Thousands online help make American boy famous in China

Related reading:

Crowds of people gathered on the Great Wall of China holding #D-STRONG signs to help a dying Rhode Island boy achieve his goal of becoming famous in China and across the world.
 

A file photo of Dorian Murray (L) and the encouraging message board his fan has made for him on the Great Wall of China.

Dorian Murray, 8, of Westerly told his father he wanted to be famous on the "bridge in China," meaning the Great Wall of China, after a medical check revealed his rhadomyosarcoma, a pediatric cancer, was no longer treatable. He had been battling the illness for four years.

Dorian's father then posted his dialogues with the boy on Facebook. "Hey dad, you know what I really want before I go to heaven?" Dorian asked. "I would like to be famous in China."

His father responded by spreading Dorian's wish across the web. "I am reaching out to anyone who may know someone in China or other countries who would be willing to send a picture to Dorian with a #D-STRONG Sign," the father said.

The boy's wish soon sparked a global social media wave with people across the world responding with kindness.

Liu Ping, CEO of tourism company China Star, told Xinhua that she learned about Dorian's wish on Tuesday.

"I was touched by the boy," she said. "He was so young but in the face of death he appeared so strong. I felt obliged to do something for him."

She went to the Juyongguan section of the Great Wall with her driver Zhang Yunhong. "It was cold and there were not many visitors," she recalled. Temperatures at the Great Wall on the windy Wednesday were between -4 to -12 degrees Celsius.

But the pair managed to stop several tourists, telling them Dorian's story. "All of them were willing pose for photos," she said. They took around 20 photos after the day.

Liu was not the first one to help Dorian fulfill his wish. "Some people from China Youth Travel Service arrived very early in the morning," she said. "If more people had access to Facebook, I am sure there would be more photos."

Students from LVMS Kindergarten in Beijing also posed with a sign saying "Dorian, all the children of LVMS know you. D-STRONG."

The support spread beyond Beijing.

Photos with #D-STRONG, or in many cases #DStrong, also appeared from Tian'anmen Square in Beijing, West Lake in Hangzhou and the Huangpu River in Shanghai.

"They believe in me. And it's just really nice to know that so many people have my back for me," the boy told a local TV station in Rhode Island.

Murray's story was quickly picked up by several Chinese newspapers, attracting more people to join the effort to fulfill his dream. China's most influential English language newspaper China Daily Thursday even ran the story on its front page, which is usually devoted to big political news.

"DStrong, you are famous in China. From the Great Wall," one user on popular Chinese microblog Weibo said.

中文国际网摘编：GAN JADE