Creator Ambassadors

April 10, 2025

I Can’t Get Enough of the IShowSpeed x China Takeover

If you haven’t been keeping up with IShowSpeed lately (you should be), you should at least know that he’s been traveling all around China over the last 2 weeks. So far, he’s streamed in Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Changsha—totaling 70M views on YouTube alone.

Speed trains with Master Liang at the Shaolin Temple Wushu Training Center in Henan

As much as it’s been fun to watch him experience the culture, try out all of China’s sophisticated tech, and practice Kung Fu, I think there’s a lot more I wanted to cover in this week’s Night Light.

Speed Is Changing China’s Narrative in America

I couldn’t help but notice that China is continually using his streams as a way to show people what the country is really like. I think it’s interesting that the official Chinese Embassy in the US tweeted out a welcome message when he arrived in the country. Everywhere he goes, there are news outlets trying to greet him and businesses putting their products in front of him. Some of this has also acted as an advertisement to visit China.

Because of IShowSpeed’s stream, we’re getting to see some of the features of China including futuristic technology and natural beauty. My perception of China as an American has been very different from what Speed is showing the world. It’s obvious that our media in the states has always had a negative perception of China and its people. In one stream, he’s shifting the geopolitical sentiment for the millions of fans watching his streams.

China visas 📈

Speed Is Putting on a Collab Masterclass

Some of my favorite moments throughout the stream and clips have been of Speed meeting up with popular Chinese creators and artists. It felt obvious to me that he should have done this, but I think it provides a deeper level of connection between him and the country when he interacts with their local celebrities.

I can’t name any other LED sign creators…

We’ve talked about this in previous Night Lights—China has a completely different set of social media platforms. TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram don’t exist, but they do have equivalents like Douyin (TikTok in China). Because Speed has collaborated with a lot of local celebrities, the content he’s filmed with them has ended up on all of these platforms.

These billboards in Changsha is insane.

The Big Takeaway…

In a world where there’s such a geopolitical divide between the US and China, people are starting to realize what China actually looks like when you visit. This saga has been incredibly fun to watch—and with all the creators and artists who’ve gone to check out China in the last few years—I’d imagine this trend will continue.

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