[People News] Recently, a new buzzword has taken off inside China’s internet sphere: “hand-craft economy.” Note — this does not mean traditional handicrafts. The term “hand-craft” originally came from gaming culture, referring to completing difficult actions manually without shortcut keys, plug-ins, or assistive tools. With the rise of AI technology, many young people now use artificial intelligence to help them create projects or complete tasks using only manual effort or simple tools.

For example, the viral “Are You Dead Yet?” app that exploded in popularity recently is considered a form of this accidental “hand-craft economy.” Young people have a natural affinity for AI, and this lightweight, low-cost, viral-style micro-entrepreneurship model caters to mainland youth seeking low investment, quick monetization, and diversified side hustles. With creativity and AI assistance, anything can be “hand-crafted.”

On Chinese social media platforms, projects like “hand-crafted sounding rockets,” “hand-crafted drones,” and “hand-crafted robots” have attracted considerable online traffic and followers.

As a minimalist tech ecosystem and flexible entrepreneurial experiment, the hand-craft economy became popular overnight through short-video platform algorithms. It is not earth-shattering, nor will it drastically change macroeconomic conditions. How far it can go and whether it can trigger a new wave of productivity revolution remains unclear and difficult to evaluate. These grassroots tech innovations and traffic-driven monetization trends have emerged within specific technological, social, and market conditions. As long as the government does not forcefully intervene, and the market is allowed to evaluate and filter them, their development trajectory is likely to remain healthy.

What is even more absurd is that something even more viral than the hand-craft economy recently appeared: CCTV’s “hand-crafted 5-nanometer” meme.

The state broadcaster China Central Television aired multiple episodes of its flagship patriotic program Great Country Craftsmen, intended to promote “artisan spirit” and positive propaganda. However, several episodes were exposed as severely fabricated, triggering nationwide ridicule.

Examples include Ye Hui allegedly “hand-crafting 5nm aviation components,” Hong Jiaguang holding a caliper upside down, blindfolded drilling scenes, and “bare-handed soldering iron” stunts. These feats violate basic physics and engineering principles but were packaged as miracles of “Made in China.” A show meant to promote craftsmanship and national strength instead turned into a nationwide comedy roast.

The program’s propaganda brand typically highlights model workers each year to help CCTV “tell China’s story.” But instead of seeing genuine manufacturing prowess, viewers witnessed a carnival of absurdity.

In the show, “Great Country Craftsman” Ye Hui from a state aerospace factory claimed he could “hand-grind 5nm aviation parts” using an ordinary grinding wheel. What does 5nm mean? It’s the cutting-edge process node in modern semiconductors — about one-ten-thousandth the width of a human hair — achievable only with multimillion-dollar precision equipment in cleanrooms. Yet he supposedly “hand-crafted” aircraft engine components, making him seem more advanced than extreme-ultraviolet lithography machines.

Another technician claimed he could see 0.4 microns with the naked eye. Human visual limits are around 100 microns. Viewers burst into laughter. One joked: “If he can see 0.4 microns, how did he miss the logical holes in the show?” Another quipped: “He must have walked into the wrong studio — he belongs on an alien exploration channel.”

Then there is “Caliper Brother” Hong Jiaguang, a decorated engine technician and national award winner. On the show, he used a caliper incorrectly — measuring a cylindrical object vertically rather than across its diameter. Viewers joked, “If I did that in middle school physics class, my teacher would have kicked me out.” The caliper meme went viral overnight, with countless short-video creators parodying the mistake.

CCTV, often criticized as a propaganda hub, producing such scientifically illiterate or fabricated programs is not unusual. In December 2025, CCTV’s documentary series National Memory aired a segment on China’s high-speed rail development using AI-generated bridge construction footage — complete with an unedited “Doubao AI” watermark that viewers quickly exposed.

One of CCTV’s most famous long-running memes, however, involves Xi Jinping himself.

In a 2003 interview on Oriental Horizon, Xi recalled that during his youth in the countryside he could carry 200 jin (about 100 kg) of wheat for 10 li (5 km) without switching shoulders. This claim has been widely mocked online. In March 2024, Xi revived the story, adding that he could not switch shoulders because shaking would spill the grain.

Netizens did the math: standard grain sacks hold 150–180 jin; 200 would require a custom bag. On steep mountain paths, switching shoulders reduces strain; not switching would cause more shaking and spillage. A Taiwanese fitness influencer tested the feat — the carrying pole snapped after a few hundred meters.

From Mao-era grain-yield exaggerations to Xi’s “no shoulder switch” story to artisans “hand-crafting nanometers,” the logic of CCP propaganda hyperbole has never changed. But in the internet era, state media finally hit a wall: leaders boast, CCTV amplifies, netizens fact-check, memes spread, and public credibility collapses.

— People News