Promotional material of Lay Zhang's new album "Jade" Photo: Snapshot of Sina Weibo

Chinese singer and dancer Zhang Yixing, better known as Lay Zhang, dropped his newest single "Jade" on Wednesday. The song, which teases his upcoming fourth album, became an immediate hit on social media both at home and abroad.

The star shared the song on Sina Weibo and Twitter on May 20, or 5/20. In Chinese pronunciation, the numbers 5, 2, 0 sound like "I love you."

The song was shared along with photos of Zhang dressed in traditional Chinese opera costume and wearing makeup. The song combines the sounds of traditional Chinese musical instruments with modern beats. 

Zhang wrote the lyrics and composed the song with music producer Murda Beatz, who has previously cooperated with stars such as Nicki Minaj, Drake and Travis Scott.

The song ignited the enthusiasm of fans both in China and overseas. The hashtag for the song has earned 1.99 billion views on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo as of Wednesday morning. Meanwhile, over on Twitter, his fans created the hashtags #Lay520Jade and #Jade_LayZhang to welcome their idol's new work. 

"Jade is an ancient treasure in China, like gold in the West. Thank you for bringing this traditional element into modern music," a netizen posted on Sina Weibo.

"Yixing!!! Thank you so so so so much for this amazing song!! It sounds so good and everything is simply perfect: The instrumentals, the Chinese elements, your voice... We are extremely proud and I want you to know that," one fan wrote on Twitter.