For Chinese fans, popular teen band are mama's boys

Beijing : Liang Shanshan considers herself a mother of two: one child is her biological son, the other is a 16-year-old Chinese teen pop star she has never met. 

She is a "mother fan" and part of a group of women in their mid-20s to 60s whose maternal instincts are set off by China's boy band sensation TFBoys("The Fighting Boys").

The band has won millions of Chinese followers since their 2013 debut, rapidly amassing a following ardent enough to buy a giant ad in New York's Times Square for a band member's birthday.

Liang insists her feelings are no fleeting fancy: just like a real mother, her devotion to TFBoys' singer Roy Wang (Wang Yuan) is unwavering.

"Our fandom isn't shallow," she explains, adding: "I intend to follow him through his entire career."

While tween fans are attracted to the teenagers' boyish good looks, Liang and her friends are drawn to their cherubic personas and wholesome values, with songs that explore the trials of growing up ("Practise Book for Youth," "Imperfect Kid").

Some, like 24-year-old Yang Andan, even make  annual pilgrimages to Wang's hometown of Chongqing in southern Sichuan province.

"The more I learn about (Wang), the more I like him," Yang said.