Constructing ideal wanghong villages on social media: the rural aesthetics, e-commerce livestreaming, and digital representations of Chinese rurality

Abstract

In contemporary China, social media has become an integral force in reshaping how rural life is represented, consumed, and imagined. As rural residents increasingly share their everyday experiences online, many have emerged as rural microcelebrities—or sannong wanghong—who actively participate in reconfiguring public perceptions of the countryside. Against this background, this study intends to investigate how e-commerce livestreaming on TikTok influences the digital construction of rurality in China. Drawing on a multimodal discourse analysis of livestreaming content combined with interviews, the study identifies three dominant themes in the portrayal of rural lifescapes, that is, the symbolic consumption of rural authenticity, the creation of exotic yuanshengtai brand, and the empowerment of rural neighbourhood. Together, these themes recast rural China as an avenue for urban escape, an object of consumption, and a realm ripe with developmental potential for middle-class viewers. These representations are not spontaneous; rather, they are shaped by the intersecting forces of China's platform economy, state-led cultural governance, and participatory governance initiatives. By examining how Chinese digital platforms mediate rural imaginaries, the study contributes to broader understandings of media, rural transformation, and state-society relations in the era of platform capitalism.