Chinese food vlogger takes culinary and online world by storm

A unique presentation style which offers viewers, a glimpse into the serene country life of China is what made videos of Li Ziqi an instant hit on social media. Known as one of the most popular food vloggers in the world, with millions of subscribers, Li Ziqi makes sure that her videos are extremely captivating.

In her videos, the internet celebrity is often seen harvesting fresh fruits and vegetables that she grows in her own fields. She then makes delicious sweet and savoury dishes using these in the most traditional way. Li Ziqi doesn't use modern equipments like mixers, grinders, or oven. These videos shot in the beautiful countryside of China's Sichuan province explore rural life in the most authentic way.

After cooking what is just required for Ziqi and her grandmother, she would preserve the rest of the fruits and vegetables as jams or pickles and store them in huge glass jars. Her videos capture the changes in seasons and how her beautiful hamlet looks different during each passing season. She mainly focuses on traditional modes of cooking and preserving food items which is a major part of the Chinese cuisine. Li, an ardent lover of the traditional art forms of China finds time to learn those beautiful art forms as well.

Li believes that her videos would help millions of people who struggle to cope with the pressures of their modern careers, to relax and unwind. One could enjoy the impeccable charm of the serene countryside where people, donning traditional attire, indulge in farming or other jobs that brings them closer to nature. Besides these, the viewers can also watch how Li prepares those mouthwatering traditional dishes. Like every youngster who aspires for better living conditions, Li too had migrated to the city. She worked at a bar hotel as in-house DJ for a few years before returning to her roots. It was her grandfather's sudden demise which prompted Li to come back to her beautiful village. She currently lives at the countryside of Mianyang in the Sichuan province with her grandmother.

Li says that she mostly portrays the traditional life that she enjoyed in the village during her childhood, in her videos. Not just food, clothes too were locally produced here. Though she enjoys the admiration of millions of people, she has critics as well. Many criticize her videos, saying that she is merely acting in front of the camera and that she actually belongs to a financially sound family.

Li Ziqi's name had appeared in a local newspaper when she was studying in grade 4. However, it was not because she hailed from an influential family, but as one of kids who got the opportunity to continue studies with the help of some of the kind and benevolent people in the locality. She is incredibly grateful to those wonderful people who had helped her and gives it back to the society by allotting a part of her income for providing educational opportunities for poor children and other charity works.

Li also suffers from a behavioural condition called the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in which a person has uncontrollable and recurring obsessions and behaviours that they feel the urge to repeat over and over. However, Li says that she is an extremely cool person doing her daily chores with a relaxed mind. But, she is not ready to compromise on the quality of her videos and insists shooting a scene multiple times until she is fully satisfied with it.

It is Li herself who edits the videos. Though there is a professional cameraman who helps Li, she makes sure that everything is perfect, before releasing it online. Until May 2017, Li used to edit her videos using a regular smartphone. Li firmly believes that even the nuances are vital when it comes to perfectly portraying the beautiful images or messages that she intends to share with her viewers. She would even work hard for months to shoot a video.

Her followers often ask Li whether she has any plans to open a restaurant where she serves the delicious traditional dishes that she cooks in her videos. However, Li Ziqi says that the right time has not yet come and that she would think about it when she is a bit older.