[Photo provided to China Daily]

Early fame: A blessing or a curse?

In 2014, Shi Ningjie participated in Deformation Plan, a reality TV show where urban and rural children swap places. As far as he is concerned, neither his personality nor lifestyle changed when he became a celebrity.

In the eyes of the show's producers, the 18-year-old was the perfect participant, the sort of person they had been searching for; a non-conformist. Shi has led a life of privilege - he was born into a wealthy family in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province - but he dropped out of school at 15, and took up smoking and going to nightclubs, even though he was under age.

He was offered the chance to swap roles with Wang Honglin, an 11-year-old girl, who has lived with her grandparents in Shaanxi province since her parents divorced. When the program ended, Wang returned to her isolated village and obscurity.

In 2008, Shi told his mother that he saw no reason to go to school because he planned to become famous, so he was ecstatic when the producers chose him for the show.

Under instruction, he completed a number of tasks, including chopping firewood and visiting people disabled in mining accidents in Baxian, a village in Ankang city, Shaanxi, whose injuries mean they are unable to make a living.

Although Shi did actually become famous as a result of appearing on the program - the number of followers on his micro blog soared to 100,000 - he kept his old lifestyle and little changed. When the program ended, Shi enrolled at a music high school in Beijing, but dropped out a year later. He has been unemployed since then.

"I felt I was a little more mature, but I didn't see too many other differences. I think it's the same for the other participants on the show," he said.