Young man produces over 1,000 videos featuring big smiles to cheer other people up

Since June 2021, a young man named Mei Xiao has released more than 1,000 videos featuring himself putting a big smile on his face to cheer up viewers on a video-sharing platform.

Photo shows a screenshot of videos produced by Mei Xiao in which he is seen putting a big smile on his face to cheer up viewers of the videos.

Even on those days when he didn’t feel good about himself, Mei still managed to stick to the routine of releasing a video each day and sharing it in order to make his fans happy.

Mei was born in 1995 in southwest China’s Chongqing municipality. He was raised by his single mother, and having seen how his mother had struggled to support the family, Mei made up his mind that he was going to improve their lives through hard work.

After graduating from a secondary technical school, Mei worked as a waiter at a restaurant and later as a peddler. In 2016, Mei, who had aspired to become a comedian, came to Hengdian, one of China’s biggest film and television program production bases, becoming a background actor. Gradually, he moved from being an extra to an actor assistant, then an assistant to the film director and then to a technician who works on the sidelines.

Photo shows Mei Xiao at work. (Photo provided by the interviewee)

One day in June 2021, while Mei was recalling the days he had spent in Hengdian over the course of five years, the idea of producing short videos to record his life came to him.

“I had noticed a topic on social media with the hashtag ‘Hi, strangers. Can you cheer me up?’ In the comments beneath the topic, people left words of encouragement. I was deeply touched and came to realize that a little encouragement goes a long way. I hope that after watching my videos, people will say to themselves or those around them ‘You are the best!’ ” said Mei, explaining his motivations for making the videos.

Until today, Mei has produced more than 1,000 videos, saying he must stick to the routine for one year, while hoping that he can use his lens to capture the magnificent scenery of the country in the future.