Taiwanese singer Jam Hsiao recently announced that he has moved to Chengdu, China.
Hsiao gushed about China in an interview on the Weibo account of Red Star News on June 8. Red Star News is the mobile news platform of the Chengdu Economic Daily Newspaper.
The announcement of his move took people by surprise and the one-minute video went viral on social media with more than four million views within an hour of being posted.
Online searches for “Taiwanese singer Jam Hsiao has moved to Chengdu” was also trending.
The 35-year-old said that he moved to Chengdu as he found living there to be comfortable, and it had some anonymity.
“Chengdu is so great. The cost of living is not as high as in other cities and there is a lot of room for development. Just think about what will happen in five years if you invest in Chengdu now,” said the star.
Hsiao is well known for his savvy investment skills, he owns an instant noodle brand and runs a bubble tea chain. He is also one of Taiwan’s top earners and has lucrative endorsement deals in China.
When asked about property investment in Chengdu, he was non-committal, stating that he prefers to save money. Netizens commented that his move to China was pragmatic, as there was a financial opportunity there.
Others joked about him bringing the rain and that citizens of Chengdu should prepare umbrellas because Hsiao is also known as the Rain God.
This moniker was given to him in Beijing in July 2012 when there was a big storm during his concert, and coincidentally it also rained during some of his other performances in China.
Hsiao made a name for himself after he appeared on the Taiwanese talent show One Million Star. He is popular throughout Asia, specifically in China.
He courted some controversy earlier this year when he performed with singers from China and Taiwan in a music video titled We Sing The Same Song, which featured lyrics that promoted the unification of China and Taiwan.