Absolutely fabulous, Liu Qianping. [Photo: China Daily]
The 72-year-old looks like a slim brunette in snappy women's clothes, stylish sunglasses and a wig, but nevertheless the cross-dresser was surprised when he became a national celebrity as a model.
"I tried it out for fun and never imagined people would be so interested," says Liu Qianping, from Hengyang, Hunan province. "I have nothing to lose, and besides, it helps my granddaughter's business."
Earlier this month, he made his first trip to Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, to visit his granddaughter Lu Ting, who had just graduated from college to run her clothing business on TMall, one of China's biggest online retail websites.
After helping Lu clean the room and do some household chores, a pile of clothes took his interest.
Liu tried them on and they looked great, partly because they hung so well on his slim frame. He is 1.7 meters tall and weighs about 50 kg.
Liu did his first modeling stint for Lu's shop on Nov 9, just before "Single's Day", which is when huge numbers of Chinese go online and shop.
The pair posted a set of 10 photos and the reaction was immediate. Lu's wares generally get about 1,000 clicks a day, but after her grandfather's appearance on the website this went up to 20,000.
A picture of Liu mimicking the Gangnam Style horse dance was particularly popular.
A search for "72-year-old grandfather" on Sina Weibo, a micro blog, reveals 50 pages of results relating to Liu. Many of the comments compare his stylish appearance to German fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld.
Shanghai-based Dragon TV invited Liu to appear on its reality TV series China's Got Talent and Liu comments that he is sifting through the offers, adding, "Bringing people happiness is most important."
Lu says she did previously try using a foreign model to boost sales, but it didn't result in many more orders and she cost 1,000 yuan ($160) an hour. Which is why Lu tried out this novel approach to promotion.
Liu was previously a substitute teacher at an elementary school, but describes himself as a farmer. He likes watching TV and has recently got hooked on Tencent's online games.
"I like playing cards in cyberspace. It feels good to be up with the fads and behave like a youngster."
Lu labels her grandfather's promotion as the "Thanksgiving Grandpa Series," but is unsure whether he will be a regular fixture on her site.
"Internet trends change so fast," she says. "You could easily find our products on TMall after he became famous, but I'm not sure the effect will last."
Nevertheless, the old man is happy to prolong his stay in Guangzhou.
"I don't have much farming work during winter," he giggles. "It's more convenient for me to handle media interviews and people's questions here."