Well-wishers help math scholar's video go viral

As millions of Chinese students sat for the grueling national college entrance exam, or gaokao, over the weekend, an understated video featuring Wei Dongyi — a renowned mathematics researcher at Peking University — unexpectedly went viral, turning his comment section into a digital "wishing well "during exam season.

In a brief clip posted on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, the 33-year-old scholar stands in front of a blackboard in a striped shirt and simply says, "Hello everyone, I'm Wei Dongyi. This is my account." Despite its modest tone, the four-second video has drawn more than 13 million likes and over 1.3 million comments as of Sunday afternoon, three days after it was posted online.

Wei, affectionately referred to online as "Wei Shen" or "God Wei", is widely admired for both his mathematical brilliance and humble demeanor. His newly verified account — created with the assistance of his family — has already attracted more than 21 million followers as of Sunday afternoon. According to media reports, the account is expected to feature math-related content to promote academic engagement.