Crowds of people gathered on the Great Wall of China holding "DStrong" signs to help a dying Rhode Island boy achieve his goal of becoming famous in China and across the world.
Dorian Murray, 8, of Westerly told his father he wanted to be famous on the "bridge in China," meaning the Great Wall of China, after a medical check revealed his rhadomyosarcoma, a pediatric cancer, was no longer treatable. He had been battling the illness for four years.
The boy's wish, posted on Facebook, sparked a global social media wave with people across the world responding with kindness. When Chinese social media users spotted Murray's wish, people began taking to the wall to pose for pictures holding "DStrong" signs and offering words of support. Thousands, from China to Italy, have since posted their photos online using the DStrong hashtag.
"They believe in me. And it's just really nice to know that so many have my back for me," the boy told a local TV station in Rhode Island.
In Beijing, students from LVMS Kindergarten posed with a sign saying "Dorian, all the children of LVMS know you. DStrong."
Murray's story was quickly picked up by several Chinese newspapers, attracting more people to join the effort to fulfill his dream.
People in China shared "DStrong" photos taken across the country, from the Great Wall and Tian'anmen Square in Beijing, to the West Lake in Hangzhou and to the Huangpu River in Shanghai.
"DStrong. You are famous in China. From the Great Wall," said a post on popular Chinese microblog Weibo.
