Chinese couple gain fame by livestream cooking amid epidemic

Shi Lianzhong, 56 (right), and Xian Hua, 50, prepare dishes in their private kitchen. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

BEIJING — A couple in Southwest China’s Chongqing municipality are rising in popularity as they livestream their cooking activities online amid the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Considering that people are encouraged to stay indoors during the ongoing epidemic prevention and control efforts, an increasing number of people now have no choice but to cook at home. The couple — Shi Lianzhong, 56, and Xian Hua, 50 — came up with the idea of posting cooking videos on Douyin, a large video-sharing platform.

So far, their official Douyin account has more than 265,000 fans and over 2 million likes for their culinary creations.

Shi is a former four-star hotel chef and now the couple run a restaurant in Nan’an district.

“People like medical workers and policemen have sacrificed so much on the front line. There’s nothing we could do but to offer a cooking channel in our private kitchen. We hope this can enrich people’s lives,” Xian said.