Two years later, he invested 150,000 yuan, made from selling smartphones, and opened a milk teashop in an alley, the size of "a shower room", he said.

Inside an old alley on Gucheng Road, Lu's coffee shop, which resembles a TCM pharmacy, is open only till 6 pm each day.

Silicon Alley Shanghai was created in the district, which has so far attracted more than 500 technological companies to its 1.48 square kilometer area, Zhang added.

Chen Jun, a senior director with QST Corp, said: "Settling in the Silicon Alley allows us to come closer to our clients, helping us better understand the market and develop better products.

Li and her parents used to live in a 16-square-meter room in a narrow alley in Shanghai, with a shared kitchen outside.

In her first video clip, which lasted about two minutes, the virtual beauty blogger sat in a neon-lit alley and did her makeup in a mirror while dressed like a Taoist priest.

In her first video clip, which lasted roughly two minutes and was posted in November, the virtual beauty blogger "wore" the robes of a Taoist priest, sat in a neon-lit alley fit for a cyberpunk film, and applied her makeup in traditional Chinese style.