Laoshi is a Chinese-learning app built around HSK prep, helping users study Mandarin through structured lessons, vocabulary, and exam-focused practice.
Released in 2020, it made 10K downloads and $20K MRR last month, while staying especially strong in Russia, where it sits around the Top 100 in Education.
Now it is layering on a bigger content push.
Between its main pages and a newer UGC wave, Laoshi is running 9 accounts that have already generated nearly 10M views.
What makes the strategy interesting is the fact that they are using one lane for reach and another for conversion.
The biggest hit so far came from the main Instagram page, @laoshi_io.
In June 2025, the account hit 3.5M views with a green-screen flight attendant skit built around the hook:
"pov: you lied on your CV"
The video is not trying to force a product demo. It wins on relatability and humor first.
The CTA is on the caption: "Want actual Chinese skills? Learn with Laoshi."
On TikTok, one of the brand's biggest hits was a faceless video about the pain of learning Chinese tones.
"Me practising Chinese tones" hit 2.2M views, 28.5K saves on November 2024.
This one is a bit less about entertainment and more about shared struggle. It still feels organic, but the save behavior makes it clear that these videos are useful in a different way.
That split becomes even clearer in the ambassador content.
More recently, creator @ly.laoshi has been standing out with faceless videos that are much smaller in views, but much stronger on intent.
In March 2026, she posted two videos that stayed under 100K views, but both pulled more than 4K saves:
- “how do you study chinese so fast?” hit 85K views, 4.4K saves on March 4.
2. “when you’ve been practicing chinese characters for months, but you only just found this” hit 93K views, 4.7k saves on March 6.
Both follow the same simple format: faceless Chinese-writing footage first, then a direct app demo.
The main pages build attention with funny, relatable content about the chaos of learning Chinese. The ambassador pages do a different job, using faceless formats and direct app mentions to catch people who are already interested.
That content diversity is likely why the app is still holding up 6 years after launch.