Grains, leaves and the power of humor

However, because she cannot give fulltime attention to her humor, she says, she is unable to refine her jokes to the extent that she would like, or even create new ones. This means that she only infrequently updates her content, and formulating and refining a really good joke can take months, she says.

But finding the time to come up with big jokes may be the least of Xiao's problems. Chinese culture has long favored the collective and common effort to the individual and competition, which means that airing personal perspectives, particularly heartfelt ones, does not come naturally or easily. However, under the influence of the stand-up comedians, that may be slowly changing.

Xi Jiangyue, founder of the capital's biggest stand-up comedy club, Beijing Talk Show Club, says: "While many do comedy on the side, the rapidly expanding audiences for it suggest that many see stand-up as an outlet for self-expression, in the same way that social media is.

"We Chinese were not in the habit of expressing ourselves much.

"We all have a desire to express ourselves, and I think comedy has become so popular in China because it gives voice to those who were once voiceless."