EXO's member Byun Baek-hyun Photo: Courtesy of Sina Weibo

Chinese fans in various provinces celebrated their idol Byun Baek-hyun's birthday on Wednesday by holding various events throughout China.

Born on May 6, 1992 in Bucheon, South Korea, the star debuted as a member of South Korean-Chinese K-pop boy group EXO in 2012. He and his teammates including Lay Zhang, Kris Wu and Sehun have earned immense popularity in China and South Korea with their excellent dancing and singing skills.

The hashtag for the star's birthday has earned 3.36 billion views on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo as of Wednesday afternoon with many Chinese fans leaving their birthday wishes in Korean on Byun's official Sina Weibo account.

Fan Haiying, a student in East China's Shandong Province, told the Global Times on Wednesday that she has been a fan of Byun since he debuted in 2012.

"He is handsome, smart, humorous and a singing and dancing professional. I saw how he overcame the pressure of being a trainee in EXO and tried his best to make their boy band better. Such a perfect man does deserve our fans' love," Fan said. 

Some fans including Zhang Yutong from East China's Fujian Province and Huang Wenshu from South China's Guangdong Province told the Global Times on Wednesday that they found the idol's personality most attractive. 

"Baek-hyun is indeed a gentleman and he really cares about us fans. After a canceled performance due to the novel coronavirus, he held a livestream to greet fans and remind us to adopt virus prevention measures," Zhang said.

"He is positive and upright, which set a good example for us as an idol. He dares to face negative judgments and even criticized the South Korean 'Nth room' sexual abuse case," Huang said. 

Byun's official website shared the first teaser photo for his solo return on Wednesday. Set to release on May 26 and titled Delight, this will be his second mini-album, according to reports.

Chinese fan club Baekhyun Bar posted on Sina Weibo that they have planned nine events to celebrate their idol's birthday, including playing birthday videos on LED screens at the Coex Artium in Seoul and 724 Emart24 convenience stores in South Korea. Other activities include playing advertisements on the international version of TikTok and Sina Weibo as well as posting his posters at cinemas in his hometown.

In addition to fan club events, a Chinese fan who goes by the nickname Moonanee in Hangzhou, capital city of East China's Zhejiang Province, told the Global Times that many peopleacross China are also holding various celebrations. For example, a birthday video was played on a large screen in a Hangzhou subway station. Posters also can be seen on some cafes and milk tea shops in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality and Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province, according to a fan from Chongqing.