Zhang Hongming， a migrant worker from Pingchang County in southwest China’s Sichuan Province， became a hot search online early February. Zhang did not become a star overnight on some reality TV show. Instead， he is the mystery man behind a microblog noteworthy for its praise of top Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Zhang’s microblog account， Xuexifensituan or Study Xi Fan Club， features Xi’s photos， speeches， anecdotes and travel itineraries， some of which have never appeared in the country’s official media.

Xuexifensituan is a pun on Xi’s name and the Chinese word xuexi， to study， and is evocative of a famous slogan of the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong， “Work hard and make progress everyday，” encouraging the youth to be diligent in learning every day.

As of March 5， Zhang’s Weibo.com microblog had 1.22 million followers and he became a potential subject of a “human flesh search” by many Chinese netizens eager to unmask him.

Zhang opened the Study Xi account on November 21， 2012 one week after Xi assumed the post of general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China（CPC）.

He has also opened accounts by the same name at other microblogging sites， such as T.qq. com. So far， his account on T.qq.com has also attracted an audience of more than 330，000.

Mysterious blog

Since its launch last November， more than 500 messages have been posted by Study Xi and the overwhelming majority concerns Xi.

At this microblog， Xi was not addressed by his official title， but as “Uncle Xi，” while Xi’s wife， famous singer Peng Liyuan， was called “Mother Peng，” a departure from typical honorifics for Chinese leaders and their spouses.

The microblog has posted some of Xi’s old pictures that were released by the Xinhua News Agency last December， which yield a glimpse into his personal life.

A picture posted on December 26， 2012 caught Xi leisurely riding a bike on a tree-shaded street in Fuzhou， capital of southeastern Fujian Province， in the early 1990s， carrying his preschoolage daughter on the back seat. Xi was then a local official.

Another picture posted on February 18 on Zhang’s microblog on T.qq.com， taken in 1972， shows a youthfully slim and smiling Xi standing beside a willow tree during a return visit to his Beijing home from the rural area he was sent to work. At that time， many urban youth were sent to work in the countryside.

While Zhang’s microblog also covers Xi’s official activities， they have reported more and faster than official media such as the national broadcaster CCTV.

From December 7 to 11， 2012 when Xi visited southern Guangdong Province， the first inspection tour outside Beijing that he made as the Party chief， Zhang live-blogged the event.

Zhang frequently updated pictures of Xi during the visit， including a snapshot showing him opening his car window to wave to residents on the roadside on his way out of a fishing village.

A message also disclosed Xi’s itinerary by saying that Xi “is going to arrive at Donghaochong in five minutes.”Donghaochong is an ancient moat in Yuexiu District in Guangzhou， capital of Guangdong.

This is unusual because Chinese media outlets rarely publish top leaders’ itinerary during inspection tours until they depart.

In early February， Xi visited northwestern Gansu Province. Candid pictures posted at Zhang’s microblog enabled netizens to “follow”Xi around， from an air force base， to a grocery store， a nursing home， and a cultural and industrial park.

One picture shows Xi in a white van carrying a dozen people， with a caption saying that Xi wanted to eat cold noodles in a local restaurant but was swarmed by onlookers.

CCTV’s official microblog reblogged a photo from Study Xi that was not previously released by an official news source， commenting， “What’s up？ Xuexifensituan is faster and closer to him than us.”

These unusual pictures and information left netizens wondering if the Study Xi microblog was run by someone with a government background， or even someone close to Xi.

Coming to the surface

In response to public speculation， Zhang issued a statement on February 5 saying that he is an ordinary person， not a CPC member or official， nor is he connected with Xi in any way.

On February 9， the Associated Press （AP） published an interview with Zhang， which unveiled his identity as a young migrant worker.

Zhang told the AP that he is “a genuine fan of China’s new leader and intent on making him more accessible to the people.”

“Our leaders used to appear to be out of reach for the masses. They always appeared to be mysterious. Now the public can feel closer to their leader with timely and transparent information，” Zhang told the AP.

Zhang subsequently accepted interviews from domestic media outlets such as Western China Cosmopolitan Daily and Chengdu Business Daily， both based in Sichuan.

More details about Zhang were disclosed. Zhang， 28， dropped out of college in Sichuan in 2008. Currently， he works as an interior decorator in Wuxi， eastern Jiangsu Province.

Zhang told the media that he ran his microblog from a rented room and released a picture showing his room furnished only with a desk， a bed， a laptop and an electric heater.

Zhang said that he had not personally photographed Xi. Instead， they were collected from other online sources or sent by netizens.

Some snapshots on Xi’s recent trip to Gansu， Zhang said， were originally published by Daxibeiwang.com， an Internet portal on northwest China.

When Xi visited Lanzhou， capital of Gansu， Zhang contacted a local reporter， soliciting information and photos about Xi’s activities during the tour， said an unidentified media professional.

Zhang also unraveled the mystery about how he got Xi’s itinerary before his visit to Donghaochong of Guangzhou. He said that he got the clue from a local reporter’s microblog post， and guessed the arrival time to be five minutes later.

Since gaining publicity， people have voluntarily provided Zhang with materials. For instance， a netizen named Chen Qiang forwarded a picture he took of Xi in 1990 when Chen reported for Fujian Daily. Zhang said that he got some of Xi’s old pictures from a retired guard of Zhongnanhai， where top Chinese leaders reside and work.

Making a difference

In addition to Study Xi， several other microblog accounts featuring top leaders have also been launched.

The Weibo account Xianglixuexi， or Learning from Li， opened in early February， releasing information about Vice Premier Li Keqiang， including his handwriting samples， personal photos and a cover of the latest book authored by his wife Cheng Hong， a professor of English literature at the Capital University of Economics and Business in Beijing. An account by the same name has also appeared in Xinhua’s microblog recently.

Wang Yukai， a professor at the Chinese Academy of Governance， told Beijing Times that the emergence of social media fan clubs shows public approval of the leaders and their political ideas and reform measures.

After assuming the top Party post， Xi has called on the nation to reject extravagance and reduce bureaucracy.

China Agricultural University recently conducted a survey in cities of various sizes and approximated that eateries discard enough food to feed 200 million people every year.

In response to Xi’s call for frugality， the country has launched a campaign to curb“waste at the tip of the tongue.” The measure is popular with the public who are dissatisfied with officials squandering public money on lavish feasts.

In addition， Wang said the microblogs offer a more accessible， non-official channel for disclosing information that may be unsuitable for official news releases， which enable the public to know their leaders better.

Zhang Zhi’an， an associate professor at the School of Communication and Design of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou， believes the fan microblogs can boost leaders’ public recognition and inspire official media to reform their means of communication. In the meantime， Zhang suggests that these microblogs be more responsible， and at least label the sources of their information.