Affluent Instagrammers in China are flaunting their wealth in a bizarre new challenge in which they pretend to fall over and scatter their luxury goods around them.
The internet trend - known as the Falling Stars Challenge - has prompted more than a million posts on Instagram and Weibo, the country’s equivalent of Facebook. Also known as the xuanfu tiaozhan, or “flaunt your wealth” challenge, participants posts pictures of themselves splayed on the floor amid piles of designer clothing, shoes, jewellery and even bundles of cash, The Guardian reports.
The social media trend appears to have been started by a Russian electronic musician called DJ Smash, who posted an Instagram photo of himself pretending to have fallen out of a private jet in July, says Australia-based entertainment news site Pedestrian.tv. The image subsequently went viral.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The trend was quickly picked up by wealthy influencers in China, where the hashtag has now received more than 2 billion views on Weibo, according to The Guardian.
However, the “challenge” is causing a headache for Chinese authorities. Two Chinese women brought traffic to a standstill on a busy street in Taizhou city, Zhejiang province, earlier this week when they stopped their car on a pedestrian crossing so that one of them could pose on the ground beside a Gucci handbag, pair of high-heeled shoes and an assortment of make-up, reports the South China Morning Post. They were subsequently tracked down, arrested and fined for disrupting traffic.
Similar incidents have been reported in other Chinese towns and cities.
Meanwhile, poorer people have also taken part in the challenge as “a way to poke fun of the country’s wealthy”, says Quartz. “Instead of expensive bags, though, they’re surrounded by their work tools or books.
“Even Chinese state-media outlet People’s Daily has found amusement in the falling stars challenge, sharing some images of parody versions, such as those from firefighters, students, and soldiers.”
The Guardian suggests that state employees may be reworking the trend in order to “deflect from the focus on wealth”, which is both a “topic often linked to government corruption” and a stark reminder of China’s increasingly severe income inequality.
China’s Gini coefficient, an index that measures income inequality, increased to 0.465 last year. A Gini coefficient higher than 0.4 is a sign of severe income inequality, according to the United Nations.
A recent report by the International Monetary Fund found that although China is “on the brink of eradicating poverty” following rapid economic growth in recent decades, income inequality “increased sharply from the early 1980s and rendered China among the most unequal countries in the world”.
-
Experience Tanzania’s untamed wilderness from Lemala’s luxury lodgesThe Week Recommends The vast protected landscapes are transformed into a verdant paradise during ‘emerald season’
-
Codeword: October 9, 2025The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
Sudoku medium: October 9, 2025The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
Why Gen Z in Nepal is dying over a state social media banIN THE SPOTLIGHT A crackdown on digital platforms has pushed younger Nepalis into increasingly violent clashes with government forces
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
