This Buddhist monk is pop fan, likes fashion and tweets

BEIJING - A Buddhist monk has become popular for performing pop music, using latest gadgets and wearing fashionable gowns while travelling in China to spread his religion.

Unlike traditional Buddhist monks, Shi Daoxin, formerly an abbot at a temple in eastern Jiangxi province, is a fan of Harry Potter and uses the latest iPhone and iPad.

Dressed in stylish gowns and wearing sunglasses, Shi also uses television, radio and other media to promote himself, his music and Buddhism, the Shanghai Daily reported.

He even has his own microblog and posted his cell phone number there to interact with people. The 28-year-old, believed to be the first monk to use multimedia, has more than 65,000 followers on his microblog on Sina.com.

The monk updates almost every day by tweeting interesting posts and uploading new pictures. Shi also talks about “fashion Buddhism” on his microblog.

Shi first attracted media attention in 2008 when a picture was posted online of him wearing sunglasses, a Bluetooth earpiece and designer Buddhist outfits, bearing a strong resemblance to Hong Kong actor and singer Nicolas Tse.

Also that year, Shi released his first album with pop and Chinese folk music on Buddhist themes.