American vlogger in China goes viral with ‘city or not city’ meme, imitated by celebrities
- US vlogger in Shanghai becomes online sensation with travel meme which ranks places by trendiness, thrills
An American vlogger in China has shot to fame on mainland social media – and attracted the interest of celebrities – with his invention of the “city or not city” meme.
Among the stars Shanghai resident Paul Mike Ashton has grabbed the interest of are Richie Jen Hsien-chi and Ada Choi Siu-fan.
Known as “Hug Hug Bear” or Bao Bao Xiong in Chinese, Ashton captured viral attention with a vlog during a visit to the Great Wall in Beijing with his sister, garnering more than 380,000 likes on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok.
In the video, Ashton, speaking in less-than-fluent Mandarin, asks his sister: “Is the Great Wall beautiful?” to which she replies: “Beautiful.”
He followed this with: “City or not city? Ah,” to which she responds: “Not city, ah.”
“Not city in nature, right?” he continues, and she concludes: “Absolutely not city, ah!”
