BEIJING: The death in a horse riding accident of a Chinese government official while filming to promote the beauty of a local area has sparked heated online discussions about the phenomenon of “official influencers”.
On January 11, He Jiaolong fell from a horse while filming for an agricultural e-commerce programme in the Bortala Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture in Xinjiang, northwestern China, and suffered a severe head injury.
She was rushed to hospital but died from her injuries on January 14. She was 47.
He Jiaolong rides her horse dressed in a festive outfit across a snowy expanse in Xinjiang. Photo: nfnews
He had served as the director of Xinjiang’s Agricultural Product Brand Development and Marketing Service Centre since 2023.
In a video she posted on her account, which has 6.7 million followers, on the last day of 2025, He said she had been working too hard to enjoy leisure time or be with her family.
She added that she never regretted her choice as she had to promote the agricultural products from her hometown to the outside world.
He was one of the first Chinese government officials to become an online influencer.
In 2020, videos of He dressed in a red garment, riding on a horse in the vast snow lands of Xinjiang went viral.
One of her most popular videos was reportedly clicked more than 600 million times.
He, who worked as the deputy head of Zhaosu county and was promoted to deputy director of Ili’s Culture and Tourism Bureau, was given the affectionate nicknames “county head on horseback” and “the most valiant culture and tourism director”.
In 2021, He’s online fame created 140 million yuan (US$20 million) sales volume for local agricultural products and brought 2,000 new jobs.
He said: “My traffic serves the people.”
In July 2020, He fell from the horseback while shooting a promotional video.
A drone camera captured the moment He fell to the ground as many other horses ran past her.
He later said she had been lucky because a companion who was riding with her saved her.
She said her husband often worried about her and said she worked too hard. Her mother also phoned her, threatening her to “not come home” if she rides a horse again.
She said it was “worthwhile as long as she could make good films of my hometown”.
He also once sat on a bed suspended 100 metres above the ground to promote Xinjiang cotton.
He’s funeral was held in her hometown, Zhaosu county. Many locals were in attendance.
People from around the country ordered flowers online to deliver to her funeral. Local flower shops said they were sold out on the day.
On social media, many begged the short video platform to keep He’s account so that they could visit her whenever they missed her.
“She worked too hard at her job. It was very heartbreaking to see the news of her death,” one said.
Some people commented on the neijuan phenomenon among the officials that promote tourism online.
Following He’s success, many culture and tourism officials across China were also inspired and created online personas.
Among the most popular was Liu Hong, director of the Garze Tibetan autonomous prefecture in Sichuan, southwestern China, who transformed himself into an ancient Chinese knight in a video.
Some officials dressed up in traditional ethnic minority clothing. Others performed rap, spoke English and played instruments to attract audiences while promoting local tourism.
One said: “It feels wrong that government officials try to become influencers instead of thinking of measures that really improve the local tourist experience, such as controlling hotel prices and cracking down on illegal merchants.” -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
