Pop icon and actor Andy Lau had never created a social network account on any relevant platform before, but has changed his mind and has opened his first on Douyin. Then it literally exploded.

On Wednesday, the star's new move became a cultural phenomenon creating a nationwide carnival buzz. In just 24 hours, he was followed by more than 24 million followers, from fans to his peers. By Sunday morning, he had nearly 50 million followers and 85 million likes for his five short videos. He is set to become one of the most followed individuals on Douyin.

Lau was an old-school entertainer who once said he didn't fall for online communications gimmicks. "Only using text creates no warmth, I don't know how to communicate with others by that means," he used to insist. 

But in his debut video on short-video app Douyin, he performed a skit mocking his top-rating film "Infernal Affairs" and then, with a smile, he asked fans to follow him. Not only did they rush to do so, many fellow entertainers also jointly welcome Lau on the app by various forms, pushing the event to a higher level.

The reasons that prompted Lau to join the platform could include several new films he needs to promote, from "Shock Wave 2, " which has already grossed 1.2 billion yuan so far, to "End Game," a comedy-drama starring himself and comedian actor Xiao Yang set for Spring Festival release.

In his 40-year career in showbiz, Lau has acted in more than 160 films, made nearly 80 music records and invested in about 30 film projects. He is so prolific and still appealing to different generations. His new account on Douyin will also attract those who have grown up with him to the platform.

Lau joins more than 3,000 entertainers in registering accounts on Douyin, including Zhang Ziyi, JJ Lin, Eason Chan and Lay Zhang, according to an entertainment white paper issued by the app company under the Chinese technology and social media giant ByteDance. 

With rapid development, Douyin has become a very important platform for entertainers and their new works, from films, TV shows to music release and cloud live concerts. 

The most recent short video phenomenon before Lau was the superstar Jay Chou's opening his account on Douyin's rival Kuaishou and now he has more than 30 million followers.

The COVID-19 pandemic also spurred the development of short video and live streaming services. A report by BigData Research released in early January revealed the scale of China's short video market had achieved a value of 167.52 billion yuan in 2020, and the number of users reached 818 million by June 2020. 

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