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Tao Weisheng, a master’s degree student at Harbin Institute of Technology, sold balloons in Changsha to earn a living after his business failed and he fell into debt. He felt embarrassed after becoming unexpectedly popular. However, with the encouragement of his former students and family, he gradually changed his mind and turned his attention to charity work.
A graduate of Harbin Institute of Technology with a master’s degree unexpectedly became popular selling balloons on the streets of Changsha, Hunan. Tao Weisheng, born in 1986, worked in IT in Shenzhen and later returned to Changsha to start a business. However, due to the collapse of the company he lost money and fell into debt. To support his family and pay off his debts, he tried working as a tour guide, photography editor, computer repairman, and even sold balloons. In a recent interview, he said he is still looking for a more stable job, but selling balloons has become a way of self-medication.
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According to Jiupai News, Tao Weisheng is a native of Huanggang, Hubei. He received a master’s degree in information and communications engineering from Harbin Institute of Technology in 2012. After graduation, he worked in Shenzhen for 5 years. He returned to Changsha in 2017 and has been engaged in Internet and IT-related work for a long time. In 2020, he and several of his colleagues started a business to engage in software development. However, the company collapsed in 2025. Not only did they lose their savings, but they also went into debt.
Tao Weisheng and his wife have two children who are still in primary school. To support the family of four, his wife worked as an aunt looking after children in a day care class, while he looked for job opportunities everywhere, including accompanying local tour guides, doing photography and editing work, repairing computers for others, etc.
Once a friend invited him to sell balloons. At first he refused because he could not save his honour. It wasn’t until financial pressures increased that he decided to give it a try. He sets up a stall in the Yanghu area of Changsha. He goes out only when the weather is good. He sells more than 10 balloons a night and earns about 100 yuan (RMB, same below, about 15 US dollars). Including other part-time jobs, the individual income is about 3,000 to 4,000 yuan per month, and the couple’s total income is about 6,000 to 7,000 yuan, barely making ends meet for the family.
On October 3 this year, it rained continuously in Changsha. He was unable to work at a stall and could not find any other work, so he shot a video to record his life and uploaded it to the Internet. Unexpectedly, it became unexpectedly popular. This video was also sent by alumni to the Hunan Alumni Association group of Harbin Institute of Technology.
The sudden attention made Tao Weisheng nervous. He rarely mentioned his academic qualifications to others in the past, he was afraid that selling balloons would embarrass alumni, and he even took the initiative to apologize to the Secretary General of the Alumni Association. However, the alumni not only did not blame them, but also arranged time to explain to them, allowing them to gradually relieve them of the psychological burden of failure in starting a business.
Despite encouragement from alumni, some people on the Internet criticized him for “wasting national resources” and “not wanting to make progress.” Tao Weisheng said that the outside world only saw him selling balloons, but did not know that he had tried many jobs before, so he did not care much about negative comments.
After becoming popular, he was not eager to monetize his traffic. Instead, he began participating in charity activities and helping locate relatives, hoping to turn the encouragement given by netizens into the power to help others. He broadcasts live broadcasts every week, and his parents now support his choice. Both the children believe that there is no difference between hard work and labor and they are proud of their father.
Tao Weisheng said he is still trying to find a more stable job, but he does not plan to quit selling balloons because this job allows him to find peace. They believe that the traffic is not really theirs, and there is no need to worry even if it decreases in the future. He also encouraged people facing difficulties not to give up easily, to remain healthy and optimistic, to grit teeth and survive the difficulties, and one day be able to get out of the trough.
Summary FAQ
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He originally worked in IT and entrepreneurship, but after the company collapsed, he not only lost his savings but also got into debt. To support his family and pay off his debts, he tried working as a tour guide, editor, and computer repairman and eventually started selling balloons to supplement his income.
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Since he was always worried that alumni would feel embarrassed by selling balloons after pursuing higher education, he also took the initiative to apologize to the General Secretary of the Alumni Association. However, the former students did not blame him. Instead, they enlightened him and allowed him to gradually relieve himself of the burden of failed entrepreneurship.
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He is in no hurry to earn from his traffic, but rather participates in charity, helps find relatives and continues to conduct live broadcasts every week. He still wants to find a more stable job, but he does not plan to quit selling balloons, he believes that this job allows him to find peace.
