YOUNG AND CREATIVE: Wang Maomao stands in front of the Tuzki she created (CFP)

On February 8, a gala was shown on the Beijing Television Business Channel giving awards to idols of the post-80s generation. The award winners were selected by netizens on the Internet.

Post-80s generation refers to the group born between 1980 and 1989. In 2010, the generation was stepping into its 30s. The award winners are from different walks of life. Some of them are already successful business people and made a fortune in business, some are still college students and are struggling for achievements in fields that are quite new and fresh.

We made it

Wu Sheng, born in 1987, amazed the fans of computer game Defense of the Ancients (commonly known as DotA), by leading his team to win the world's DotA competition in 2009. He is considered the best DotA player in China.

DotA is one of the most popular mods in gaming history. Since its original release, DotA has become a feature at several worldwide tournaments.

"I want to change people's prejudice about computer games," said Wu, who started to play computer games in primary school. "It is not as terrible as many parents and teachers think."

Wu proved that playing games doesn't affect studying as long as you control time well.

"I negotiated with my mother about the time distribution between games and homework," said Wu. "My mother said if I could rank first in my exams, she wouldn't stop me from playing. I made it."

In 2005, Wu was accepted by Zhejiang University, one of China's top higher-learning institutions. In 2009, he found success in the world's DotA competition. Now, he's a professional game player and a TV show host featuring computer games.

"I also proved that I can make money out of it," said Wu.

If computer gaming is considered to be terrible by parents and teachers, Gao Xiaopan's interest—crosstalk—is old-fashioned to most people. However, Gao not only has made a living on it, but also turned this 100-year-old art into a new trend.

Born in 1985, Gao became a cross-talk apprentice when he was only 8 years old. After graduating from the National Academy of Chinese Theater Arts, Gao held a day job and performed in the evenings. He worked as a department store attendant and a painter in a crafts shop, living on just four steamed loaves of bread a week.

In 2008 Gao gathered more than 10 cross-talk comedians and established Xiha Baofupu (Xiha for short).

"We merge catchwords, news events with traditional performing skills," said Gao.

At the very beginning, few people knew this group and once there were only two people sitting in the theater for their performance. Each member earned only 27 yuan ($4) every month. Some left.

They began using the Internet for publicity. Gradually, more audiences began following and most are of roughly the same age as the performers. Tickets, priced at a reasonable 20 yuan ($3), sold out a week ahead of the show.

By the end of 2010, Xiha already had four fixed performance venues in Beijing. "It is very hard to negotiate with the theaters since rents are becoming higher and higher and we still want a low price, but we finally made it," said Gao. Now the lowest price for Xiha's performance is still 20 yuan.

Now, Gao has to be on stage for the cross-talks for four nights each week and he also involves in making TV series.