Chinese variety show Happy Camp achieved its highest ratings across China after Descendants of the Sun heartthrob Song Joong-ki appeared as a guest in mid-May.
The episode, which aired over the weekend, received a record-high 2.61 percent viewership rating. This is the highest rating received by a variety show across China and the highest rating for Happy Camp's 2016 episodes so far.
The record-high figure goes to show Song Joong-ki's popularity in China. The famous Korean drama series Descendants of the Sun also broke TV viewing records and has become prominent both in China and South Korea.
Happy Camp has invited Song Joong-ki a number of times already. During his guest appearance, Song gamely participated in a lot of games and even reenacted some memorable scenes from Descendants of the Sun with female Happy Camp with host Kang Mo Yeon taking the role of Song Hye Kyo.
The entire two-hour episode has been posted by Hunan TV on YouTube. It took the social networking site by storm, getting over half a million views in one day.
Aside from the soaring ratings, Song's die-hard fans reportedly paid as much as 8,000 yuan ($1,220) for a front-row ticket to see the actor at the game show. The regular tickets price is 3,400 yuan ($519).
Song recently concluded his second stop of his eight-city China leg tour as part of his 2016 Asia Tour Fan Meeting last Saturday. Over 6,500 fans in Wuhan witnessed the actor speak the Wuhan dialect.
The 30-year-old actor will continue his tour on May 27 at the Guangzhou International Sports Arena and on May 28 at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center.
