Author｜Lu Shiming

Editor｜Da Feng

In this era of rapid change, the rise and fall of internet celebrities seem to be even faster.

In recent months, Dong Yuhui, once famous for 'cultural live streaming,' has seen a decline in popularity. Although occasional related news emerges, the level of discussion and heat maintenance are far from comparable to his previous 'golden days' with Dongfang Zhenxuan.

Recently, there was a corporate change at Hui Tongxing (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd., with Dong Yuhui transitioning from Executive Director and Manager to Director and Manager. Additionally, there was the trivial topic of 'Dong Yuhui's expression going out of control while drinking Baihuashesaocao water.'

Source: Tianyancha

In fact, it's not hard to notice Dong Yuhui gradually 'disappearing' from the public eye, whether it's through live streaming sales data, viewership numbers, or public opinion.

This 'disappearance' can also be understood as 'being out of fashion,' which has become inevitable for internet celebrities. The question is whether Dong Yuhui's 'fading' is due to leaving Dongfang Zhenxuan or a conscious 'hibernation' on his part?

Gradually 'Fading'

The last time Dong Yuhui garnered widespread public attention was due to his split from Dongfang Zhenxuan.

This event not only marked a significant turning point in Dong Yuhui's career, completing his transformation from an employee to a boss, but also became the starting point for his gradual decline in popularity. Since then, the growth momentum of Dong Yuhui's personal IP has continued to weaken, and his former glory seems to be fading.

Data doesn't lie. According to Feigua data, from September 29 to October 28, 2024, the live streaming sales of Hui Tongxing were just over 100 million yuan, far below the monthly sales of hundreds of millions in the early days of independence.

Furthermore, looking back from the beginning of the year to last month, Dong Yuhui's popularity remained high. Whenever he appeared in the live stream, he could easily attract over 100,000 viewers, regardless of the time of day.

However, on the evening of November 7, Dong Yuhui conducted a special live stream for Haier appliances. During the prime-time slot at 9 PM, the viewership dropped below 100,000, with only 90,000 online viewers. Viewership continued to decline, falling to only 50,000 by 11 PM and briefly dipping to 40,000 afterward.

This direct change also reflects the challenges faced by Dong Yuhui and his team after leaving Dongfang Zhenxuan. Although Hui Tongxing achieved impressive results in the early days of independence, the growth momentum of its sales has slowed significantly over time, undoubtedly putting tremendous pressure on Dong Yuhui and his team.

In the fiercely competitive world of live streaming, no anchor can maintain peak performance forever, and Dong Yuhui's high traffic will eventually wane.

Like Dongfang Zhenxuan two years ago, 'de-Dongfication' seems to be a top priority for Hui Tongxing now.

Just recently, Hui Tongxing (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd. officially announced that it had successfully obtained an MCN qualification license, valid until November 18, 2026, covering performance and brokerage business, as well as ticketing.

At the same time, Dong Yuhui is appearing in fewer live streams. The live streaming schedule released by Hui Tongxing shows that Dong Yuhui only had three live streams from November 4 to November 10, with other anchors handling the rest of the time.

It's not hard to see that Dong Yuhui is trying to convert personal traffic into overall company traffic through a diversified anchor training system, allowing the company to avoid being constrained by a single anchor in the future.

With decreasing popularity and fewer appearances, Dong Yuhui may seem to be 'fading,' but from a corporate perspective, this also provides more opportunities for other team members and brings more possibilities for Hui Tongxing's future path.

Losing the 'Strong Support'

The gradual decline in Dong Yuhui's popularity has complex and multifaceted reasons, with two key factors being particularly significant: the absence of his noteworthy 'love-hate relationship' with Dongfang Zhenxuan and the loss of his original strong team support and abundant resources.

During his time at Dongfang Zhenxuan, Dong Yuhui's live streaming content was backed by a powerful team of New Oriental editors responsible for scriptwriting, product selection, and operational details. While Dong Yuhui's words were witty and humorous, most of the compelling content was the result of teamwork rather than his solo effort.

However, after Dong Yuhui went independent, he had to personally handle the tedious tasks of live streaming planning, scriptwriting, product selection, and operations, which undoubtedly posed a significant test to his personal abilities.

In addition to professional team support, Dong Yuhui's success was also due to the assistance of the Dongfang Zhenxuan platform and Yu Minhong's personal influence.

During his time at Dongfang Zhenxuan, many celebrities from the cultural and business circles came to support him, adding immense luster to his live streams. However, these visits were not coincidental but carefully arranged by Yu Minhong leveraging his extensive network.

After going independent, Dong Yuhui lost these resources, making it rarer for cultural celebrities to 'prop up' his shows.

Taking the Xinjiang live stream from August 17 to 20 as an example, Dong Yuhui originally planned to invite the Xinjiang artist Chen Jianbin, but unfortunately, the artist did not show up as scheduled. He then invited the Xinjiang writer Li Juan for an interview, which was also rejected.

Image: Dong Yuhui interviewing Li Juan

In addition to the issue of 'richness' in live streaming content, Dong Yuhui also had to face the rebuilding of the supply chain system.

As a mature e-commerce platform, Dongfang Zhenxuan had a well-established supply chain. After Dong Yuhui left, he had to rebuild his user base and supply chain, a lengthy and uncertain process.

Undoubtedly, after losing the 'strong support' of Dongfang Zhenxuan, Dong Yuhui and Hui Tongxing are showing their true colors.

Indeed, previously, Dong Yuhui only needed to focus on live streaming, much like a teacher who only needed to prepare lessons and teach carefully. But now, Dong Yuhui is not only a teacher but also the principal. Teaching is just the most basic task; he also needs to handle business negotiations, employee management, curriculum design, financial management, and more.

From an employee to the leader of an enterprise, every aspect of Hui Tongxing relies on Dong Yuhui. The problem is that these are not Dong Yuhui's strengths.

Conscious 'Hibernation'?

As everyone knows, content innovation is key to maintaining vitality in the live streaming industry. Dong Yuhui quickly attracted a large number of fans with his cultural background and unique charm. However, the persona of a 'cultured person' is a double-edged sword:

When viewers' expectations of Dong Yuhui become solidified, any deviation from his established image may cause dissatisfaction.

For example, not long ago, when Dong Yuhui discussed Inner Mongolia's shaomai with staff, he said, 'Inner Mongolia's shaomai are unproperly wrapped steamed buns that crack open during steaming, made by unskilled hands.' Many viewers felt 'offended' by this. Some commented, 'This way of expression is arrogant and rude, disrespectful to local cuisine.'

In fact, in the four months of live streaming since leaving Dongfang Zhenxuan, Dong Yuhui has experienced multiple 'blunders,' including low-level errors like 'Marie Curie invented uranium' and 'Marie Curie invented the X-ray machine.'

An individual's output and creative abilities are limited. No matter how 'cultured' one is, they cannot sustain long-term output without mistakes.

If Dong Yuhui frequently and long-term experiences 'blunders,' the higher he was praised before, the harder he will fall afterward. If he cannot continuously introduce new live streaming formats and content, viewers will easily become aesthetically fatigued and leave.

In fact, besides content factors, changes in Dong Yuhui's 'personal state' may be the core reason for the greatest impact on his popularity.

During the controversy over a short essay, Dong Yuhui expressed his thoughts, 'I don't like being a live streaming salesperson; that's not my intention.' In June of this year, before fully going independent, Dong Yuhui stated in a talk show that he strongly resisted selling things, 'To be honest, I still don't enjoy this job today.'

Including later statements like 'I really dislike being called an internet celebrity,' Dong Yuhui repeatedly expressed his personal feelings, predictably sparking criticism and ridicule: 'You're eating off traffic yet only saying pretty words; you want to have your cake and eat it too.'

Not wanting to go against his own wishes or feel external pressure, the best way for Dong Yuhui is to make himself less 'perfect.' Therefore, he makes frequent mistakes, obtains MCN self-production, reduces the number of live streams, and lowers his passion and energy during live streams...

As Dong Yuhui's true colors are revealed, he is also consciously going into 'hibernation.'