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Introduction
Bilibili is often described simply as a Chinese video-sharing platform, but that description misses much of what makes it unusual. It began as an anime, comics and games (ACG)-focused community and gradually developed into a broad entertainment ecosystem covering professional user-generated videos, live streaming, games, animation, technology, knowledge, lifestyle and more. Bilibili says its website first launched in June 2009 and that it was officially named “bilibili” in January 2010.
1. Bilibili Was Not Originally Called Bilibili
One of the lesser-known facts about Bilibili is that its early history predates the Bilibili name.
The platform emerged in 2009 as an ACG-oriented video community. Bilibili's own history records its establishment on June 26, 2009, while the company says the website was officially branded “bilibili” in January 2010.
This means the platform's identity was developed during its earliest community-building period rather than being created from scratch as today's large entertainment company.
Why it matters: The distinction helps explain why Bilibili's culture is much more community-oriented than that of a conventional video website.
2. “Danmaku” Is Probably Bilibili's Most Defining Feature
The most recognizable Bilibili feature is Danmaku, also called bullet comments.
Instead of comments appearing below a video, users can post comments that travel across the video screen at particular moments. Other viewers therefore see reactions synchronized with the content.
Bilibili describes Danmaku as a defining characteristic that creates a kind of simultaneous, shared viewing experience.
The interesting part is that Danmaku changes the relationship between viewer and video.
A viewer isn't necessarily watching alone. The comments make it feel as though thousands of other people are watching the same scene at the same moment.
3. Danmaku Can Become Part of the Viewing Experience Itself
On most video platforms, comments are secondary to the video.
On Bilibili, Danmaku can become almost another layer of the content.
For example, when an unexpected event occurs, hundreds of viewers may react simultaneously. The resulting stream of comments can itself become entertaining or informative.
Researchers have also started studying Danmaku as a social signal. Recent research has examined how the timing and content of Danmaku can provide useful information for analyzing video audiences and even misinformation.
That makes Danmaku more than an ordinary comment system—it is a form of time-synchronized social interaction.
4. Bilibili's Founder Was Closely Involved With Danmaku Technology
Bilibili founder Yi Xu (Xu Yi) was not merely the person behind the original website.
Bilibili's corporate profile says Xu founded the company's website in 2009 and played an important role in developing and refining interactive features such as bullet chatting.
This is significant because Danmaku became one of the platform's strongest differentiating technologies.
Rather than treating community interaction as an add-on, Bilibili built it into the viewing experience.
5. The Platform Started With a Very Narrow ACG Identity
Today's Bilibili covers an enormous range of subjects, but its original community was strongly associated with:
- Anime
- Comics
- Games
- Fan culture
- Animation-related creation
Bilibili itself says it evolved from a community inspired by anime, comics and games (ACG) into a full-spectrum online entertainment platform.
This explains why Bilibili's culture can still feel very different from mainstream social-video platforms.
The original ACG community influenced its language, humor, creator culture and interaction style.
6. “UP主” Is an Important Part of Bilibili Culture
Bilibili creators are commonly referred to as UP主 (UP zhu).
The term is essentially associated with content creators on the platform.
Unlike simply calling someone a “YouTuber,” the term has become part of Bilibili's own community identity.
Creators can produce content about:
- Gaming
- Science
- Technology
- Education
- Animation
- Music
- Food
- Travel
- Lifestyle
- History
- Entertainment
The rise of professional user-generated video, or PUGV, became an important part of Bilibili's transformation from an ACG community into a much broader content ecosystem.
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7. Bilibili's First Major New-Year Production Involved Only 40 UP Creators
This is a particularly interesting historical detail.
In February 2010, Bilibili organized a Chinese New Year video involving 40 UP creators.
It became the predecessor to what developed into Bilibili's famous New Year celebration productions.
What makes this fascinating is the scale difference.
A relatively small creator collaboration in the platform's early days eventually evolved into a major community tradition.
8. The 2011 New-Year Production Already Had 210 UP Creators
Only about a year after the initial 40-creator production, the 2011 Bilibili New Year event involved 210 UP creators.
That jump illustrates how quickly Bilibili's creator community expanded during its early years.
It also demonstrates an important feature of the platform's growth:
Community participation was part of Bilibili's identity from the beginning.
9. Bilibili Has Two Iconic Mascot Characters: 22 and 33
Many people outside China know the Bilibili logo but may not know about 22 and 33, two iconic mascot characters associated with the platform.
Bilibili's historical record says a voting event in August 2010 ended with a tie, resulting in both 22 and 33 becoming the site's representative “station girls.”
The unusual origin of the pair is therefore not simply a marketing decision—it came from a community voting process.
10. The Mobile App Came Several Years After the Website
Bilibili started as a website.
Its official history records the launch of the Android mobile version in February 2012 and the iOS version in September 2012.
That timeline is interesting because today's Bilibili experience is heavily mobile-oriented.
The platform therefore evolved from:
Web community → mobile platform → broader entertainment ecosystem.
11. Bilibili Did Not Remain an Anime Website
One of the biggest transformations in Bilibili's history was diversification.
Today the company describes its content ecosystem as covering videos, live broadcasting, games, pictures, blogs and short videos.
Its content areas have expanded into fields such as:
- Science and technology
- Education
- Lifestyle
- Gaming
- Entertainment
- Music
- Fashion
- Food
- Knowledge
- Animation
This is one reason it is more accurate to describe Bilibili as a video and youth-oriented entertainment community rather than simply an anime website.
12. Bilibili Added Live Streaming in 2015
Bilibili officially launched its live-broadcasting business in May 2015 according to its corporate history.
This was an important strategic change.
Live streaming allowed creators to interact with audiences in real time rather than relying exclusively on pre-recorded videos.
It also expanded Bilibili's business model beyond conventional video consumption.
13. Short Video Arrived on Bilibili Earlier Than Many People Realize
Bilibili launched short-video functionality in its mobile app in November 2016, according to the company's historical timeline.
This is noteworthy because Bilibili is often perceived primarily as a long-form video platform.
Its ecosystem actually includes multiple video formats.
The platform has therefore had to balance its original community culture with the increasingly dominant short-video consumption model.
14. Bilibili Entered Mobile Gaming
Gaming has been central to Bilibili since its ACG roots, but the company eventually developed gaming into a significant business.
Its official history records the launch of its mobile-game business in 2014.
Bilibili subsequently became associated with popular anime-style and mobile games, making gaming an important component of its overall ecosystem.
This is another reason Bilibili is better understood as an entertainment ecosystem rather than simply a video website.
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15. Bilibili Became Involved in Japanese Anime Production
A lesser-known development was Bilibili's growing relationship with the Japanese animation industry.
Bilibili's corporate history records that in 2015 it entered its first Japanese animation production committee.
This represented a major step beyond simply distributing anime.
It meant Bilibili was participating more directly in the production ecosystem.
16. Bilibili's Relationship With Aniplex Became Important
Bilibili's history records cooperation with Aniplex, a Sony-owned company, beginning around 2014 in anime copyright acquisition.
The relationship subsequently extended to gaming.
In 2016, Bilibili announced exclusive representation of Aniplex's mobile game Fate/Grand Order (FGO) in China.
This is an excellent example of how Bilibili connected three areas:
Anime + gaming + fan community.
17. Bilibili Has a “Charging” Culture for Supporting Creators
Bilibili launched its “Charging Plan” in January 2016.
The first content section to receive the feature was the dance section, after which it expanded across the platform.
The concept allowed viewers to provide financial support to creators.
This is important because Bilibili's creator economy developed around community participation rather than only advertising.
It also helped strengthen the connection between creators and loyal audiences.
18. Bilibili Uses More Than One Type of Video Content
The platform's content ecosystem isn't simply user-generated uploads.
Bilibili describes its video model as centered on PUGV, or professional user-generated videos, supplemented by live broadcasting and professionally generated or licensed content.
In simple terms, users can encounter:
- Creator-made videos
- Professionally produced content
- Licensed content
- Live streams
- Short videos
- Games
- Anime
- Knowledge content
This mixture has helped Bilibili evolve into a multi-format platform.
19. Bilibili Had 376 Million Monthly Active Users in Q3 2025
Bilibili is no longer a niche internet community.
Its investor-relations website reported 376 million monthly active users in Q3 2025 and 117 million daily active users. It also reported an average daily time spent of 112 minutes.
These numbers show the scale of the platform.
For comparison, a platform that began as a specialized ACG community eventually became a service used by hundreds of millions of people each month.
20. Bilibili's Users Spend More Than 100 Minutes a Day on Average
The same Q3 2025 company data reported 112 minutes of average daily time spent.
This is an interesting metric because it indicates that Bilibili's strength isn't merely user registration.
The platform's ecosystem encourages relatively deep engagement.
Longer videos, gaming content, knowledge videos, live broadcasts, anime and community interaction can all contribute to extended sessions.
21. Bilibili Has Built a Strong Knowledge-Content Ecosystem
Although Bilibili began with ACG culture, educational and knowledge-based content has become increasingly important.
Users can find videos about:
- Physics
- Mathematics
- Programming
- History
- Engineering
- Economics
- Language learning
- Science
- Electronics
- Artificial intelligence
This expansion is strategically important because it allows Bilibili to attract audiences beyond traditional entertainment.
It also means that Bilibili increasingly functions as a knowledge-discovery platform, not just a place for entertainment.
22. Bilibili's Original Culture Helped Create Internet Slang
Bilibili's community has contributed to Chinese internet culture through memes, expressions and recurring phrases.
Its own historical materials describe Bilibili as a source of numerous popular internet terms.
Some phrases and memes have spread beyond the platform.
This illustrates a powerful network effect:
Users don't simply consume culture on Bilibili—they also create and redistribute it.
23. Bilibili's “Annual Danmaku” Became a Cultural Tradition
Bilibili has historically highlighted particular Danmaku expressions as annual Danmaku.
These expressions can reflect the mood or collective experience of the platform's community during a particular year.
For example, Bilibili's historical material records “真实” (real/so true) as the 2018 annual Danmaku and “AWSL” as the 2019 annual Danmaku.
This is unusual compared with conventional video platforms.
It effectively turns user comments into a kind of annual cultural snapshot.
24. Bilibili Has Been Expanding Internationally in 2026
Bilibili's story is entering another interesting phase.
In August 2026, reports indicated that Bilibili had begun launching an international app, with access initially available in more limited markets and further expansion planned. The company was also reported to be seeking non-Chinese creators and staff in markets including Japan, the United States and Europe.
This is significant because Bilibili historically built its strength primarily within China's internet ecosystem.
Its international expansion therefore represents a major strategic shift.
25. Bilibili's Biggest Competitive Advantage May Be Its Community, Not Just Its Videos
Perhaps the most important lesser-known fact is that Bilibili's real differentiator is not simply its video library.
Its platform combines:
Video + Danmaku + creators + fandom + gaming + anime + knowledge + live streaming + community culture.
Bilibili itself describes its evolution as a move from an ACG-inspired community to a full-spectrum entertainment world.
This is why simply comparing Bilibili with YouTube or TikTok can be misleading.
The platforms overlap in video, but Bilibili's identity has historically been built around community participation and shared cultural experiences.
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Quick Summary: 25 Bilibili Facts
| Lesser-Known Fact | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Bilibili's website began in June 2009 |
| 2 | It was officially branded “bilibili” in January 2010 |
| 3 | Danmaku is its signature interaction feature |
| 4 | Founder Yi Xu helped develop its bullet-chat system |
| 5 | It began as an ACG-focused community |
| 6 | Creators are commonly called UP主 |
| 7 | Its first New-Year production involved 40 UP creators |
| 8 | The 2011 version involved 210 UP creators |
| 9 | Mascots 22 and 33 emerged from a tied vote |
| 10 | Android app launched in 2012 |
| 11 | iOS app launched in 2012 |
| 12 | Live streaming launched in 2015 |
| 13 | Short-video functionality arrived in 2016 |
| 14 | Mobile gaming became part of the business in 2014 |
| 15 | Bilibili entered Japanese anime production in 2015 |
| 16 | It worked with Aniplex |
| 17 | It launched the Charging Plan in 2016 |
| 18 | It combines PUGV with professional/licensed content |
| 19 | It had 376M MAUs in Q3 2025 |
| 20 | Average daily time was 112 minutes in Q3 2025 |
| 21 | Knowledge content is a major part of the ecosystem |
| 22 | Bilibili has influenced Chinese internet culture |
| 23 | Annual Danmaku reflects community culture |
| 24 | Bilibili began international expansion in 2026 |
| 25 | Community is one of its biggest competitive advantages |
Final Takeaway
Bilibili's evolution is unusual. It began in 2009 as a specialized ACG-oriented website, but its distinctive Danmaku commenting system and strong creator community helped it develop a recognizable identity. Over the following years, it added mobile apps, gaming, live streaming, short videos, licensed content, anime investment and knowledge-oriented material.
Today, Bilibili is a large-scale entertainment and content ecosystem. Its Q3 2025 figures—376 million MAUs, 117 million DAUs and 112 minutes of average daily time spent—illustrate how far the platform has moved from its niche beginnings.
The next chapter could be even more significant: in 2026, Bilibili has begun an international expansion, seeking to bring its distinctive community model to audiences and creators outside China.
In short, Bilibili is not simply “China's YouTube.” Its defining idea is closer to a shared digital viewing community where the audience itself becomes part of the content experience.
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