For the winners, like karaoke singer Shen Man, this can result in an income of $40,000 per month, some of it coming from displaced urban workers longing for connection in a world that's changing too fast.

It's all a little dizzying, and truly dispiriting. Wu unpacks a heady system and makes sense of it for newbies.

... examines the socioeconomic consequences of such pursuits, which make it a cautionary tale both intriguing and unsettling.