2020 Wrapped: 7 Massive Moments That Went Viral This Year

2020 was a mistake. We should have either stayed in 2019, or gone straight to 2021.

Of course, Wuhan fell into the global spotlight as the first documented site of the Covid-19 pandemic, ultimately impacting lives around the globe.

But so much beyond that has happened, and nobody was able to soak it in. Rinsing anxiety sweat-stains from your eco-friendly facemask, you may have missed some gems.

This was the year that gave us the only version of “Yi Jian Mei” that matters. We feared for Jackie Chan, and we cringed for Mulan. 2020 was a wild ride — here are seven moments that prove it was viral in more ways than one.

Wuhan’s Quarantine

Covid-19’s first documented outbreak in (and the subsequent quarantine of) Wuhan was hands-down the most “viral” moment of 2020, as the eyes of the world fell on China in those early moments of collective uncertainty.

That was back when the thought of an official quarantine order sounded like a far-off dystopian concept. No one knew that Wuhan’s response would be echoed in different forms around the world throughout 2020 and that we’d all have to get used to the word “lockdown.”

That initial moment was defined by a sense of collective solidarity in the Chinese city. Online, clips spread of neighbors chanting together to “add oil” while quarantined inside their high rise apartments, an expression of encouragement. Hospitals were built at breakneck speeds to treat the influx of patients, yielding one of 2020’s unexpected trending phrases — “virtual construction supervisors,” a term coined when the public was invited to livestream the construction process.

What happened next? Think you know the answer to this one. As for Wuhan itself, well there was this…

Jackie Chan Almost Drowned

Jackie Chan starred in this year’s Vanguard, a kitschy action flick that saw him taking on the role of a high-powered CEO. The movie was supposed to come out in early 2020, but was delayed by the outbreak of the pandemic.

It didn’t come without a customary pre-release hype nugget, though. In September, a behind-the-scenes clip surfaced and began trending on Weibo under the hashtag #Jackie Chan Almost Drowns#.

In the clip, Jackie can be seen slipping off a jet ski, and getting pulled beneath the current. A few tense moments pass, and director Stanley Tong begins crying, before the star resurfaces unharmed.

Jackie recounts, “I pushed, pushed, pushed the jet ski, and as soon as it was out of the way — boom! — the current pushed me out of the water.”

“It was like a divine spirit saved me,” he added.

What happened next? When it did finally come out, the film bombed, drawing just 246 million RMB domestically (around 37 million USD) in its first two weeks — the worst-performing of all the Golden Week holiday blockbusters.

“Yi Jian Mei” Became a Thing

It feels like a lifetime ago that an old Mandarin jam rose to TikTok infamy. But indeed, this was the year of “Yi Jian Mei,” known to most as “that Chinese TikTok song.”

The 1983 classic — the performed by Taiwanese singer Fei Yu-ching — was originally the theme song for a popular TV drama series. Fei retired last year, but probably didn’t expect his 37-year-old song to take off, reaching the top ranks in Spotify in Sweden, New Zealand, and Norway.

The thing that started it all was a clip from humble farmer Zhang Aiqin, singing the song in the snow. Against a backdrop of global boredom, the song managed to reach mainstream listeners on the US version of TikTok.

What happened next? China’s internet was baffled by the occurrence, but not displeased. And, as TikTok memes tend to, this one rumbled on until it was replaced by something else.

Discussions on Women’s Rights and Sexual Abuse Came to the Fore

2020 was a watershed year for online discussion of women’s rights and sexual abuse.

For one, changes to the national civil code sparked backlash, specifically over a proposed “30-day cool down” period for couples seeking divorce. The legislation was intended to fight China’s rising divorce rate, but was criticized as insensitive to victims of domestic abuse.

Another item in that civil code clarified what was previously something of a legal grey area — definitions around sexual assault. The new code was wider-reaching than many had expected, including text and imagery, for instance, and binding schools and workplaces to terms of institutional responsibility.

In the wake of these new regulations, a few high-profile cases caught waves of public interest.

For more on these issues, and in particular their spotlighting by mainstream entertainment stars, head to our site.

What happened next? Where we go from here is somewhat unclear. The last few months have seen a surge of activity and debate around women’s rights in China, but how long those conversations will blossom for remains to be seen. 

Mulan Flopped

Mulan was the big swing — and even bigger miss — that echoed through entertainment in 2020.

The live-action film was a major project for Disney, as a title that had the potential for success in the crucial China film market while also appealing to the US nostalgia market. That balancing act did not pay off, though.

Admittedly, the Covid-19 pandemic did ruin release plans, forcing Disney into a weird streaming-only opening in the States for 30USD. But the release strategy was honestly the last thing on anyone’s mind — folks were too focused on how bad the movie was.

Viewers roasted historical inaccuracies, comparing the film to the cinematic equivalent of American Chinese food. Ratings tanked on film review site Douban, and elsewhere, a homegrown, animated version of Mulan’s story managed to do even worse.

What happened next? Hopefully Mulan became a teachable moment for Hollywood studios pandering to the Chinese market. But don’t hold your breath. Announcements that Netflix was to take on a Three-Body Problem adaptation and a Water Margin project sparked some to cry “not another Mulan.”

Mental Health Became a Major Issue Amid the Pandemic

A study conducted by one of China’s biggest online counseling platforms ended up kicking off a long overdue conversation about mental health.

The study, which correlated rates of depression with severity of the Covid-19 outbreak, drew responses from mainstream media outlets, and thrust the discussion into the national spotlight. Hashtags such as #The Depression Rate in China is 2.1%# and #There are an Estimated 300 Million Depression Patients Globally# trended on Weibo as a result.

Search activity for mental health-related terms like “psychological help” reached a ten-year high at the beginning of 2020.

What happened next? Schools added screening for depression as part of annual physical exams for high school and college students, as China began to take the issue more seriously. Even tech companies got involved, with music streaming site NetEase introducing special measures to combat depression on its platform.

Suspense Dramas Got Suspended

We all got very excited when iQIYI debuted its hit drama The Bad Kids.

The series, which followed serious themes such as murder and child abuse, was a breath of fresh air with audiences, trending and generating intense discussion on social media.

That’s why it hit hard when the remainder of iQIYI’s drama series was suddenly suspended, deemed too edgy for regulatory authorities. The “Mist Theater” season of mystery/suspense dramas was intended to include six titles, of which The Bad Kids was only the second.

But after the show blew up, the remaining four titles were suddenly suspended. 

What happened next? After a lengthy break, the Mist Theater series of gritty programming did eventually return on iQIYI. The Bad Kids, meanwhile, made it onto Variety's list of the best international dramas in 2020.

2020 was a year to remember… or to forget.

For lots more viral moments from China, hit "Read more" at the bottom of this message.

More from RADII