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Bilibili: 85-year-old marine geologist becomes China’s latest social media star as science education gains mass appeal

  • Wang Pinxian, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, accumulated 280,000 followers in less than a week on Bilibili
  • His two posts on the popular video-sharing platform attracted more than 2 million views by Monday afternoon

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Marine geologist Wang Pinxian, 85, is seen with viewers’ bullet comments on the background of one of his posts on Chinese social video-sharing platform Bilibili. Photo: Handout
Iris Deng
Marine geologist Wang Pinxian has become the latest science influencer to hit it big on China’s social media, reinforcing the recent success of scholars and institutions in creating educational content with a mass appeal on popular online video platforms.
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The 85-year-old Wang, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) since 1991, garnered 280,000 followers in less than a week on online video-sharing service Bilibili after posting only two videos.
The two videos – an introduction explaining his experience with ocean-drilling projects and another on calculating the age of the South China Sea – attracted more than 2 million views by Monday afternoon.

Wang joins a growing number of scientists and research institutes making science more accessible to a general audience on social media, especially among the young users on various platforms.

In 2018, Wang Pinxian (right, foreground) was part of a team who dove to a depth of 1,410 metres aboard Chinese research submersible Shenhai Yongshi, or Deep Sea Warrior, to collect samples in the South China Sea. Photo: Xinhua
In 2018, Wang Pinxian (right, foreground) was part of a team who dove to a depth of 1,410 metres aboard Chinese research submersible Shenhai Yongshi, or Deep Sea Warrior, to collect samples in the South China Sea. Photo: Xinhua

The Institute of Physics, under the CAS, is one of the more active scientific organisations presenting content about popular science to a general audience online. 

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