Li Yapeng, the once‑celebrated actor turned entrepreneur, has staged a dramatic digital comeback: a string of recent Douyin livestreams have drawn huge audiences and blockbuster sales, briefly restoring his visibility and commercial clout. On February 7 a single “New Year” session recorded some 16.96 million views and 39 million likes, and three of his last ten shows have reportedly topped RMB 100 million in sales, with a peak session exceeding RMB 180 million.
Yet the commercial glow is being tempered by lingering financial and legal headaches linked to his business and charitable ventures. Corporate filings show a company in which Li holds shares, Lijiang Xueshan Investment, has an outstanding tax bill of about RMB 6.34 million for urban land use tax. That liability surfaced as his livestream metrics accelerated, underlining the disconnect between headline‑grabbing sales and unresolved corporate obligations.
The spike in Li’s online popularity is entwined with a public campaign to save the Yanran Angel Children’s Hospital, a charity‑rooted clinic he co‑founded after his daughter’s treatment. A short video released in mid‑January that exposed the hospital’s rent arrears and risk of closure propelled public sympathy and donations, and Li’s subsequent livestreams both amplified fundraising and drove commerce tied to the hospital’s narrative.
But legal and regulatory limits have complicated the rescue. Yanran, set up as a private non‑enterprise charity unit, lacks the formal qualification to conduct open public fundraising. A prior court ruling from March 2025 ordered the hospital to vacate and pay roughly RMB 6 million in rent and fees, and held Li jointly liable for about RMB 2.7 million of the debt. Although the publicity campaign produced more than RMB 24 million in donations within days, those funds cannot be freely applied to settle the hospital’s rent shortfall because of rules restricting public solicitation by entities without appropriate charity status.
The episode highlights broader tensions in China’s celebrity economy. Livestream commerce remains a potent vehicle for rapid revenue and narrative turning points, but it also exposes stars to intensified scrutiny over corporate governance, tax compliance and the proper use of charitable proceeds. Authorities in Beijing have tightened oversight of both e‑commerce and public fundraising in recent years, and high‑profile missteps risk prompt enforcement actions and reputational damage.
For Li Yapeng the situation is a portrait of mixed fortunes: a revived public profile and renewed commercial success on one hand, and unresolved company liabilities, a contested charity financing model and the legacy of earlier failed business ventures on the other. Whether the influx of donations, continued livestream income and any corporate restructuring will translate into a sustainable solution for Yanran or merely paper over deeper structural problems in the hospital’s business model remains uncertain.
International observers should see this as more than a celebrity saga. It illustrates how China’s regulatory environment governs the intersection of philanthropy, private healthcare and social media commerce, and how quickly goodwill converted into clicks can bump against legal limits and fiscal realities. That dynamic matters for foreign brands, investors and charities assessing reputational and compliance risks when partnering with Chinese influencers or social ventures.