When Typhoon Ragasa swept toward Hong Kong and southern China, people turned to an unusual “guardian”: entertainment idol Nicholas Tse. According to entertainment site Kbizoom, pictures of the 44-year-old actor-singer-chef were plastered across windows from Shenzhen to Guangzhou.
Why Tse? In Cantonese and Mandarin, his name sounds like “thank you for stopping the wind.” That little wordplay inspired residents to tape his photos to their windows, hoping he’d keep the storm away.
The playful idea quickly went viral on Chinese social media.
“I have pasted Xie Tingfeng on my window, I hope it works,” one user wrote.
“Ragasa has made a detour around Shenzhen. Thanks, Nic,” said another user.
A third user said, “The wind stopped in Dongguan. It really works.”
