ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the ambivalent role of play in the digital mediascape of contemporary China, focusing on the Chinese government's theatrical construction of large-scale medical facilities during times of crisis. While these projects were celebrated in official media, they also became subjects of online ridicule and satire. Through this case, the chapter explores how the affordances of digital media – interactivity, multimediality, virtuality, and connectivity – enable netizens to engage in playful practices that carry both civic potential and political risk. These ludic expressions may function as subtle resistance to censorship and surveillance, resilience against consumerist culture, or as a form of digital civic engagement. However, the chapter also highlights how play is not inherently subversive; it is increasingly co-opted through mechanisms such as ‘fandom governance’, where state-aligned narratives adopt playful forms to mobilize support. In this context, play can both disrupt and reinforce power structures, revealing its complex position within China's evolving digital authoritarianism.
