Nothing this large and spontaneous had ever pushed its way unapproved into China's mainstream media before. Everyone was talking about it in China - 20 million people were said to be waiting for the tv show every Friday, and 400 million television viewers watched the grand finale in August 2005, breaking all records for viewer’s rates.
The programme was inspired by "Star Academy" or “American Idol" and allowed viewers to vote via sms for the candidate of their choice. It did not emerge from the Beijing studios of official Chinese programming, but from a provincial station in the gritty heartland of Hunan that has a satellite uplink.

According to a newsletter from Reporters sans Frontières, Chinese authorities have now banned the continuation of the programme. The state-owned newspaper "China Daily" said the programme illustrated "the perversions of an unprepared democracy."

The ban was followed by a new regulation on 11 April 2006 in which the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) ordered Chinese tv stations not to use the footage offered by international news agencies, accusing them of "corrupting public opinion."