Lu’s dating scoop causes stir on social networks

Sometimes celebrities’ personal revelations can ignite earthquake-sized social media bombs, thanks to the power of the internet.

Lu Han and Guan Xiaotong.[Photo/weixin]

Lu Han, a popular young actor and singer, abruptly introduced his girlfriend on social media to the public on Sunday, paralyzing servers for a moment due to a huge traffic spike.

He posted a thread on Weibo, China’s most popular social platform, saying “Hi everyone, this is my girlfriend @Guan Xiaotong” with a link to her page and her photo. Guan Xiaotong is a well-known young actress whose star is rising.

His revelation caused a sudden breakdown of Weibo’s server due to the traffic. Ding Zhenkai, a Weibo user who describes himself as a programmer at the site, said he got called to work on the breakdown during his wedding.

He later posted a picture from work, saying “The server is back on and my father-in-law is calling me to drink with him. Look at the trouble Lu did!” In the picture, he is working on a computer wearing a wedding suit and corsage.

The news exploded his fan community. As of 11 am Monday, about 23 hours after Lu posted, his post received 4.72 million likes and 2.25 million comments.

Many people expressed their heartbreak about the news their fantasy idol no longer just belonged to his fans, claiming to unfollow him. However, Lu’s followers have increased by 1.45 million.

Some fans refused to accept the news, saying it’s a publicity stunt as a new TV show starring Lu and Guan is soon to premiere. But Lu’s manager publicly cleared the air to say it’s no stunt, and to give them his blessing.

The text of Lu’s post, “Hi everyone, this is my girlfriend,” with users adding a different picture, has become a trending topic with parodies galore on social media.

Lu, heavily favored by younger generations, has been on the A-list for the last few years.

Last April, Lu posted a picture of him and a postbox in a Shanghai neighborhood, a day before his concert there. The mailbox soon became a social media hit, with fans lining up for 200 to 300 meters to take a picture. Some fans had to queue for a photo until 4 am the next day. The post office even installed antlers, as Lu means “deer” in Chinese, on the box to stay up on the trend.