I was halfway through my morning coffee when my phone buzzed – it was my cousin Lisa from Vancouver, sending me a string of crying emojis followed by: ‘Why can’t I play Liu Yu’s new song? It says not available in my region…’
She’d seen the buzz about his new guofeng EP ‘Listening to Rain’ on Weibo, exactly the kind of music that reminds her of home. ‘The preview sounds like that misty morning we spent in Hangzhou,’ she wrote, referring to our trip to West Lake three years ago. I could almost smell the damp tea leaves and feel the cool morning air just reading her message.
This isn’t the first time. Last month, it was a historical drama she couldn’t stream; before that, a variety show that kept buffering until she gave up. According to a 2023 survey by the Chinese Overseas Association, 72% of overseas Chinese report experiencing content restrictions when trying to access entertainment from home. That’s millions of people missing out on the cultural touchstones that keep them connected.
I remember when Lisa first moved to Canada five years ago. We’d video call every weekend and watch the same talent shows simultaneously, laughing at the same moments despite the 15-hour time difference. Now? ‘It’s like I’m slowly losing the thread,’ she told me last week. ‘Everyone’s talking about this new music, these new shows back home, and I’m just… outside looking in.’
The irony is that Liu Yu’s ‘Clouds Between Waters’ – the song she couldn’t access – is all about connection across distances. The lyrics paint this beautiful picture of misty landscapes that transcend physical boundaries, which makes the geo-blocking feel particularly cruel.
So I did what any good cousin would do – I called her and played the song over the phone, holding my speaker close to the receiver. Not exactly high fidelity, but she got to hear those first few notes of traditional instruments blended with modern melody. ‘It sounds like home,’ she whispered, and I could hear the emotion in her voice even through the static.
Here’s the thing they don’t tell you about living abroad: it’s not just about missing family or food. It’s these small cultural moments – a shared song, a popular show, a trending meme – that create the invisible threads keeping people connected to their roots. When those threads get cut by error messages and buffering icons, something fundamental shifts.
After we hung up, I scrolled through the comments under Liu Yu’s Weibo post. Dozens of international fans were expressing the same frustration: ‘Why can’t we support our artists from overseas?’ ‘Another content block for those of us abroad.’ ‘I just want to listen to the music from my country.’
It got me thinking about all the Lisas out there – the students, the immigrants, the workers who’ve taken pieces of Chinese culture to every corner of the world, only to find the door to new cultural content sometimes locked behind regional restrictions.
Maybe you’ve experienced this too – that sinking feeling when you click on a much-anticipated show or song only to get that dreaded ‘not available in your region’ message. How do you stay connected to Chinese entertainment when you’re oceans away? Share your experiences below – let’s talk about what works, what doesn’t, and how we bridge these digital divides.
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