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Luo Tianyi, a Chinese virtual idol with 3 million Weibo fans, plays the Chinese musical instrument guzheng for Bilibili’s New Year’s Eve show. (Picture: Bilibili)
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LoL, World of Warcraft and Kris Wu: Bilibili’s New Year’s special attracts millions of millennials

China’s anime, comics and game streaming platform partners with state-run Xinhua in countdown gala

Bilibili
Karen Chiu
Karen Chiu
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This article originally appeared on ABACUS

What does a New Year’s Eve special tailored for Chinese millennials and Gen Z look like? League of Legends, anime songs and plenty of meme references -- according to Bilibili. 

The Twitch-like streaming platform’s countdown gala, which aired online starting at 8pm Tuesday, was the only one among eight New Year’s shows in China that wasn’t broadcast on TV. 
The pre-recorded stream kicked off with a World of Warcraft themed dance. That was followed by the 2019 League of Legends World Championship theme song Phoenix, a Kris Wu performance based on his widely ridiculed freestyle rap about noodles, and the theme song of Japanese anime classic Spirited Away -- which was shown in China’s theaters for the first time this year. 
The show, which drew 82 million viewers at its peak, was staged in partnership with state-run news agency Xinhua. Bilibili, better known as a hotbed of internet slang and viral memes, recently started hosting state broadcaster CCTV. The platform, which requires anyone to pass a 100-question quiz to qualify as a full member, currently boasts some 128 million monthly active users. 
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