Herdsman dances his way into spotlight

DANCING INTO THE SPOTLIGHT

But the fervor only lasted a while because the desserts were only popular during Tibetan New Year.

Just when Lhaba was considering what to do next, his dancing videos suddenly became viral on the social media tool WeChat. A local resident suggested that Lhaba upload his videos on TikTok.

"You will become an online celebrity for sure; trust me."

Lhaba did not know much about TikTok. So he asked his friend to register him an account and uploaded videos of his daily life as well as his dancing. Clicks on the dancing videos skyrocketed, and within half a year, his followers exceeded 700,000.

"I never knew I could draw so much attention," he said. "I did not know that I would become famous through the park, dance moves and a smartphone."

With so many views, many commercial companies and endorsements began to contact him. In the past year, he was able to visit a lot of places he had never been to in Tibet. Lhaba also performed in the provinces of Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan, making about 10,000 yuan for each performance on average.

"Everything happened so fast, and it feels like a dream," he said. "I am the luckiest man in the world; I had an opportunity, and I grasped it. That's it."

Lhaba's biggest wish now is to go back to his hometown for a visit.

"My life has changed so much these days, but I still miss the beautiful grassland."