Actor's fans raise funds to save hospital

Hundreds of thousands of supportive viewers flooded actor Li Yapeng's Douyin livestream on Friday, snapping up tea products in a charity-driven surge aimed at helping save from closure a children's hospital he cofounded.

The outpouring of public support followed widespread attention to the financial plight of Beijing Smile Angel Children's Hospital, founded by Li in 2012, which provides free and subsidized cleft lip and palate surgeries.

The hospital faces accumulated debts exceeding 26 million yuan ($3.5 million) in unpaid rent and fees, and risks being shut down.

After Li addressed the hospital's situation online earlier this month, donations to the Smile Angel Foundation — a fund he established in 2006 under the Chinese Red Cross Foundation to finance surgeries — quickly surpassed 23 million yuan from hundreds of thousands of contributors. The donation channel was closed after the fundraising target was met ahead of schedule.

Experts later clarified that the donations were directed to a fundraising body that is a separate legal entity from the hospital, meaning the funds could only be used to cover medical costs and cannot legally be applied to rent or other operational expenses associated with the hospital.

Capitalizing on the momentum, Li launched a dedicated Yunnan Pu'er tea livestream on his Douyin account at 7 pm on Friday. The event drew tens of thousands of viewers, with multiple products selling out almost instantly.

Platform data showed Li's livestream topped the Douyin sales chart, generating 16.84 million yuan ($2.42 million) in revenue — nearly four times that of the second-ranked broadcaster.

During the broadcast, Li urged rational consumption. "I know why everyone is here," he said, alluding to the hospital's situation. He urged viewers to "only buy if you drink tea".

Due to overwhelming demand, Li's partner in the sales event, a Pu'er tea company in Yunnan province, announced Saturday that it would temporarily suspend upcoming livestreams to focus on processing orders.

"The order volume far exceeded expectations," the company said in a statement. "To ensure timely and accurate delivery and avoid backlogs, we are pausing livestreams to concentrate all resources on order fulfillment."

While the tea sale underscored strong public backing for Li and his charitable mission, the hospital's future remains uncertain.

In a statement dated Wednesday, the hospital said negotiations with its landlord were ongoing, with no final decision yet on relocation or lease renewal.