"Cai Xukun has donated 600,000 yuan to help people who are battling the Wuhan novel coronavirus outbreak. As his fans, we also want to contribute," said Jerry Lin, who lives in Beijing. He added that from Jan 23 to 28, more than 600,000 yuan had been donated by Cai's fans to buy medical supplies.

"We followed the news on TV like many others. Because of the Spring Festival holiday, many medical supply factories took the week off, so it was hard to buy such products. We contacted the factories directly so that we could get enough as fast as possible," she said.

"Our fans work in different fields. We let those who work in banks do the accounting, while those working for delivery companies help monitor the transportation of the supplies. We are united because of the outbreak."

The immediate response by the fan groups to the outbreak has been applauded by netizens. Some praised their efficiency and dedication to helping people in need; others said their action had made them "heroes" and had broken the stereotype of fan behavior making the wrong type of headlines.