projects; making her own bed and with the leftover cotton, a duvet for her dog.

Her videos revel in a slow-paced life, providing her viewers with vicarious enjoyment by watching her go about her daily tasks.  She barely ever says a word in any of these videos.  The sounds come from her activities, making her videos ultimately relaxing, as viewers get lost in observing her and her quaint, charming surroundings.  Unlike so many domestic shows, hers is unhurried, without the pressure of getting everything right.  “When I worked in the city, it was about survival… in the countryside, I feel I am truly living,” she is quoted as saying.  “In today’s society, many people feel stressed,” Li says. “So when they watch my videos at the end of a busy day, I want them to relax and experience something nice, to take away some of their anxiety and stress,” Li says in the rare the South China Morning Post interview.

It wasn’t always that way for the internet sensation.  Reports say that she left her home at age 14, when her stepmother mistreated her.  She then moved to her grandparents’ home to the country before working in the city.  She went back to the  countryside to care for her ailing grandmother.  Through her videos, she hopes to share the picturesque country life that she leads.  “I’m just filming my life,” she says. “Or rather, I’m just filming the life that I want,” Li Ziqi says.

Here are some of our favorite moments with Li Ziqi:

Li Zi Qi makes her very own silk quilt:

Li Ziqi harvests bamboo, makes her own bamboo furniture and cushions:

Li Ziqi makes her own countertop and sink:

Wood block printing with Li Ziqi:

Learning Shu embroidery:

The cotton harvest and making of her own bed and her puppy’s duvet cover:

Finally, some inspiration for Chinese New Year: