Female office workers from big cities like Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou make up the lion's share of his following.

"It's something I never expected," he said, adding that however late he posts his works online, there are people leaving a message or giving it a thumb-up almost instantly.

"It's strange, but when I can't be bothered doing a post, or I really feel like giving up the whole idea, that's when I tend to draw posts that get the best responses.

"When I'm really in the mood to draw, my followers appear to think I suck," he said with a laugh.

Of course, there are critics who complain that the popularity of social networks like Sina Weibo has done little more than breed an oversupply of so-called web cartoonists, who draw substandard illustrations.

Gao added that while some Web cartoonists in foreign countries have managed to make a living by allowing advertising on their sites, in China, publishing a book or drawing for other publications is usually the only major source of income.

Wedding gown designer

It might still be too early to say Tang Zhiru is a Chinese version of Vera Wang, the famed queen of bridal couture who has dressed Victoria Beckham and Chelsea Clinton, daughter of former US president Bill Clinton.

But for every stitch she knits, the 33-year-old wedding gown designer and tailor — or southern Chinese style qungua designer and tailor, to be more exact — is weaving a fairytale life of her own.

The centuries-old traditional longfengqungua (wedding costumes with dragons and phoenixes) was said to be first given as a gift by an emperor to one of his favorite ministers for his daughter's wedding ceremony.

Special permission had been granted to the daughter to wear a dragon and phoenix illustration, which were previously exclusive to the imperial family.

But the costume — consisting of a long skirt or qun, and a jacket or gua — gained popularity in Guangdong province, the hometown of the minister, which then spread all over China.

The tradition of wearing the qungua has been revived especially over the past decade, helped in part by the return of emigrants and by their wide use by celebrities in Hong Kong.

Tang, a native of Guangdong, has made her fortune through what she calls "taking advantage of an old trick in a new era".

The daughter of a veteran qungua embroiderer, Tang has been dreaming about starting her own qungua studio since watching her mother "magically produce flying dragons" as a child.