Chinese young man-of-mystery blog phenom

Our Taiwanese contributor Nydia Chen pointed us to a blog that has taken the Chinese blogosphere by storm over the past few months.  Acosta’s blog launched in early March, and current traffic rates stand at 15,555,589 visitors since then.  “Acosta’s” poetic prose, celebrity name-dropping, fashionable clothing and artsy photos depict a wealthy yet casual lifestyle that seems attractive to many young Chinese.  Plus, his real name and profession remain a mystery (strange, given how many pictures of him are on the blog).

Acosta’s astounding traffic rates have prompted enough suspicion in China that Sina, which hosts his blog, has officially denied tampering with his stats or giving him special promotional treatment. There have also been suspicions that he is a media production rather than a real individual (check out all of the photos on his blog–they don’t look like they’ve been done by an amateur); that he is the son of various famous people; that he is gay. In a recent phone interview he attempted to fill in some of the details of his life.

I live with my family in a house.  There are very few neighbors near us and it’s very spacious. At night occasionally a car will go by and my dog will bark.

His dog, a golden lab, is in some of his photos, and the rooms in his house look like they come straight out of an interior design magazine. According the interview, Acosta likes to take risks and loves to travel. He doesn’t like “routine work” and appears to have the means to invest in various business ventures, including a modeling agency where the photographers sometimes take pictures of him for his blog.  A “typical day: work out, watch movies, study, write the blog, and respond to blog comments.” He is discussing a book and a possible television drama of his blog.

No wonder his life looks like a dream to many Chinese readers.