The Fan Club That Autumn
Sep 4: The fan club opens
People's Daily Online opened the "Shijin Babao fans circle", describing it as a place for fans who "ardently love" Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao to "express their emotions, have discussions and communicate". So many people signed up that the zone temporarily shut down in its first two days.
人民网 people.com.cn
Where the name comes from
"Shijin babao fan" — "assorted eight-treasure rice pudding" — is a pun built from one character of each leader's name, the jin of Hu Jintao and the bao of Wen Jiabao. Fans called the two leaders "Brother Hu" and "Baobao".
Presidential Press and Information Office · CC BY 4.0
Tens of thousands in days
Reports at the time counted more than 60,000 registered fans within four days, and TIME more than 80,000. By the afternoon of September 16, China Daily reported about 177,000 fans and more than 13,800 messages. Everyone who signed up got a red online fan certificate.
Copyright World Economic Forum / Photo by Natalie Behring · CC BY-SA 3.0
What the fans wrote
"Wishing big brother Hu and Baobao the best of health! Have a happy Mid-Autumn Day!" "Brother Hu was really handsome when he was young!" — messages recorded by China Daily, using pet names normally kept for close family.
人民网 people.com.cnTreasures of the Circle
Photos from the "Treasures of the circle" box on the fan club's front page:
