China's online streaming industry has seen exponential growth. It's created stars out of ordinary people, but it's also been a breeding ground for fraud and the dissemination of inappropriate content. CCTV's Jin Yingqiao looks at the positive influence and the dark side of this burgeoning market. 

Online streaming host Gouge is broadcasting himself.

Tens of thousands of his fans are watching him live.

His fans follow him wherever he goes. One fan even flew from Thailand, just to get a peek of him.

"I like his integrity. I like his chatting. I watch whatever he broadcasts. Because from him I can learn a lot of things."

Gouge told us he is a very introverted guy and that's the reason the industry is seeing a boom because introverted people can relate to him.

"There's a feeling of empathy. For example, even if I just broadcast myself eating instant noodles, those who like to eat instant noodles find it interesting."

An established way of making money with online streaming is by hosting or commenting on e-games. A famous host named Miss was offered a deal this year for 100 million yuan.

"Their real impact and the number of their fans are no less than that of A-list stars, so they deserve what they earn," said Dou Yuxiao, managing VP of Panda TV.

The industry is also permeating into other industries, creating more momentum for e-commerce. 

Cellphone maker Xiaomi's founder Lei Jun used live streaming to release their drone. 

Taobao's crowd sourcing platform live streamed a pet race to sell a type of treadmill. In one day, there was over 10 million yuan in sales for this product.

Also, a live event in which people searched for locally produced food in the countryside helped the sales of over 100 thousand eggs in half a day. 

"Before, it was unimaginable to sell your own good quality things nationwide. Now it's a reality."

But, there's also a dark side to this boom.

This video shows a group of people live streaming scenes in which they disseminate money and goods to needy people, trying to entice viewers to send them virtual gifts that can later be turned into real money. 

But as another video shows they end up taking the money for themselves.

In October, a man was taken in for questioning by police for seemingly taking drugs while live streaming.

But a drug test didn't find any evidence of drug-taking... He said he pulled the stunt because his viewer numbers had fallen.

To curb this sort of activity, the government launched a crackdown in July that has already hit dozens of streaming platforms.