RIP MICHAEL: Chinese media gave extensive coverage to the death of Michael Jackson

Although Michael Jackson never performed in China's mainland, his influence here appeared to exceed that of any other foreign musician who did visit the country. This was seen in the nationwide display of grief after news spread that the King of Pop had passed away.

To millions of Jackson's Chinese fans, June 26 was a Black Friday. Hundreds of Jackson's fans in Beijing gathered that evening to mourn their beloved icon. They put Chinese-style candles and paper boats in the Houhai Lake, the area around which is popular among foreign tourists for restaurants, bars and cafes there, to express their grief.

Record and DVD outlets set up special counters for Jackson's albums as demand soared. His death became the top news item in all media broadcasts and his contribution to world pop music was highly praised. The Beijing News, one of the leading news dailies based in Beijing, ran the headline "There Will Be No More Legend That Thrills People on the Earth."

On mjcn.com, a Chinese website said to be recognized by Jackson as his official website in Chinese, a video commemorating the life of Jackson gets extensive broadcast time, with its black and white background superimposed with the words "Good-Bye, We Love You."

In a special report on sina.com, one of the major portals in China, more than 260,000 people responding to an online survey said they felt shocked after hearing the news of Jackson's death, with the majority saying his dancing was what they loved the most about Jackson.

Opening doors

Chinese people first knew of Jackson in the mid-1980s, a time when the country was just opening up to the outside world. The song he co-composed, We Are the World, introduced Chinese to world pop culture.

Many people in music and entertainment circles admitted that they were greatly influenced by Jackson's music. Zhang Yuan, a Chinese director, said that when he produced MTV for Cui Jian, known as the godfather of rock-and-roll on China's mainland, he learned a lot from watching MTV videos of Jackson. "He created modern MTV, and his death is the loss of a genius," Zhang said on sina.com.