Mysterious Xi Jinping blogger reveals himself: 'It is just me'

For weeks, a mysterious microblog has been lifting a veil from around China’s new leader, Xi Jinping, with candid snapshots from his travels that defy the typically stiff and staged images of the leadership presented in state media.

Ordinary Chinese, foreign reporters and even China’s own state media have speculated over who or what might be behind the blog - ostensibly registered to a female tech school graduate. Is Xi’s own team surreptitiously trying to humanise the leader in the guise of citizen journalism? Is this a crusader’s attempt to bring China’s leaders down a notch and send them a message?

It turns out it’s the brainchild of a male college dropout and migrant worker, Zhang Hongming, who said in an exclusive interview that he is both a genuine fan of China’s new leader and intent on making him more accessible to the country’s people.

“It is just me. It’s completely an individual act,” said Zhang, who started the “Fan Club of Learning From Xi” on China’s Twitter-like Sina Weibo on November 21 with a simple thought: Like other foreign leaders in these times, Chinese leaders should have an online following.

Zhang said he initially wanted to keep a low profile, but now wants to come forward to end the rampant speculation about his identity and intentions.

The account shares photos gathered from citizen volunteers and local reports throughout the country of Xi on his visits out in the field - and the candid images aren’t always flattering. There are shots of him visiting a vegetable market, serving food to the elderly, looking sideways. One shows him napping in a van.