Jiang Yilei (; born February 17, 1987), better known by her online name Papi Jiang () is a Chinese influencer and actor. She rose to prominence for her comedic videos on everyday life and popular culture.
Early life Jiang attended the Central Academy of Drama, where she majored in directing and received bachelor's and master's degrees. She worked in the entertainment industry for several years as a stage actress and assistant director. Qin, Amy. “China’s Viral Idol: Papi Jiang, a Girl Next Door With Attitude”. New York Times. 24 August 2016
In 2015, Jiang was introduced to online content creation by her college friend Yang Ming, who would become founder of Mountain Top agency and her business partner. She began posting videos with another friend, Huo Nifang, under the name TCGirls Love Complaining (), before posting solo videos under the name "Papi Jiang", with "Jiang" a pun on her last name and the Japanese honorific -chan.
Career In November 2015, Jiang found her first viral video in making fun of Shanghai people who mix Shanghai dialect and English words. Her videos received more than 290 million hits on major media platforms in just four months, and accumulated over 44 million followers in a year.
On April 1, 2016, Jiang landed RMB 12 million (USD 1.8 million) from four investors including Zhen Fund () and Luo Zhenyu, host of Logic Talk Show (). The investment gave the investors a 12% stake and valued Jiang at RMB 100 million. In 2016, she founded PapiTube, a group that supports young content creators in China. By the end of the 2016, Luo withdrew from investment of Jiang.
On June 21, 2018, she became chief content officer of the Baidu app.
In 2024, she voiced Disgust in the Mandarin Chinese dub of Inside Out 2.
Influence Common subjects of Jiang's videos include everyday life and popular culture. In July 2016, her first livestream, which lasted 90 minutes, received 74 million views in one day. She was profiled by The New York Times the following month.
In April 2016, China's broadcasting regulator, State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television, ordered Jiang to remove vulgar language from her videos. Most of her videos were temporarily taken down, a move that was interpreted as part of the government's efforts to tighten control over online content.
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