How Norwegian Striker Erling Haaland Became China's Favourite Star, Meme and 'Ha Bao' Icon

Norwegian striker Erling Haaland has become a cultural phenomenon in China, amassing over 7 million followers on Weibo and Douyin in just over a month through memes, AI edits, and the fan-created nickname 'Ha Bao'. His popularity has transcended football, with Chinese netizens editing him into dating games and brands like Wang Lao Ji leveraging his viral appeal for commercial campaigns.

How Norwegian Striker Erling Haaland Became China's Favourite Star, Meme and 'Ha Bao' Icon The memes, AI edits and fan pages behind Haaland's rapid rise in China. Erling Haaland now has more fans in China than there are people in Norway, a striking measure of how the Norwegian striker has been remade as a digital icon far beyond football. In just over a month, the 25-year-old, who turns 26 on 21 July, has built a China fan base that outnumbers his entire homeland, driven by memes, AI clips and a fan-created nickname that has turned him into a cultural phenomenon. This is not simply a story of goals and trophies, but of how a foreign athlete has become a fixture of Chinese internet life. Across Weibo, Douyin and Xiaohongshu, Haaland is celebrated as much for his 'Ha Bao' persona as for his exploits on the pitch, with fans treating him as a meme, a mascot and even a romance-game heartthrob. The Viral Phenomenon Behind Ha Bao and Erling Haaland Haaland's following on Weibo and Douyin has surged to astronomical levels in barely a month, with 1.6 million followers on Weibo and 5.8 million on Douyin as of early July 2026. Chinese fans have given him two distinct personas that drive his viral status in China. He is the 'Nordic Cyborg' or 'Robot Striker', a goal machine of almost inhuman efficiency who has scored 16 goals to help Norway reach its first World Cup since 1998. Some international fans also call Haaland the 'Viking' for his blond hair and physical style. Off it, he is 'Ha Bao' roughly 'Ha Baby' , a goofy, approachable giant whose exaggerated expressions and off-pitch antics have made him a fixture in Chinese meme culture. This crossover appeal has proved irresistible to Chinese fans, who have turned his goals, facial expressions and awkward humour into a non-stop stream of viral content. Hashtags related to Haaland have attracted more than 490 million views on Weibo alone, per social media tracking, where he launched an official account earlier this month. From Nordic Cyborg to Romance Game Heart‑Throb The phenomenon extends far beyond conventional football fandom into territory typically reserved for pop idols and fictional characters. Chinese netizens have been editing Haaland into the popular dating game Love and Deepspace as a dreamy male lead, with the trend sweeping platforms like Xiaohongshu. In the past 10 days alone, Haaland impressions on Xiaohongshu reportedly surged to 982.3 million, reflecting his explosive popularity in China. His 2022 move to Manchester City and record-breaking performances helped raise his profile, while the Premier League's huge audience in China amplified his visibility. Commercial Crossover and the Wang Lao Ji Effect Haaland's viral charm has translated into concrete commercial opportunities, with campaigns for Norwegian salmon and Wang Lao Ji's international brand WALOVI tapping into the contrast between his disciplined athlete image and unexpected comic persona. These campaigns have made him a social media talking point among Chinese consumers, as evidenced by online reactions. Building on his support in China, Haaland created a Weibo account on 6 June with a video saying it was 'time to clear up a few things'. On Chinese e-commerce platforms such as Taobao, Haaland-style hairbands have become must-have fashion accessories, with fans joking that they hope to keep their hair as perfectly intact as Haaland's is after a match. In one popular Douyin video, Haaland directly addressed a fan's question about whether he is actually a robot, embracing the trend rather than avoiding it. A New Kind of Football Superstar in the Digital Age Many of the fan edits circulating on Chinese social media are set to a song titled 'Haaland Ha Ha Ha ', which uses the tune of 'Moskau', a 1979 track by German Eurodisco group Dschinghis Khan. Online Chinese fans have given him two nicknames: 'Nordic Cyborg' for his sporting persona, and 'Ha Bao' off it. Haaland has leaned into the attention rather than resist it, replying to fans, launching accounts on Weibo and Douyin, and addressing the 'robot' jokes directly in his own videos. © Copyright IBTimes 2025. All rights reserved.