‘Terrified!’: Chinese man spends US$28 to look like Jensen Huang, garners large following

A young man in rural China has gained tens of thousands of online followers in two weeks by impersonating Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.Yang Yang, 28, who lives in a village in Dandong in northeastern Liaoning province, has gone viral on social media for his videos showing him imitating the Artificial Intelligence (AI) titan.He released the clips using an account called @huangyinxun, which is how Huang’s Chinese name is pronounced in the northeastern China dialect.Yang has shared over 20 clips featuring him with grey hair, wearing a leather jacket and a pair of glasses, just like Huang.Yang Yang pictured wearing a leather jacket like the one Jensen Huang is famous for. Photo: chengdu.cnYang turns his hair grey by sprinkling wheat flour on it and keeping the flour in place with hair gel.He spent 100 yuan (US$15) on the leather jacket and 10 yuan for the spectacles, according to a report by China News Weekly.In some videos, he holds a large model of graphics cards, hinting at key products of Huang’s company.In other clips, Yang copies Huang by eating noodles from a big bowl and drinking fruit juice from the famous Chinese brand Mixue Ice Cream & Tea.Yang, above, puts wheat flour on his hair to mimic Huang’s grey locks. Photo: chengdu.cnHuang trended on social media for being filmed gulping down Beijing fried sauce noodles and drinking Mixue’s product on Beijing streets while he was part of US President Donald Trump’s delegation to China last month.Yang’s account had 54,000 followers at the beginning of June.Each of his impersonation videos was viewed millions of times, with some garnering online visits of 15 million.His live-streaming sessions attracted as many as 20,000 people watching at the same time.Yang, above, puts the finishing touches to his look with a pair of glasses like those worn by Huang. Photo: chengdu.cnYang hails from a rural family. He started working as a migrant worker at the age of 16. He has taken up jobs like washing dishes and cooking noodles at restaurants.Further ReadingFive years ago, he returned to his hometown to take care of his aged parents.Yang is well-known as a local influencer who shares videos of rural life. His other social media account boasts 300,000 followers, but the income from it has been unstable, he said.Some internet users suggested he impersonate Huang last year because they thought he was a doppelgänger.Yang did not take this advice seriously until recently when the videos of Huang on the streets of Beijing went viral.Yang said he admires Huang not only because he is a hi-tech guru, but also because the businessman was also once a grass roots worker.“I heard Huang washed dishes in restaurants when he was young. I also did that,” Yang was quoted as saying.He said he has come under huge pressure because of his popularity online.The real Jensen Huang, above, pictured eating a bowl of noodles during his recent visit to China. Photo: Weibo“I am terrified. Some people posed as the legal department of Nvidia to contact me, requiring me to take down my videos,” said Yang.“I beg Boss Huang and his Nvidia not to lower yourself to my level. But if you really think my videos have affected your company’s image, please let me know and I will delete them,” he added.In the past years, bloggers imitating celebrities have attracted wide attention.One of them is an impersonator of Taiwanese pop singer Jay Chou who is actually a food vendor.Another is a Ryan Chen, who is based in Chongqing, southwestern China, and teaches English online. He is famous for impersonating Donald Trump by using fluent English and adopting the president’s mannerisms and accent.