Popular Chinese TV host Li Xiang has triggered fresh online criticism. The controversy started after it was revealed she had eaten sticky rice dumplings worth 1,000 yuan (around ₹12,000) each during the Dragon Boat Festival.
Li, now 49, became famous in 1997 as the host of the hit show Happy Camp. She has won many awards, including China’s top honour for TV hosts, the Golden Mic Award.
Over the years, she has expanded her career into acting, singing, real estate and online selling. In 2019, her monthly online sales crossed 10 million yuan ( ₹12 crore), according to the South China Morning Post. She owns a huge villa in Beijing and several properties in Changsha.
During this year’s Dragon Boat Festival, the Chinese celebrity shared photos online of a fancy meal with her daughter. The photos showed special zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) served on porcelain plates at a luxury restaurant.
These zongzi were made by a French luxury brand using expensive ingredients like caviar, black truffle and Iberian ham. Each dumpling cost nearly 100 times more than regular ones.
Li, often called China’s “Showoff Queen,” is known for her over-the-top lifestyle. She once said her family spends at least 70,000 yuan (nearly ₹8.5 lakh) every month on food. She even mixes two-carat diamond powder into her skincare routine.
Her daughter’s life is just as lavish. Angela Wang Shiling gets a monthly allowance of 650,000 yuan ( ₹77 lakh) and studies at a top UK boarding school with fees of 350,000 yuan (approx. ₹42 lakh) a year.
She also rides in luxury cars, eats with Hermès tableware and wears costly jewellery from Van Cleef & Arpels.
To give a context, some Hermès dinner plates cost more than ₹1 lakh each. And, a simple Van Cleef & Arpels bracelet is worth ₹4 lakh.
Angela Wang Shiling, now 15, recently shared photos of her being in company with the British royal family. She even shared a photo of King Charles giving a speech at a private gathering, with Queen Camilla standing beside him. Her mother is also known to be close to the royals.
Social media reactions
Social media users reacted to the expensive food.
“This is not eating zongzi, it is biting into half my monthly salary!” SCMP quoted one user as saying.
“Poverty really limits my imagination. While ordinary folk buy zongzi by weight, celebrities price theirs by ‘style’; the difference is glaring,” came from another.