When veteran actor and philanthropist Li Yapeng mounted a public defence of a quiet benefactor this week, the episode crystallised a familiar modern Chinese drama: celebrity-led charity, internet sentiment, and financial markets colliding in real time.
Li has become an unlikely livestreaming star since mid-January after publicising the funding crisis at Yānrán Angel Children’s Hospital, which faced closure over unpaid rent. His videos and live appearances galvanised audiences: in the past month his short-video account gained roughly five million followers to top 11.25 million, and recent streams have produced eye-catching sales—13 sessions in 30 days averaging 50–75 million RMB each, with at least three single-session tallies breaking the 100 million RMB mark. One standout broadcast on January 30 pulled in more than 400,000 viewers within ten minutes and generated about 180 million RMB in sales.
The hospital story also prompted donations from netizens, influencers and businesses. Among those who gave was Dong Yuhui, a prominent livestreamer who reportedly made a large donation via an intermediary after learning the hospital was in danger. Li confirmed Dong’s gift on February 7 and stressed the two men were not previously acquainted; he described the contribution as substantial—“not a small sum, not one million, not two million, much higher.” Dong publicly replied under Li’s post, calling Li “admirable” and urging continued attention to the hospital and charity work.
That public exchange would have been a straightforward human-interest vignette were it not for the financial ripples. A small-cap online media firm, Tiandi Online, which holds a 16.67% stake in Li’s cultural-creative company Beijing Zhongshu Yilian Network Technology Co., saw its shares surge after Li’s charitable profile rose. From January 19 the stock logged multiple consecutive limit-up days and by February 6 had risen more than 113% year-to-date. Intraday turnover spiked above 40% at one point, underscoring speculative momentum.
The market spike sits uneasily against Tiandi Online’s own disclosures. The group warned of a full-year 2025 net loss of 86–153 million RMB, citing higher procurement costs and conservative provisioning following a comprehensive asset review. The disconnect between surging market interest and deteriorating fundamentals fuels concerns about sentiment-driven rallies linked to celebrity popularity and cross-holdings.
The broader pattern is familiar: celebrity advocacy can mobilise charitable giving, rehabilitate reputations and send vast audiences to livestream channels. But in China—where online opinion is mercurial and regulatory scrutiny of both markets and media is intense—the same forces can invite second-order effects. Donations that began as private acts have become public signals; social-media admiration can be translated into sales and then into equity bets, exposing companies and investors to amplified reputational and regulatory risk.
For Li Yapeng, the immediate outcome is a partial rehabilitation of his public image, from an actor once derided after exiting the entertainment mainstream to a philanthropic figure with the reach to shift consumer behaviour. For Dong Yuhui, the episode both highlights a charitable impulse and reveals the awkwardness of visibility: a donation intended to be discreet became headline fodder, sparking debate about motives and the social optics of giving.
For investors and regulators the episode is a reminder that in an era of celebrity commerce and rapid online mobilisation, capital markets can react to narratives as readily as to balance sheets. The coming weeks will show whether Tiandi Online’s shareprice reflects sustainable business improvement or a temporary re-rating driven by association. Meanwhile the hospital’s fate may hinge on a mixture of genuine donations, social pressure and the ordinary business of stabilising services and finances.