A firefighter practices Shaolin kung fu with a broom in a fire station in Northwest China's Gansu Province. Photo: Screenshot from video by Pear Video

A firefighter who thought he was alone in the yard of his fire station doing his regular exercises, could never have imaged he actually had an audience of 4.6 million, after a surreptitiously-shot video of his routine went viral on social media.

Wen Guoxiang, a firefighter at Longnan Branch of Forest Fire Corps in Northwest China's Gansu Province, is a kung fu master, who on most mornings does an extremely vigorous and expert series of kung fu lunges, spinning kicks and leaps. 

"It's been a habit of mine for years. The broom felt similar to the staff I used to practice with so I just used it," said Wen, adding that he didn't notice another firefighter shooting the video from a nearby balcony.

Wen said he has been practicing kung fu since he was nine years old and had owned a martial arts club before becoming a firefighter. 

The routine he was caught doing with his broom is often performed by China's famed Shaolin Temple, which often tours the world.

Wen was lauded online as a low-key kung fu broom master in a firefighter's uniform.

"Is he the sweeping kung fu monk" of firefighters? a netizens jokingly asked.