“Virtual Youtubers” like Vox Akuma and the girl group A-SOUL have built huge followings in China. Often, these fandoms are as much or even more about the performer behind the digital mask as the character they play.
Ruili boomed in the 2010s thanks to its close proximity to Myanmar and the jade trade. Then the pandemic came, and the city found itself cut off, not just from the border, but also the rest of China.