Chinese Man Chugs His Beer ‘Tornado’-Style and Twitter is All for It

With his unique drinking style, Liu Shichao has amassed more than 127,000 followers on Twitter, despite only joining the platform in August.

Liu, who goes by the moniker “Hebei Pangzai,” brands himself as an “ordinary peasant from China” and the “inventor of the ‘tornado’ beer-drinking style.”

The 33-year-old farmer lives with his family in Hebei, a coastal province in northern China, where he also runs an online meat store.

Prior to his “invention,” Liu was already popular for posting drinking binges on Kuaishou, a local video-sharing platform.

His first video, uploaded three years ago, shows him downing seven bottles of lager in just 50 seconds.

“One day I saw a video of people drinking beer,” Liu told the BBC from China. “I thought, I can do that too.”

Kuaishou eventually shut down his account for unhealthy content. However, he managed to cash in up to 10,000 yuan ($1,436) a month in donations.

Then, in August, one of Liu’s videos began making rounds on Twitter, marking the first time he went viral outside of his country.

“People were telling me I was popular on Twitter. I replied: ‘What’s Twitter?’ I had no idea,” he told the BBC.

Twitter, like Facebook and Instagram, is banned in mainland China, so Liu’s videos are reportedly posted “remotely.”

He is also unable to communicate in English, so he uses a translator when posting and sharing content with foreign viewers.

In an interview with Deadspin, Liu explained that the name “Hebei Pangzai” references his old restaurant, which went out of business three years ago.

“Well I’m from Hebei. And I’ve always been a little bit fat. ‘Pangzai’ was the name of my restaurant,” he told the outlet, which described “pangzai” as a cute pun on “pangzi” or “fatty.”

Liu never dreamed of becoming famous on a platform he had never heard of before.

“I was really surprised. I thought it was unbelievable. My heart was very affected,” he told Deadspin. “I really have to thank those people who shared my videos on Twitter.”

Liu, who is now being hailed “king,” also responds to his viewers — and even greets them on their birthdays — in English.

“A Turkish friend asked for my address so he can send me some liquor from his country. And there was that challenge to drink ten pints of beer. Also, a lot of people call me ‘king,'” he told the outlet.

Aside from Twitter, Liu also runs a YouTube account. He is currently accepting donations through PayPal.

While he undoubtedly enjoys drinking, Liu denies being an alcoholic and acknowledges the dangers his stunts pose to his health.

 

“She is annoyed and is worried about my health,” he told the BBC about his wife. “We often argue about this.”

He added, “All the videos are within the scope of ability. Teenagers are not allowed to imitate.”

Feature Images via @hebeipangzai