(Photo: CGTN)

An Italian postgraduate student became an online sensation in China after claiming that hot water, which is strongly favored by Chinese as “a healthy beverage,” is also his miracle treatment.

“Hot water is amazing,” Carlo, whose Chinese name is Wang Xiaolong, said to his parents from Italy and fellow students during his graduation speech last Thursday.

The Italian man, who studies at East China Normal University in Shanghai, said his Chinese classmates always advised him to drink boiled water to relieve his pain from fever, stomach and even stress.

Although drinking hot water is odd to many Westerners, it has been the go-to beverage for Chinese since at least the fourth century B.C. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), hot water is used to expel excess humidity and cold from the body.

The beverage is widely served in Chinese restaurants, while almost every government body, business organization and school across the country boasts a hot water dispenser. Hotels overseas are getting hip to Chinese tourists’ needs by offering teakettles.

Carlo and his speech were trending on Sina Weibo by Monday. The video posted by Pear Video to the Twitter-like social media platform in China has received more than 19 million views and over 20,000 thumbs-up.

“Chinese hot water is going abroad,” commented @Bizhixiannvpicture.

“A French guy once told me to drink hot water when I was ill. Obviously he has lived in China for a long period of time,” said @Heather-Tang.

“I am surprised [to be popular online],” Carlo told the Shanghai-based The Paper. “Hot water is a symbol of Chinese culture. I think it is interesting.”

However, not everyone consider the traditional beverage as “all-powerful.”

“Please don’t tell your girlfriend to drink it when she is suffering from menalgia,” suggested @Pingleguzhenxiaozhang.

The slogan “drink more hot water” has been popular among Chinese men, especially for those who don’t know what to do and say with their girlfriends’ physical pain. 

But, it is also a slogan widely mocked for the past few years by netizens who barely believe hot water cures everything.

Drinking water is a way to keep healthy by facilitating blood circulation, speeding up metabolism and easing muscle, but it doesn’t need to be hot water, said Yan Wei, an associate professor from the Gastroenterology Department of Tongji Hospital in Shanghai.

Yang added that no medical literature has proven that hot water is more beneficial.

It’s hard to tell how long the zeal for hot water is going to last. 

Chinese youths have been increasingly enamored with cold drinks, including carbonated beverages, energy drinks, sparkling water and alcohols. More and more social groups have also been encouraging people in the country to choose cold and warm beverages instead of the hot ones.