Jack Ma -- tech titan Alibaba's founder, singer, Michael Jackson impersonator, martial arts movie star and coffee connoisseur -- has just announced his plans to step down as Alibaba's chairman exactly a year from now.

On Monday, Sept. 10, which was also his 54th birthday and Teacher's Day in China, Ma said in a letter addressed to Alibaba's employees, customers and investors:

"The world is big, and I am still young, so I want to try new things -- because what if new dreams can be realised?!"

What's up with Ma?

Jack Ma is seen as a visionary leader in China, along the likes of Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg in the United States.

However, he does not code, and has never learnt to do so.

He famously failed China's college entrance exam twice before being accepted into an obscure college, and could not even get a job at KFC after graduation.

Even so, the former English teacher managed to transform Alibaba from a online trading site in 1999 into the world's biggest e-commerce empire that is is today.

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Flood of praise for Ma

In China there was a deluge of well-wishing messages from Chinese netizens in reaction to news of his retirement:

Jack Ma is our hero

Someone who can build a business empire is definitely bold and far-sighted. He must also be someone who never stops his philanthropic efforts.

The purpose of education is to teach students things that can't be done by machines. As such, this reveals one's character and a deep understanding of what education should be.

I think that the entrepreneur who's most popular with the masses is Papa Ma.

Papa Ma's life was legendary. How admirable.

Jack Ma is the only person I've seen who has achieved all his goals.

We don't want Jack Ma to retire

I don't want Jack Ma to retire so soon. He's still young. Your passion shines bright, leading our generation. Your personal charm, work ethics and charisma have helped numerous people receive guidance. You've made great contributions to mankind. We need your guidance now more than ever. We don't accept your retirement. Even while working, you can still teach.

Succession plans

Alibaba's CEO Daniel Zhang, most notable for the creation of the Nov. 11 Singles' Day shopping bonanza -- the world's largest online shopping event -- will take over Ma's role of Chairman.

This marks a drastically different approach from other Asian billionaires like Li Ka-shing, who have passed their businesses to their children.

Ma's retirement announcement is not expected to affect day-to-day operations of the company.

When he relinquished the role of chief executive in 2013, it did not make a whole lot of difference then, said a person familiar with the group in a Financial Times report.

Ma, however, will remain on the board of directors until Alibaba's annual meeting of shareholders in 2020.

Thereafter, he will continue to be a part of the Alibaba Partnership, a group of top executives who aim to preserve the conglomerate's founding culture while introducing new leadership at the same time.

In his farewell letter, he said his succession plans show that Alibaba has grown from a company that "relies on individuals", to one built on "systems of organisational excellence".

He ended his letter by saying "Alibaba was never about Jack Ma, but Jack Ma will forever belong to Alibaba."

Dreams to be a teacher again

Ma said he wants to devote most of his time to philanthropy, focusing on education, after retirement.

In a Bloomberg interview on Sept. 7 just three days before he made the announcement, he hinted at his plans to retire:

"I miss (teaching) very much.

I came to the business field by accident. I think someday, very soon, I'll go back to teaching, go back to education.

This is something I'm much more confident (in). I think I can do it much better than being Alibaba's CEO."

He added that he had been preparing his plans for philanthropy for the past 10 years, such as the Jack Ma Foundation (inspired in part by Bill Gates) and a rural education project in China that involves kindergartens, headmasters and rural teachers.

He also said he never stopped teaching. To him, speaking at forums around the world is also considered a form of teaching.

If his plans unfold without a hitch, this time next year, he would have returned to his lifelong passion of teaching and education.

Top image via DSB/Weibo