At a night market in Shenzhen, Sasa Xu finishes her day with passion fruit tea. It costs US$2.40, bringing her total spend for the day to US$9.40 – details that close out her video “What low-income life in China really looks like”. The video has drawn more than 470,000 views since it was posted to YouTube in April. “Through these simple, everyday records, I hope to show overseas audiences the vibrant and multi-dimensional lives of ordinary Chinese people,” Xu said in an interview. She is also one of thousands of ordinary Chinese documenting their lives on YouTube for an overseas audience in a powerful shift in digital storytelling.