LayarHijau — The Chinese social media platform Weibo recently released the “2025 Chinese Stars Weibo Follower Growth List” (Daftar Pertumbuhan Pengikut Bintang Tiongkok 2025). The list shows surprising results, where young actor Chen Zheyuan successfully secured the first rank, beating top-tier drama stars like Bai Lu and Zhang Linghe.
Chen Zheyuan, known for the hit drama Hidden Love (偷偷藏不住) with Zhao Lusi, recorded a follower increase of 6.689 million. This drastic rise was driven by his two main projects last year: the military drama The White Olive Tree (白色橄欖樹) and the costume drama Fated Hearts (一笑隨歌), which he starred in alongside Li Qin.
In Fated Hearts, Chen Zheyuan was praised for his mesmerizing performance as Prince Feng Suige. His fame also proved to be global, as Chen Zheyuan was also listed as the winner for follower growth on Instagram, surpassing big names like Zhao Lusi, Zhang Linghe, and Esther Yu (虞書欣).
The second position is held by actress Bai Lu with a total addition of 6.472 million followers. Bai Lu is known as one of the most productive actresses, with previous hit dramas such as Till the End of the Moon (長月燼明), Only For Love (以愛為營), and Story of Kunning Palace (寧安如夢).
Last year, she starred in three dramas simultaneously, including two xianxia dramas (Moonlight Mystique [白月梵星] and Feud [臨江仙]) as well as the modern era drama Northward (北上).
The biggest surprise came from the third rank, actor Ziyu (梓渝), who successfully garnered 6.421 million followers. Ziyu became widely viral after starring in the BL (Boy’s Love) drama Revenged Love (逆愛). The drama, which he starred in with Tian Xuning (田栩寧), exploded outside China and its popularity quickly spread domestically.
Despite the success achieved, the government’s strict censorship of BL content meant that these two actors could not conduct major promotions on Weibo, an issue that became viral. Ziyu, only 22 years old, successfully rebounded after previously facing career difficulties and experiencing bullying while still a member of an idol group.
Meanwhile, Zhang Linghe, who starred in The Best Thing (愛你), ranked fifth with 5.704 million followers. However, the most surprising position is that of actor Liu Yuning. Although his popularity recently soared thanks to the drama The Prisoner of Beauty (折腰) and the upcoming drama A Dream within a Dream (書卷一夢), Liu Yuning had to settle for 10th place with a total of 3.235 million followers.
In the ninth position, there is Meng Ziyi (孟子义) with an addition of 3.926 million followers. Meng Ziyi is an actress famous through hit dramas such as The Untamed (陈情令) and Blossom. Her follower increase was driven by her highly active presence in various variety shows and social media.
Full List of “2025 Chinese Stars Weibo Follower Growth List”:
1. Chen Zheyuan (6.689 million)
2. Bai Lu (6.472 million)
3. Ziyu (6.421 million)
4. Tian Xuning (6.174 million)
5. Zhang Linghe (5.704 million)
6. Ao Ruipeng (5.303 million)
7. Ju Jingyi (4.369 million)
8. Esther Yu (3.940 million)
9. Meng Ziyi (3.926 million)
10. Liu Yuning (3.235 million)
