Hong Kong-based American actor Daniel Wu Neh-tsu has garnered significant attention from mainland fans after launching his online course “Daniel Wu Teaches English,” which has generated sales of 5 million within five days.
The course, priced at 398 yuan, consists of 84 short videos featuring Wu teaching daily oral English used in 35 life scenarios, such as grocery shopping or hotel check-ins.
Wu even leveraged the popularity of the film Ne Zha 2 by translating two lines from the movie in a promotional video posted on the social media platform Xiaohongshu.
Launched on the Gaotu mobile app and Yashi app, the course also allows users to practice oral English through one-on-one dialogues with Wu’s voice, which artificial intelligence powered by Deepseek generates.
It is reported that the e-learning product achieved sales of 2 million yuan within two days, while mainland media Lanjing News reported that sales exceeded 5 million yuan within five days.
According to Tianyancha, a search platform focused on business enterprises, Wu holds a 90 percent share in a communications company registered in Shanghai, which is also a major stakeholder of the course developer, Yashi App.
Meanwhile, the product’s social media account claims that the celebrity is one of the leaders of Yashi Education.
Mainland netizens have shown great enthusiasm for learning English online with the “attractive and handsome” star, with some stating that the price is reasonable and emphasizing that the interactive course is easy and enjoyable to complete.
However, some have told a Beijing-based media outlet that Wu only appears for five minutes in each lesson, complaining that the course takes advantage of Wu’s reputation for promotion.
