On April 1, UK-based Chinese student ZhouDan Pan was astonished to switch on his phone and find that he was a rising internet star back in China.

"It was April Fool's Day and all of a sudden a huge number of friends got in touch to say 'you have become a meme over the internet,'" he told CGTN Digital.

ZhouDan's fame came about by virtue of his appearance on Chinese TV game show 'The Brain' two years earlier. 

Specifically, it was his dramatic exit from the packed audience and subsequent walk towards the stage in which he appeared to theatrically drop his shoulder, turn on his heels and march purposefully down the aisle, that won the hearts of viewers.

"It was the very beginning part of the show. It was a very crowded waiting area, so when my name was called I needed to squeeze out in order to step out of the crowd," he recalled. 

After being alerted by his friends to his popularity, ZhouDan was astonished to find countless imitations of his exaggerated physical movement online, many featuring extremely high production values and detailed editorial scenarios. 

"It took a while for me to understand what was going on, seeing all these people imitating my movement on social media," he said. "People from Generation Z in China were imitating this movement in a sensational way."

The University of Oxford Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) student was intrigued at the logic behind his fame.  

He explained: "I'm a Dphil Engineering Science student, doing algorithms, so I'm very sensitive to numbers. I searched the relevant hashtag on TikTok in China, and found that the number was crazily increasing, starting from several millions to several tens of millions to hundreds of millions, and then to billions. Then I realized 'oh my God, there could be more views than the entire human population.'"

The videos ZhouDan inspired include fans ducking away from kisses and onto a baby's pacifier, stepping on a landmine, stealing food, falling into doors, clashing heads with friends, and even walking in front of a man standing at a gentleman's urinal.

Perhaps the most elaborate video features an aeroplane full of passengers performing the move at the same time. Some versions show animals unwittingly performing similar head jerks.

Forrest Gump

ZhouDan said he has been given a couple of explanations for why his on-air appearance proved so popular.

He said: "Some people say it is a symbol of pride. But later on, when people realized that was not the case because the waiting area was way too crowded, this transformed from a gesture of showing one's pride to one of a determination towards facing life in a difficult situation. It became more positive."

ZhouDan's fame has even spread to Oxford. "When I go to a Chinese restaurant I will be recognized by someone there, and when I attend events at the Chinese student society,"he said.

While being interviewed by CGTN down a quiet Oxford sidestreet, ZhouDan was recognized by three fellow Chinese students who happily mimicked his move on camera.

"We all know him. It was a fun way of standing up, a very funny curling movement which went viral in China," said one. 

ZhouDan said he feels like the character of a famous 1994 Hollywood Blockbuster. 

He joked: "Most of us have watched Forrest Gump. Do you remember when he is running in the movie and people follow him? I feel like I'm a Forrest Gump figure."