Living in a foreign country, it’s easy to fall out of touch with pop culture back home. New music videos come out weekly, up and coming stars make new films, slang evolves quickly, leaving those of us abroad out of touch. Unless you speak Chinese, it can be hard to become familiar with Chinese pop culture, and many expats would rather steer clear of the pop-lite-pap that dominates the airwaves, and overblown romances and staid military dramas that clog the TV channels and theaters. Still, popular culture can be a fantastic way to learn Chinese, about China, and connect with friends and acquaintances. It’s something to talk about once sports and weather are exhausted. It also provides insight into China’s celebrity world and how it differs from the Western star machine. One such difference: although not listed in this article, it is routine for profiles of Chinese celebrities to include their blood type.

The first half of this series focused on China’s hottest male stars, in this edition we let the ladies shine.

李冰冰 / Li Bingbing / Lǐ Bīngbīng
Not to be confused with Fan Bingbing (more on her below), Li is an actress and, more recently, a singer and author. Born in Harbin, Li never planned to become an actress but enrolled in the Shanghai Drama Institute after becoming frustrated with her career. Since 1999, she has appeared in many movies and TV shows and has received awards for her roles in Waiting Alone and The Knot. She starred alongside Jet Li and Jackie Chan in the blockbuster The Forbidden Kingdom which may prove to be the first in a long line of Hollywood performances. She has appeared on the soundtrack of several films as a vocalist and is working on an album. For more details (if you read Chinese) you can pick up her autobiography Li Bingbing: Ten Years in Film.

S.H.E.
This Taiwanese girl group’s name comes from the initial letter of the trio’s first names –it’s not pronounced “she”, as in girl, but rather s-h-e. S.H.E. came together through auditions held by a record label and a televised singing contest. The group’s sound is mostly light pop, although they’ve begun mixing in hip hop and dance, even rapping on some songs. A ridiculous number of their songs are about love. Besides putting out ten albums, appearing on popular soundtracks, and endorsing a wide array of products, Selina, Hebe and Ellen are all pursuing acting careers as well.

蔡依林 / Jolin Tsai / Cài Yīlín
Jolin Tsai went from the top of her class in Taiwan, to the top of the charts all across Asia. Tsai first appeared via an MTV singing competition, winning first place with a rousing rendition of a Whitney Houston hit. Since then she’s been signed to half the major record labels on the planet: Universal, Sony-BMG, Capitol and Warner Music. She’s released two books of her own photography, done duets with Kylie Minogue and survived a romantic linkage to Edison Chen. In the wake of the Edison Chen sex photo scandal it emerged that the racy pictures supposedly of Tsai were fakes – the girl in the pics was lacking the tattoo Tsai has on her tricep. Her music videos and concerts, massive productions that complement her energetic dance tracks, have been among the most expensive in Asian music history – the sixteen promotional outfits used for recent album Flower Butterfly cost 2.5 million USD. You can check out her hits Dancing Diva and Love, Love Love (a Taiwanese version of a Ukrainian song), among many others, on her greatest hits collection Jolin’s Final Wonderland or see her wrapped in leather in the movie Agent J.

范冰冰 / Fan Bingbing / Fàn Bīngbīng
Born in Qingdao, movie star Fan Bingbing graduated from the Shanghai Theater Academy. She became known in the late 90s with a breakthrough performance as a maid in the sitcom Huan Zhu Ge Ge (Returning Princess Pearl). Fan’s major movie roles include Hong Kong action/cop flick Flash Point, Lost in Beijing, and Shinjuku Incident. She successfully sued a plastic surgery hospital for using her image in her ads. In addition to acting in Sophie’s Revenge with Zhang ZIyi and launching her own production company, Fan has been popping up on the covers of magazines across the world recently – she was featured on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar and in iLook magazine with Oliver Stone.

孙燕姿 / Stefanie Sun / Sūn Yàn Zī
Although she mostly sings in Mandarin, Stefanie Sun was actually born and raised in Singapore. After graduating with a degree in marketing, she turned towards making music full-time and has been releasing hit albums since 2000; to date she has sold 10 million records in Asia. Sun records in Taiwan where she often performs with her friend Jolene Tsai. In addition to Mandarin and English, Sun also performs songs in the Hokkien dialect. Sun is known for her fashion sense – she’s sometimes referred to as Singapore’s Kate Moss. In 2007, a music video shoot in Cairo took a turn for the worse when Sun and crew were extorted, at gunpoint, by gangsters disguised as government officials.

张靓颖 / Jane Zhang / Zhāng Liàngyǐn
Though she came in third in the 2005 Super Girl contest, losing in an upset to Li Yuchun (below), Jane Zhang has made a successful career for herself as a singer and is one of the more likely candidates to be come a crossover international success. In addition to Mandarin, Zhang also sings in English, Cantonese and Spanish. Zhang’s father died when she was 15 and she began singing at local bars, accompanied by her uncle, to earn money for her family. Though many thought her the most talented Super Girl, she placed third, perhaps because of her more traditional style and performances. Her first album was partly produced by Craig Williams and her connection with Williams had led to international appearances including, most recently, an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Known by fans as “the Dolphin Princess” because of her high register, Zhang may soon be making a splash outside of China as well.

李宇春 / Chris Lee / Lǐ Yǔchūn
Li Yuchun shocked her parents when she told them she wanted to go to school for music. Nonetheless, they got her a tutor and after a month of rigorous training she tested in. She appeared on Super Girl in 2005. Her unorthodox, androgynous style proved a massive success with fans and Li won the contest, beating out the classically beautiful, virtuosic volcalist Jane Zhang. Her albums have been massive successes and her concerts, unplugged and otherwise, sell out. Unlike other pop stars, Li keeps it real, appearing in non-designer jeans and T-shirts. She’s the first mainland pop singer to get her own stamp, and her fans were so eager to donate to the Chinese Red Cross Foundation after Li mentioned it in public appearances, that they crashed the organization’s servers. Li’s fans are known as yumi – corns – a homophone for the phrase “Yu’s fans”. Li will appear in the upcoming movie Bodyguards and Assassins alongside Fan Bingbing.

章子怡 / Zhang Ziyi / Zhāng Zǐyí
Despite being one of the Chinese stars best known abroad, Zhang Ziyi is not particularly well-loved inside China. Some fun facts about Zhang Ziyi: as a child she hated Beijing Dance Academy so much that she ran away from the boarding school. When she appeared in Rush Hour 2 she had to have Jackie Chan interpret for her – a terrifying thought. Not only an actor, she’s also a tap-dancer and a singer, and she apparently ranked third on a Japanese magazine’s “Super Perfect Head-to-Body Size Ratio List.”
 

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