Taiwanese singer Jam Hsiao moves to Chengdu, goes viral on Weibo after announcement

CHENGDU — Taiwanese singer Jam Hsiao has confirmed that he is now based in the Chinese city of Chengdu.

The 35-year-old sang praises of his new home in an interview on the Weibo account of Red Star News, the mobile news platform of newspaper Chengdu Economic Daily, on Wednesday (June 8).

His surprising revelation caused the one-minute video to go viral on social media, with more than four million views within an hour of it being posted. The hash tag "Taiwanese singer Jam Hsiao has relocated to Chengdu" was also the top search term on the platform.

In it, Hsiao, 35, said he made the move to the capital city of Sichuan province as "life in Chengdu is very comfortable and carefree".

He added: "Chengdu is so great. Cost of living is not as high as 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."

Known to be a savvy investor in the food and beverage business — he has his own brand of instant noodles and runs a bubble tea chain — Hsiao is one of Taiwan's top-earning singers and has a number of lucrative endorsement deals in China.

In the interview, he was asked if he had bought property in Chengdu and replied that he was still saving up.

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Some netizens commented that his move was pragmatic as he had to go to where he could make the most money.

Others joked that Chengdu was about to enter a wet season and people should prepare their umbrellas, as Hsiao's nickname is the God of Rain.

He earned that title after his concert in Beijing in July 2012 was affected by a major storm, with many subsequent China performances also rained out.

Hsiao shot to fame in a rags-to-riches story in 2007 after appearing on Taiwanese talent show One Million Star and remains popular in Asia, especially China.

In January, he stirred controversy when he appeared with singers from both China and Taiwan in the music video of We Sing The Same Song, which has lyrics promoting the unification of China and Taiwan.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.