"Classmate Zhang" has posted a total of 39 videos on the short-video platform Douyin, most of which display his single and mundane rural life. Photo: screenshot of Vista News.

A mysterious middle-aged bachelor has gone viral on social media for recording his rural life in Northeast China. He has been bestowed as the "best example of lying flat" by youngsters in big cities.

Rooted in Yingkou, a city in Northeast China's Liaoning Province, the man using the name "Classmate Zhang" has posted a total of 39 videos on the short-video platform Douyin, most of which display his single and mundane daily life such as feeding chickens and dogs, brushing teeth, or simply walking around the market.

Many netizens are impressed by his professional editing skills and the unpretentious rural life that he displays, enabling the influencer to attract over 20 million likes with 7 million followers within a month.

"His description of the country life shows the most real and most down-to-earth side of this country," commented one netizen under one of his videos on Douyin.

"As the representative of lying flat, he has done many things that young people working under high pressure in cities would not dare to do," commented another.

Data from the Report on Digital Development in Rural China 2020 shows that among China's total population of 1.4 billion, the proportion of farmers is 41 percent with around 500 million living a rural life.

Global Times