
Douyin aka China’s Tik Tok is a haven for viral challenges and there’s a new one trending on social media. The manhua (which means comics) waist can be seen from a photo of a cartoon girl with her upper body flat on the ground and her thighs resting on the chair to form a 90 degree angle to the waist.
Dressed in a black crop top and tights, Yang Mi attempted the same pose and shared a photo of it on Weibo with the caption, “Raising my hand to join the manhua waist challenge, it’s a little hard.” Netizens were not only impressed with the actress’s flexibility as she nailed the difficult pose but also admired her tiny waistline. Yang Mi has trended many times in the past for her figure from her chopsticks legs to her actual weight. She has previously said that she maintains her weight through diet and exercise.

However, some weren’t so keen on it. With previous beauty fads like the A4 waist challenge where women comparing their waist to an A4 sheet of paper faced backlash for promoting a beauty standard that is all about striving to be thin, some felt that the manhua waist is of similar nature.
Updated on Mar 22: As the manhua waist challenge drew heated debate with medical personnel even expressing that it’s not advisable because it might cause muscle strain, Yang Mi issued an apology, “I recently saw a difficult flexibility challenge online, found it interesting so I posted a photo about it. I learned today that if you do this action without guidance from a professional that it may be harmful to your body. I’m very very sorry, because I didn’t think this through, it has caused everyone to misunderstand. Hope that everyone can workout and do stretches safely, hope that everyone can be healthy~ I will be more cautious in the future and I am sorry again.”
Source: 1
Kat
1,2, ready, go…
Pooper
The Manhua waist challenge is about flexibility, it didn’t say it’s only for skinny people.
But the A4 waist challenge is nasty AF because it’s only about girl simply standing and look skinny like a paper. That has nothing to do with flexibility.
Yang Mi is a manhua lover so it’s not surprising she takes this challenge for fun, it’s not disgusting like the A4 waist so no need to compare it just to attack Yangmi.
lil
I believed she also did the A4 challenge as well.
Lil_Bitch
Prove your “believed” LOL, from what I heard it’s some other actress who taunts her A4 waist LOL!
Seriously
The real challenge would be her being a mother to her daughter, https://www.jaynestars.com/news/hawick-lau-and-yang-mis-daughter-misses-her-parents/
Kat
Lol, the troll has arrived, was waiting to see you, and you most certainly didn’t disappoint. What? No news from your idol so you came to get busy on her rivals post. You are such a dedicated fan/anti hope you find time for your children. Or maybe they’d be better off without you, you act and talk like you’re crazy and I’m pretty sure you are jobless as well. You had better run for medical attention in time, you are beginning to top your craziness with being repetitive and your hateful comments have forgotten to be subtle or logical. Wish you the best of health dear.
Seriously
Lol well I can’t disappoint my obsessed fanatic “fan”.
HL
Who is her idol? Just being nosy on a late night..
Suckers_Seriously
I think her idol is that one person who made herself skinnier than YM and got no complaint. She is really weak, even dozes off when standing with big eyes open. She couldn’t even do a proper split, do a running scene, stay focus and follow direction, etc. But the water army says she got muscles *Laughing to death* Hahaha.
HL
I know who that is now…
Kat
“…dozes off when standing with big eyes open…” is cracking me up, lol.
Suckers_Seriously
@Kat IKR??? We Seriously need to ask why there aren’t any news publishing how “BUSY” her idol is, such double standard that her idol is allow to not take care of her new born but others are required to.
Seriously
I didn’t plan to reply because most of you are crazy fanatics, but let’s get this straight for the last time. I do not have any “idols” I am not some immature individuals who idolize actors. I am not a female either (which I have stated several times). I do find hilarious the level of craziness some of you have for your idols. But I will not have words forced in my mouth. It’s funny I keep stating I’m not an idolizer.
Lmao
When everyone else does this challenge: ohh it’s normal?..
..Yang Mi does it: Whaa she wants all of us to starve, promoting unhealthy body image?
Like stfu lol I know y’all so jealous sitting there behind your phone screens. It’s pitiful you feel better hating on people who have what you don’t have. :p
Kat
The negative responses have now forced YM to delete the post and apologize. I feel sorry for YM sometimes, she gets much hate for very little things when compared to other idols.
HL
There were negative post? About her weight?
Kat
Aside from it being shut down by medical personnel, there were those that felt that people would feel “insecure” about their bodies since YM is a popular figure and role model of sorts and a whole lot of more nonsense.
Sombreslunes
A model to do stupid things? She is already an adult and it appear an adult who don’t assume her responsabilities, first for their daughter, secondly for those who follow her. As a “public” person she knows that her actions might have consequences or not?
I am really desappointed by her behavior.
Som_bres_lunatic_sucks
How are you not DESAPPOINTED by your other idols behavior lol? So they take care of their kids? LMAO! So if it’s YM then she has RESPONSABILITIES but if it’s others then they have none? What a hypocrite.
Sombreslunes
The topic is about YM. Are you a teen? Grow up.
Kat
Right, about YM’s response to the manhua challenge and not about her daughter, the double standard as usual, so you can start trouble by bringing up an unrelated issue but no one else can use them to make an argument, lol, so who’s the kid now, grandma ?lol
Bixy
My fat a$$ can do this too. Lol but back pain after!
Kat
Nobody has the right to criticize her decisions concerning her personal life or anything that pretty much doesn’t have to do with her work or murdering your children. Her hobbies and interests are her business and she shares with her fans just the same way every other idol does. When Zhang Zhehan was showing off abs a few days ago or when Zhao liying showed off abs and her skinny frame, I missed your comment. For what she did wrong she did the right thing and apologized. It is hypocritical to continue to make noise over a small issue such as this with the intention to rally trolls and start this ugly cycle of cyberbullying. However she decided to handle her divorce or the care of daughter was done according to how best she and her ex decided to handle the situation. If you think you can be a better mom go fight for custody of the child and don’t sit cowardly behind your screen typing gibberish you cannot support. But let me guess you can’t coz you’re not related to her, the same way you are not related to the 1 million and 1 children with celebrity parents who you can’t be bothered to tell to stop their careers and stay at home with their children. Instead you and your bestie “seriously” insist on being sour and repetitive on an unrelated post.
To all the resident YM trolls on this site, it’s time someone told you that YM’s divorce and child custody issues has become stale and obvious, go look for something new to hate under the cover of.
F_The_Losers
Zhao Liying looks like she would faint any second, her fans need to take better care of her and tell her to eat, she looks like a starving skeleton that is still alive. It’s obvious how tired she looks. People used to say Zheng Shuang looks scary but now, I say Zhao Liying is scarier especially she just gave birth not so long ago. I’m not sure why I also “missed these jealousy comments” when Zhao showed her muscles (honestly not even muscles but bones). I believe the people commenting here are always the same people. When it comes to Yang Mi they always say different things than what they say to Zhao Liying.
Yang Mi is skinny, sure. However Yang Mi is strong and very attentive, that makes me trust she “Exercise” for real. She can prove she has more strength. She is not showing how skinny she is here, it’s her flexibility and health.
F_The_Losers
How does Zhao showed everyone bones, she cannot prove her health because she couldn’t run, and fans be like Zhao is a goddess? Actually, did I say run? She can’t even stand up.
Yang Mi is meaty, she’s stretching hard in that photo but I don’t see any bones popping out of her skin. Zhao had some photos in that one blue dress, she wasn’t even stretching, she just stand up and her bones came out of her stomache. Where was the hate? It’s no wonder why people are thinking these Yang Mi haters are Zhao’s fans.
Undoubtedlyunbashful
Wow the level of crazy fandom on these two are off the charts … restraining order level. Mentally unstable levels.
Drama_Fluff
Am I the only who keeps looking at her thighs and thinking it’s photocopied? It looks too smooth and unnatural ?
Drama_Fluff
I mean photoshopped!
Pooh
As someone who is in the business of looking attractive, when did having smooth and healthy skin start becoming unnatural.