Chinese fans mourn 'Friends' star Matthew Perry's death

Zhang Fengguang (right) proposes to his fiancee Sun Tiantian by recreating the Chandler and Monica's proposal scene from the hit sit-com 'Friends' in the Shenzhen Central Perk cafe which is styled to look like the setting in the series in the southern China city of Shenzhen, on Sept 22, 2023. Photos: AP

Long before Friends made its official debut in China, the show was a word-of-mouth phenomenon in the country. In the wake of Matthew Perry’s death at 54, fans in China are mourning the loss of the star who felt less like a distant celebrity and more like an old friend.

A Wednesday evening memorial at a cafe in Shenzhen, a busy city across the border of Hong Kong, was one of several held throughout the country for the actor who played Chandler Bing who died recently.