China actor who plays role of beggar at popular mainland tourist site convinces visitors he is real, given food and money
- Pretend beggar works at theme park built to depict China 1,000 years ago
- Wears costume from the era, convinces with ‘wretched, innocent’ expression
A man who is employed to play the role of a beggar at a popular tourist spot in China has gone viral on mainland social media as fans flock to feed him and give him cash tips.
The tourist zone where Li Jingang works is Millennium City Park in Kaifeng, Henan province, central China.
It was built to look like the landscape from about 1,000 years ago as depicted in the famous Chinese painting Along the River During the Qingming Festival.
Li, 38, has worked as a beggar dressed in a costume from the era for 12 years and earns about 10,000 yuan (US$1,400) a month.
His earnings include about 100 yuan in tips each day from tourists impressed with his performing skills, reported Jiupai News.
Many people said Li’s “wretched and innocent” expression melted their hearts and some said they thought he was a real beggar.
Since last month, there has been a continuous stream of visitors offering food to Li.
Some fans even brought him a roast chicken after he joked during a live-streaming session on the social media platform Douyin that he wished he had some, the report said.
“To avoid disappointing tourists, I try my best to eat what they give while they are there in front of me. When I am full, I share the food with my colleagues or other tourists,” Li said.
“Sometimes, when tourists give me steamed buns, I’ll cry while eating them because I want them to have a better experience and feel involved in the play.
“If tourists see me choke while eating the steamed buns, some buy me bottled water. It is heartwarming,” he said.
Li said when he started his career acting as a role-playing beggar, he did not know how to act, so he fasted for three days to get into character, but his family intervened and sent him to hospital for physical check-up.
Li said the experience helped him understand what it feels like to be a hungry beggar.
“Now many tourists come looking for me and ask to have photos taken with me. I am suddenly so popular, I am a bit concerned about my fame,” he said.
“I feel like I am not working at Millennium City Park, but that I am an animal in a zoo.”
The pretend beggar said he plans to continue polishing his acting skills and create more dialogue to enrich the experience of visitors to the popular tourist spot.
News of Li and his job has been widely discussed on mainland social media.
“He is appreciated thanks to his hard work over the years. No pain, no gain,” one person said on Douyin.
“Beggar brother should be fearing that other people will come to grab his job,” said another online observer.
