In January this year, there were about five MCN (multichannel network) operators in Shanghai. However, the number has increased dramatically in less than six months.

According to statistics from the MCN special committee of the Shanghai Network Audio-visual Association, there are more than 200 MCN operators of a certain scale now operating in Shanghai.

Livestreaming has deeply influenced business and manufacturing in the city. From January to May, China's top-tier influencer, Li Jiaqi, has helped Shanghai local brands achieve 450 million yuan in sales via his livestreaming channel.

Data from Alibaba's main e-commerce site, Taobao, shows that Shanghai is rapidly embracing the livestreaming economy. Among first-tier cities in China, it ranks first in terms of both the number of views by users and of brands involved.

As the first city in China to establish a special MCN committee, Shanghai has been building a "web celebrity economy" cluster to promote exchanges and cooperation in the whole web celebrity industry chain.

Prodigee Media (Beijing) Co Ltd , the overseas YouTube operator of Li Ziqi, a Chinese blogger who shot to fame with her short YouTube videos recording her traditional and idyllic lifestyle in China's countryside, is planning the live broadcast market in Shanghai, and has gradually developed cross-border e-commerce and short video businesses, cooperating with 600 domestic channels.

Zhang Tao, secretary-general of Shanghai Network Audio-visual Association, said Shanghai has all the elements for livestreaming economic development and is building an irreplaceable business environment consisting of policy support, space resources, capital and finance.