METRO SHANGHAI / METRO SHANGHAI
Young Chinese fans share their star-chasing experiences
Idol hands
By Published: Mar 13, 2019 06:33 PM
When Luo Yu saw actor and singer Luo Yunxi (Leo Luo) on the screen for the first time, she was star-struck.
"What a gentleman! He is charming and elegant, with affectionate eyes and wonderful acting skills. I was captured," the 22-year-old freelance photographer recalled.
In August 2018, Luo Yunxi became an overnight household name by portraying a popular character in the television drama The Honey Sank Like Frost.
Before that, Luo had never heard about the then 30-year-old rising star, but she soon fell in love with him.
"I think of him day and night," she sighed. "At the beginning, missing him made it hard to fall asleep sometimes."
Like most fans, Luo is eager to get closer to her idol in all aspects. She follows Leo's social media accounts, writes letters to him, joins online fan communities and, remarkably, meets him in person at airports.
A few fans, including Luo, believe that one of the simplest ways to meet a celebrity face-to-face is to get the person's flight number in advance and then rush to the airport he or she will depart from or arrive at.
If the celebrity has enough time and security guards are in a good mood that day, fans are usually allowed to speak to them and ask for photos and autographs.
Fans call this behavior "airport pickup [drop-off]." Based in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province, Luo has "picked up [dropped off]" Leo more than 10 times during the past seven months at airports of nearby cities including Shanghai, Nanjing and Wuxi.
A big fan
Shanghai resident Aling (alias) is a big fan of her fellow-townsman, 35-year-old Shanghainese singer and actor Xue Zhiqian.
She started following Xue in October 2017, attracted by his integrity and goodness she thought shown through in a then-TV show named The Coming One.
"Once, Xue's teammate was unfairly treated in this show, making him so furious that he directly threw his microphone onto the ground and left the studio," she recalled. "At that time I was like, wow, he's so cool!"
The 20-year-old university student tries all she can to support her idol. Online, she writes and tweets almost every Weibo post with a Xue-related hashtag such as #JokerXue'sNewAlbum, regardless of whether or not the post is actually related to this celebrity.
She also plays Xue's songs on a loop to help increase their playback amounts. "Fortunately, all of his songs are free, so I don't have to spend extra money on purchasing the songs," she told the Global Times.
Offline, Aling hopes to see her idol face-to-face as well. In March 2018, Xue attended a media-only event in Shanghai where fans were not allowed to enter. "I turned to a ticket scalper who charged me 400 yuan ($59) for helping me sneak into the venue, but we failed," she laughed.
Aling also tried to "pick up (or drop off)" Xue at airports but has seldom succeeded. "Because most of the time he goes through VIP channels," she said.
Buying secrets
In China, only a few celebrities choose to publicize their flight numbers, while the remaining majority keep their flights a secret.
But fans have their own secrets. Currently, the most common method to obtain a celebrity's flight number, as several fans explained to the Global Times, is to buy the information from a scalper.
This Global Times reporter reached a scalper via WeChat earlier this month, tentatively asking about a recent flight of a domestic male idol group member. The scalper said the celebrity would fly from Beijing to Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang Province, on March 6.
"Pay me 10 yuan, I will let you know the accurate time and terminal," the scalper wrote, refusing to give more details, including where she found the information.
Some 10 minutes after the reporter paid, the scalper sent a screenshot of the man's flight schedule. "You can also buy his ID card number from me," she suggested. "With this number, next time you can check his flights yourself."
Aling confirmed to the Global Times that buying idols' private information, such as an address, flight number, ID card information and license plate numbers, is not rare among fans. Having one or two scalpers as her WeChat friends, Aling herself occasionally buys flight information, each for 5 yuan to 10 yuan.
She admitted that the behavior of "airport pickup [or drop-off]" has to some extent invaded her idol's privacy. "But I only buy flight numbers," she emphasized. "I have never bought Xue's ID card number or other information."
Invasion of privacy
Beijing-based crosstalk performing group Deyunshe recently criticized some of its crazier fans who had disclosed the privacy of its members.
"They spread or sell our private information, and that has seriously hampered our work and life," the group wrote on Weibo. "We will appoint a lawyer to safeguard our legal rights."
Both Luo and Aling said they resent such misbehaved fans. Luo talked about another Leo fan who usually calls, texts and even follows the star. "That's terrible," she complained. "She has severely affected Leo's life and mood."
Aling agreed. "I know a few fans who like to crowd in front of Xue's car and harass him, making him very upset," she said, adding that she can't accept this fanatical behavior. "Why do they bring trouble to the person they love?"
Mou Xiaohong, a psychological counselor at a university in Beijing, analyzed the possible psychological motivation of these privacy-prying fans.
"Most are young and immature, and perhaps lack parental love and attention in their growth," she told the Global Times.
"Feeling self-doubting, these people may try to gain a sense of stability and security through extreme methods such as spying on others' privacy," Mou added. "But generally, star chasing is not so bad. Idols can serve as models to their fans."
Luo said that her idol has had a positive impact on her life. "For example, Leo's handwriting is very good; to follow his example, I'm practicing calligraphy myself," she told the Global Times. "He inspires me to be a better person."
Aling then offers a different answer. "Instead of saying Xue has brought a positive impact on my life, it would be fairer to say, he has made my college life less boring," she laughed.
"What a gentleman! He is charming and elegant, with affectionate eyes and wonderful acting skills. I was captured," the 22-year-old freelance photographer recalled.
In August 2018, Luo Yunxi became an overnight household name by portraying a popular character in the television drama The Honey Sank Like Frost.
Before that, Luo had never heard about the then 30-year-old rising star, but she soon fell in love with him.
"I think of him day and night," she sighed. "At the beginning, missing him made it hard to fall asleep sometimes."
Like most fans, Luo is eager to get closer to her idol in all aspects. She follows Leo's social media accounts, writes letters to him, joins online fan communities and, remarkably, meets him in person at airports.
A few fans, including Luo, believe that one of the simplest ways to meet a celebrity face-to-face is to get the person's flight number in advance and then rush to the airport he or she will depart from or arrive at.
If the celebrity has enough time and security guards are in a good mood that day, fans are usually allowed to speak to them and ask for photos and autographs.
Fans call this behavior "airport pickup [drop-off]." Based in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province, Luo has "picked up [dropped off]" Leo more than 10 times during the past seven months at airports of nearby cities including Shanghai, Nanjing and Wuxi.
A big fan
Shanghai resident Aling (alias) is a big fan of her fellow-townsman, 35-year-old Shanghainese singer and actor Xue Zhiqian.
She started following Xue in October 2017, attracted by his integrity and goodness she thought shown through in a then-TV show named The Coming One.
"Once, Xue's teammate was unfairly treated in this show, making him so furious that he directly threw his microphone onto the ground and left the studio," she recalled. "At that time I was like, wow, he's so cool!"
The 20-year-old university student tries all she can to support her idol. Online, she writes and tweets almost every Weibo post with a Xue-related hashtag such as #JokerXue'sNewAlbum, regardless of whether or not the post is actually related to this celebrity.
She also plays Xue's songs on a loop to help increase their playback amounts. "Fortunately, all of his songs are free, so I don't have to spend extra money on purchasing the songs," she told the Global Times.
Offline, Aling hopes to see her idol face-to-face as well. In March 2018, Xue attended a media-only event in Shanghai where fans were not allowed to enter. "I turned to a ticket scalper who charged me 400 yuan ($59) for helping me sneak into the venue, but we failed," she laughed.
Aling also tried to "pick up (or drop off)" Xue at airports but has seldom succeeded. "Because most of the time he goes through VIP channels," she said.
Buying secrets
In China, only a few celebrities choose to publicize their flight numbers, while the remaining majority keep their flights a secret.
But fans have their own secrets. Currently, the most common method to obtain a celebrity's flight number, as several fans explained to the Global Times, is to buy the information from a scalper.
This Global Times reporter reached a scalper via WeChat earlier this month, tentatively asking about a recent flight of a domestic male idol group member. The scalper said the celebrity would fly from Beijing to Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang Province, on March 6.
"Pay me 10 yuan, I will let you know the accurate time and terminal," the scalper wrote, refusing to give more details, including where she found the information.
Some 10 minutes after the reporter paid, the scalper sent a screenshot of the man's flight schedule. "You can also buy his ID card number from me," she suggested. "With this number, next time you can check his flights yourself."
Aling confirmed to the Global Times that buying idols' private information, such as an address, flight number, ID card information and license plate numbers, is not rare among fans. Having one or two scalpers as her WeChat friends, Aling herself occasionally buys flight information, each for 5 yuan to 10 yuan.
She admitted that the behavior of "airport pickup [or drop-off]" has to some extent invaded her idol's privacy. "But I only buy flight numbers," she emphasized. "I have never bought Xue's ID card number or other information."
Invasion of privacy
Beijing-based crosstalk performing group Deyunshe recently criticized some of its crazier fans who had disclosed the privacy of its members.
"They spread or sell our private information, and that has seriously hampered our work and life," the group wrote on Weibo. "We will appoint a lawyer to safeguard our legal rights."
Both Luo and Aling said they resent such misbehaved fans. Luo talked about another Leo fan who usually calls, texts and even follows the star. "That's terrible," she complained. "She has severely affected Leo's life and mood."
Aling agreed. "I know a few fans who like to crowd in front of Xue's car and harass him, making him very upset," she said, adding that she can't accept this fanatical behavior. "Why do they bring trouble to the person they love?"
Mou Xiaohong, a psychological counselor at a university in Beijing, analyzed the possible psychological motivation of these privacy-prying fans.
"Most are young and immature, and perhaps lack parental love and attention in their growth," she told the Global Times.
"Feeling self-doubting, these people may try to gain a sense of stability and security through extreme methods such as spying on others' privacy," Mou added. "But generally, star chasing is not so bad. Idols can serve as models to their fans."
Luo said that her idol has had a positive impact on her life. "For example, Leo's handwriting is very good; to follow his example, I'm practicing calligraphy myself," she told the Global Times. "He inspires me to be a better person."
Aling then offers a different answer. "Instead of saying Xue has brought a positive impact on my life, it would be fairer to say, he has made my college life less boring," she laughed.
Photo: VCG
