China's Chat Girls Our World

Now on BBC News, Our World.

Lele Tao is a Chinese internet

superstar. She sings, chats, floats

and plays games with her fans

online. In China's

multibillion-dollar live streaming

industry, she is all I've got as far

hundreds of thousands of online men

and they showered her with gifts of

thousands of dollars every day.

But there is always someone younger

and prettier waiting to take her

place. And the government is

tightening the rules on what is

allowed on screen. And now, she has

fallen out with her manager.

It is Sunday morning in Chengdu, the

ancient city in the south of China.

Now, one of the country's new

high-tech hubs. 24-year-old Lele Tao

is here for the weekend. She is

visiting her family. Who have

recently moved to in your apartment

in an upmarket neighbourhood.

Her dad will spend the whole day

cooking her favourite food.

She is only home for a few days but

before she can relax, she has work

to do. Lele is a live stream who

makes her work by entertaining

people online. She sings, plays

games and chats with her fans and

they can watch her for as long as

they want.

Lele is one of the most popular

streamers in the country. Without a

script she entertained her fans

until well past midnight. Her fans

can interact with her, right her

messages, and request songs. Her

family are also her fans.

Lele started live streaming one day

at her dad's office using just about

top. It all seems like just a bit of

fun until she got paid.

Back then, that was nine times the

average monthly salary in China. For

just two weeks work!

Some of her income is from playing

computer games with her fans. Lele

now has over 1 million followers all

over China, the majority of them are

men in their early 20s, many with

money to spend.

One of her most loyal fans is 24 you

rolled. Just talking about her makes

them nervous. And Lele remembers

when he started following her.

To get Lele to play the song, he

kept buying her more and more

expensive virtual gifts.

This is how streamers like Lele make

so much money. Fans buy them virtual

gifts exchanged entertainment, a

conversation, or sometimes simply

for their attention. Live streamers

can then redeem these virtual gifts

for cash.

Just to be her online friend, he has

spent what the average Chinese

person living in the city earns in

two years. In China, the internet is

tightly controlled and live

streaming is a much more significant

phenomenon here than in the rest of

the world. It is an industry worth

$3 billion a year. One of the major

hubs if Shanghai were Lele lives,

and where she is managed by one of

the country's biggest live streaming

agencies.

The pressure to look good on screen

is immense.

Lourey a rented apartment five

minutes from the management agency

MJ entertainment. She is one that

more than 3000 streamers on her

books. The CEO Max and his wife

spotted Lele shortly after she

started streaming.

MJ entertainment takes a 20% cut

from their live streamers, although

most of them don't earn anywhere

near as much as Lele.

And more fans means more money.

Looking attractive is crucial for

live streamers. But when it first

took off, some women took the king

sexy so far that it was deemed

pornography. The government quickly

tightened the rules on what is

allowed on screen. And now, Lele and

other streamers know how far they

can go. If they cross the line, they

could be sent to prison, and the

streaming channels closed up.

But this is just a warmup. After the

training, Lourey will be live

streaming for up to ten hours

non-stop until midnight. -- Lele.

After all is of live streaming, Lele

finally gets to eat her first meal,

at nine p.m.. She calls her mind to

tell her about the highlight of the

day so far. -- her mum.

It isn't just Lele who feels good,

fans who spend a lot buying her

gifts also enjoy the admiration and

respect they get from other fans for

the amounts they are spending.

Even for those fans who don't spend

much, live streaming can provide a

sense of community, friendship, and

family. And the industry knows this.

Here's an only child. Like 200

million other people born when China

one child policy. Decades of sex

selective abortions have led to a

dramatic gender imbalance, a severe

shortage of girls.

He spent his childhood in a small

village, just outside Shanghai.

The internet filled the gap.

That is when he met the woman that

he describes as his online goddess,

and started showering her with

virtual gift. -- gifts. Over the

years, he has spent a lot of money

on Lele. But still, for him, it is a

real relationship, and for Lele as

well.

It is Lele. Lele has called him to

tell him about a problem she is

having with her manager, Max, who

wants her to sign a new eight-year

contract.

To try to get her to sign the new

contract, he promises to make a big

investment in her, to help her

record albums or get into films. But

to get out of the contract early

would cost Lele over $1 million.

But Lele isn't happy, and the

situation soon escalates.

Behind closed doors, a huge fight

breaks out between Lele and Macs. He

storms out and orders her channel to

be shut down. A few minutes later,

she rushes home in tears. He blames

her mood. -- Max.

But later, Max admits Lele is upset

because of the contract.

Nothing is resolved, but neither

side wants to push things too far

for the moment. Still, the super fan

is worried about Lele.

So the next day, he orders a taxi to

take him to Shanghai to meet her in

person. But he is adamant his

intentions are not romantic.

Halfway through the journey, he

pulls over to a service station, and

checks in with her.

He discovers that, despite the

unsigned contract, Lele is back on

air. As usual, he requests a song,

and then sings along with her.

It took him four hours to get to

this iconic and romantic waterfront

area in central Shanghai, where they

have arranged to meet. But by the

time he arrives it is past midnight,

and all the lights have been

switched off. Lele is still at work

live streaming, and he doesn't want

to wait here.

They head off to a cafe near Lele's

apartment, at the conversation is

really awkward. It is rare for

streamers and fans to meet in

person, and they are both anxious.

They celebrate their one-hour

together with a selfie. Though they

had arranged to meet up the next

day, they don't. He takes a taxi

back home. And Lele goes back to her

on-screen life.