4 BiliBili – 哔哩哔哩 (Bì lī bì lī)
Myla Valmont
simplified Chinese: 哔哩哔哩; pinyin: Bì lī bì lī
BiliBili
BiliBili is platform made for sharing videos. You are able to post, share and live comment of these short videos. This allows a platform for streamers, different topics and all sorts of entertainment.[1] It’s incredibly popular among Chinese Gen Z and the primary language is Chinese.
![](https://uhlibraries.pressbooks.pub/app/uploads/sites/74/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-27-at-12.35.09 PM-300x208.png)
As you can see the average amount of BiliBili users has increased and continues to steadily do so. BiiliBili is a social media platform that greatly influences Chinese pop-culture, especially among younger generations like Gen Z. Who represent up to 59% of China’s online entertainment market. [2]
The App was created in 2009 in Shanghai. As of 2022 it currently has an average of 314.5 million monthly active users and 86.5 million active daily users.[3]
BiliBili is such an innovational app for Chinese youth and pop-culture. It serves as an alternative to Youtube and allows Chinese people to share media and express themselves. The video below is basically an edit of a viral meme in China that also became popular on TikTok here in the United States. In the video I believe an adult streamer was asked her age and in character she answers that she “just turned 18” however, that her fanbase believes that that’s untrue. Overall, there was a lot of recreations of the interview that garnered a lot of popularity and made a meme in China.
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV17G411D7MC/?spm_id_from=333.1007.tianma.10-3-37.click
Bilibili often reflects and contributes to emerging cultural trends in China. Influencers and content creators on the platform play a role in shaping and amplifying these trends, making Bilibili a relevant space for staying updated on the latest in Chinese pop culture. Bilibili is known for its scrolling danmu (“bullet curtain,” 弹幕) commenting system. Which allows people to comment on videos in real time. This allows the audience to interact with streamers and the people who upload the videos. This is a commenting system found on other game streaming websites like twitch and Youtube however, they still differ. On BiliBili all videos have this form of commenting however on Youtube this is only with live videos/streams.
Also, I find it important to mention that Bilibili has entered into partnerships and collaborations with content creators, entertainment companies, and other stakeholders. These collaborations bring exclusive content and events to the platform, further solidifying its position as a key player in the Chinese pop culture landscape. This allows different content that caters people with different tastes in media. Which means there are subscribers of many different interests on BiliBili which I find very interesting.