Yang Ching-ju, a digital creator from Taiwan's Taichung City, has become an unexpected cultural ambassador through her popular video blogs documenting life in Chongqing. The 32-year-old relocated to the Chinese mainland in 2023 to explore business opportunities in her grandfather's ancestral city, combining entrepreneurship with storytelling.
Her weekly vlogs showcase Chongqing's tech-driven economy alongside its wartime history, attracting over 500,000 subscribers from both sides of the Taiwan Strait. 'Many Taiwan residents only know mainland cities through political narratives,' Yang noted in a recent episode. 'I want to show the human connections that predate our current divisions.'
Yang's ventures now include a specialty tea company reviving her family's pre-1949 trading business and a consultancy helping Taiwan entrepreneurs navigate mainland markets. Analysts suggest such grassroots exchanges gain significance as cross-strait tourism remains below pre-2020 levels.
The 'Dream Chasers' series featuring Yang's story has garnered 2.3 million views since its February 2026 launch, reflecting growing interest in personal narratives amid complex cross-strait relations.
