NBA superstar Kobe Bryant greets a crowd of basketball fans at a Nike promotional event outside a sportswear store in Guangzhou city, south China's Guangdong province, Aug 2, 2015. [Photo/IC]

Chinese fans offered their best wishes to NBA star Kobe Bryant after he announced plans to retire at the end of the season, but many of them were reluctant to see Bryant end a career that witnessed the growth of a generation of fans.

Bryant announced his retirement in a unique way by posting a poem, a love letter to basketball, at The Players' Tribune.

The poem was also posted on Bryant's account on China's Twitter-like Weibo and over 20, 000 comments were left in about four hours.

"It was so good to be able to meet you and see you play at the time," said one.

"It seemed Bryant's retirement signals the end of a generation's youth as we grew up seeing him play," another said.

"Hope you have a brand new start in another field," one commented.

Bryant is one of the most popular NBA stars in China, with his Weibo account having over 3 million followers.

He is also just one of the few overseas celebrities starting online businesses on China's Taobao.

Among Bryant's fans who offered their regrets on hearing about his retirement are some big names in China.

"The day has eventually come and I am so upset," said Li Yifeng, a famous young movie star. He said he believes all of the fans will be with Bryant through his last season to enjoy his final games.

Kelly Lin, another movie star said, " We will always love you, and we will miss you. Thank you."