Hebei 'Chubby Man'

6 | Friday, June 5, 2020 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY CHINA Hebei ‘chubby man’ builds cultural bridges Farmer delights ways,” he said. The footage of him crawfish, and hot dogs cooked guzzling beer and other types of over a small fire in the backyard. followers at home alcohol in minutes attracted thou- “I want to tell my overseas fol- and overseas sands of followers. lowers there are tens of thousands Last year, after he became well- of people at the grassroots level through his videos known on Twitter, Liu saw a rapid like me, who are enjoying their increase in followers on his Kuai- lives in every part of the country,” shou account, some of whom sent he said. SHIJIAZHUANG — Liu Shichao him messages in English. Comments about his posts are dipped his index finger into burning “It suddenly occurred to me that always heartwarming. A worker cooks pickled bamboo shoots, an important ingredient for luosifen, at a workshop of an liquid and lit a cigarette, a magic foreigners use Kuaishou as well,” he “I admire your hardworking instant luosifen maker in Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. HUANG XIAOBANG / XINHUA trick that would endear him to his recalled. parents,” said Lara Parpan, a Fili- fans worldwide. A middle school graduate, Liu pina. “You are a good son. Stay After being posted on Twitter last used translation software to reply strong and continue to inspire year, the video went viral and has to the messages. Sometimes when others!” been viewed more than 10 million the translation was too garbled, Liu even has followers from Tur- Students learn to use their noodles times. he would ask friends for help. key who offered to send him beer. The 34-year-old farmer from In the process, he found that his When China was hit by COVID- By ZHENG CAIXIONG important role in the development innovative ideas to boost sales of Hebei province gained fame as overseas followers were interested 19, Liu received many messages and SHI RUIPENG in Nanning of the city’s economy, Liang said. the noodles. Hebei pangzai, which means the in the daily lives of ordinary Chi- from around the world, asking him “The establishment of the luo- According to Liang, the city’s “Hebei chubby man”. nese, especially farmers. to take care of himself and praying A training school will be set up in sifen school is expected to help sales of packaged luosifen reached Now boasting more than 160,000 “They know so little about us,” Liu for his safety. Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autono- advance the enterprise,” Liang 6.26 billion yuan last year, and the followers, Liu is also fondly called said. His wife’s attitude gradually mous region, to capitalize on the said, adding it would receive subsi- industry employed more than “the king”. He opened a Twitter account in changed, and she is now suppor- growing popularity of river-snail dies and policy support from the 250,000 people. “Now the city is “The internet and social media August and expanded the content of tive of her husband’s social media noodles. local government. producing more than 2 million have given opportunities to ordi- his videos. fame. Officials hope the dish, also The dish takes its name from the packages of luosifen a day, and sell- nary Chinese people, especially the “Once I filmed my shopping expe- “China is home to numerous known as luosifen, will become a broth, flavored with river snails, ing them in both domestic and farmers at grassroots level, so they rience with my son in a county farmers,” the 31-year-old mother globally recognized culinary trade- that ingredients such as rice noo- international markets,” he said. can make their lifestyles understood supermarket, which, to my surprise, of two said. “Although we are all mark of the city. Zheng Junkang, dles, pickled bamboo shoots, dried Liu Zilin, Party chief of Liuzhou and voices heard by others around was viewed nearly 1 million times. called ‘farmer,’ every one is a Party secretary of Liuzhou, said the turnips, fresh vegetables and pean- Vocational and Technical College, the world,” Liu’s wife, Li Meijing, Many viewers had no idea what unique individual. I will be happy city government is ready to pro- uts, are served in. The broth, when said the luosifen school is the first said. supermarkets in rural China look if the video clips help foreigners mote the dish after the Luosi Rice prepared properly, has a pungent of its type in the country and will Li did not initially like seeing like,” he said, making no attempt to know more about life in rural Chi- Noodle Industry School was odor due to the pickled bamboo. begin accepting students in Sep- her husband use social media, hide his pride. na.” announced on May 28. An iconic dish in Liuzhou, pack- tember. School subjects will also because many of the video clips A video of him playing with his Liu said he is always compared Liuzhou Vocational and Techni- aged versions of the noodles include food quality control and then were about drinking liquor, family in the snow was viewed with Li Ziqi, a Chinese blogger who cal College signed a contract to run became popular during the COV- restaurant management, Liu said. which she believes is unhealthy. more than 209,000 times. People shot to fame with her short YouTube the school, which will train 500 ID-19 lockdown as its unique flavor Ni Yaoyang, director of the Liu- Liu likes to appear cool in his vid- from Canada, the United States videos recording her traditional and students a year in marketing, and convenience won over custom- zhou Luosi Rice Noodle Industry eos. But in private, he dresses simply and elsewhere exchanged their idyllic lifestyle in China’s country- advertising and production of the ers staying inside their homes. Association, said Liuzhou’s luo- in a T-shirt and jeans and is a typical snow experiences in the com- side. noodles. In March, Chen Dongwei, deputy sifen sales reached 13.5 billion yuan Chinese farmer: honest, rustic and ments section. “Our styles are different,” he said. Liang Xuhui, deputy Party secre- director of the management com- last year. “But the city still lacks not very eloquent. After posting another video, in “I admire her persistence, but my tary of Liuzhou, said the city gov- mittee of Yufeng District Industrial skilled people to further boost In 2016, when he owned a restau- which he baked sweet potatoes, style is more casual with the com- ernment attaches great Park in Liuzhou, told Xinhua News development of the luosifen indus- rant, he started posting clips on Liu asked his followers about their mon touch. importance to the development of Agency that sales of famous brands try, especially when the dish is Kuaishou, a Chinese video-sharing favorite food. They shared their “I think we are showing people the luosifen industry, which is now of the noodles had tripled from the poised to become very popular at app. childhood memories, from toast- different aspects of Chinese cul- worth more than 10 billion yuan same period last year. home and abroad,” he said. “At first, I filmed myself smashing ed bread made over an open fire, ture.” ($1.43 billion) a year. Liang said at the launch ceremo- a brick with my bare hands, or open- blackberries picked in the forest, The production and sale of river- ny for the school that he hoped its Contact the writers at ing a beer bottle in unconventional grandmother’s popcorn, roasted XINHUA snail noodles have played an graduates could come up with [email protected] BMW partners with State Grid EV Service to expand charging infrastructure By LI FUSHENG [email protected] BMW inked a deal with State Grid’s subsidiary, State Grid EV Ser- vice, on Wednesday in Beijing, as part of the German premium carmaker’s efforts to promote e-mobility in the world’s largest new energy vehicle market. The deal, which mainly covers creating a unified charging net- work, charging innovation and ecosystem, is the first between an international carmaker and State Grid EV Service, China’s largest highway charging pillar operator. “BMW’s strategic partnership with State Grid EV Service, a lead- ing charging service provider, Our efforts are also an demonstrates a strong commit- active response to ment of BMW to China,” said Jochen Goller, president and CEO China’s new of BMW Group Region China. infrastructure “Our efforts are also an active response to China’s new infra- initiative, which aims structure initiative, which aims to to develop and develop and support application of new technologies,” he said. support the Goller said decisive government application of new support and favorable policies technologies.” have been a major part of China’s strong development in e-mobility, Jochen Goller, president and but further development requires CEO of BMW Group Region Executives from BMW and State Grid EV Service pose for a photo after the two companies reach a deal in Beijing on June 3. joint efforts of both the govern- China PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY ment and companies. Quan Shengming, chairman of State Grid EV Service, said the the world’s largest market, BMW has Its joint venture, BMW Brilliance On the other hand, BMW iX3 into research and new technolo- As part of the partnership, BMW partnership will complement delivered more than 60,000 new Automotive, was the first in China to SUV, which is scheduled to hit the gies. “The current crisis will have a also plans to set up three-in-one each other’s advantages and make energy vehicles in China, playing an set up its own high-voltage battery market this year, will make the X3 lasting impact on our industry,” he charging stations at its dealer- greater contributions to China’s important role in reducing fleet production facility.

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