Anhui 29-year-old young man Fu Qiang has gained popularity for his striking resemblance to the last emperor, Puyi. Even artificial intelligence (AI) has been fooled, mistaking him for the actual Puyi. Fu Qiang uploaded a video of himself touring the Forbidden City in Beijing, with many people commenting, “He looks so much like Puyi, it’s like Puyi reincarnated.”
According to reports from mainland China on August 16th, Fu Qiang from Anhui gained rapid fame on short video platforms due to his high resemblance to Puyi. His appearance even attracted the attention of Hengdian World Studios, who extended a collaboration invitation to him.
Fu Qiang’s short video account is named “Little Puyi.” In a video he uploaded, he can be seen in the Forbidden City, wearing a black Zhongshan suit, styled hair with round glasses, a three-sevenths hair part, and a deliberately composed expression of calmness as he strolls leisurely through the Forbidden City as if it were his own backyard.
He also recreated Puyi’s image of riding a bicycle in the palace, attracting tourists to take photos and videos, with some approaching him to ask for photos together, jokingly addressing him as “Your Majesty,” or commenting, “The emperor has arrived, quickly kneel down,” “Your Majesty, the Qing Dynasty has already perished,” “This is too similar, he must be a reincarnation.”
Mainland netizens also left comments, saying, “Even Puyi’s biological son doesn’t resemble him as much!” “Standing inside the Forbidden City, passersby might think they’ve traveled back to the Qing Dynasty.”
Fu Qiang told several mainland media outlets that his high school history teacher had noticed his resemblance to Puyi, but at the time, he didn’t take it seriously and even considered his appearance a burden. After graduating from college, Fu Qiang worked various jobs in real estate agencies, as a chef, until last year when he unexpectedly became famous for filming videos at the Forbidden City.
Fu Qiang said that he once disguised himself as Puyi, took photos in front of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, and applied vintage filters to the photos before asking AI, “Who is this person?” Unexpectedly, AI responded, “This is Puyi, the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty who passed away in 1967.”
This incident left Fu Qiang both laughing and crying and made him contemplate relying on his appearance for a living. He then immersed himself in self-media creation and short video production, leading to an invitation from Hengdian World Studios to play the role of Puyi. Fu Qiang revealed that he is now actively studying historical knowledge related to Puyi.
According to industry insiders, Hengdian Studios is interested in Fu Qiang’s unique appearance and intends to involve him in the filming of Qing palace-themed TV dramas. However, as he currently lacks professional team support, his content creation mainly relies on personal inspiration and judgment. Industry insiders believe that to achieve greater success, Fu Qiang needs to continue to deepen his content quality and creativity.