Though he majored in Japanese at university, Lu Chen never stopped pursuing the love of his life: magic. Other honors he pocketed included the Best Original Act at the 1998 Formosa International Magic Convention; Champion of Stage Magic at the 2000 International Magic Convention in Naniwa, Japan; and the Grand Prix at the 2003 World Magic Seminar Asia.

His career peaked after he performed at China’s CCTV Spring Festival Gala in 2009 and 2010, triggering a magic-learning craze in the Chinese-speaking world.

Thanks to the CCTV effect, Lu Chen toured around China in 2009 giving performances to wild acclaim and when product endorsements were factored in he was estimated to have raked in 100 million yuan (US$14.6 million) that year.

His agent said he plans to establish a magic school in China.

His fame, however, was exploited by China singer Xu Song (许颂), who claimed in late February 2010 that she and the magician used to be a couple. Her agent even criticized Lu Chen for cruelly dumping Xu and supposedly showed a text message proving the two were together. It turned out that Lu Chen was being used and none of the allegations were true.

Further information :

His website: http://www.lu-chen.com

His blog: http://blog.sina.com.cn/luchenmagic

His fan website: http://www.luchenmagic.com

The post Lu Chen appeared first on May Daily.

She won titles at Miss Chinese, Miss China and Miss Asia pageants.

Launching her entertainment career in Hong Kong, she became well known in the 1990s for roles in films such as The Saint of Gamblers and The Kingdom of Mob.

Earlier in her career, Diana was viewed as a soft porn star because of her 36F bust, which earned her the nickname “Divine Bosom” — but she has also demonstrated that she can act in a clutch of mainland-produced TV series in recent years.

She attracted significant public attention when she was selected as a member of Gansu province’s 11th Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, in early 2013.

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Born to a family of non-musicians, Yundi mastered the accordion by the age of four and began studying piano at the age of seven.

Yundi has since received top awards at various competitions.

The diligent pianist is generally shy and has avoided rumors of affairs, until in late 2012, his name was romantically linked with Mando-pop singer Wang Lee-hom (王力宏).

Netizens painted them as having a “brokeback” relationship, as the pair constantly uploaded photos of themselves meeting up for dinner gatherings. They pair was also seen going to the cinema together.

Yundi obtained Hong Kong residency in November 2006 under the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme, among the first batch of people to do so.

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Having won many honors in singing competitions nationwide, Liyuan is a civilian member of China’s People’s Liberation Army and currently holds a civilian rank equal to a major general.

She was one of the first in China to obtain a master’s degree in traditional ethnic music, when the degree was first established in the 1980s.

When she married Xi Jinping (习近平) in 1987, she was already a famous singer, while Jinping, then deputy mayor of Xiamen, Fujian province, was little known.

The two met in 1986 through a mutual friend.

Liyuan once said she soon warmed to Jinping, as he was idealistic and had big ideas.

She said when Jinping comes home, she never thinks of him as a political leader.

“In my eyes, he is just my husband.”

Liyuan and husband Jinping have a daughter, Xi Mingze (习明泽), currently studying at Harvard University, a fact which many believe is conducive to Sino-US relations.

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She moved to Toronto, Canada, to finish her high school education and obtained a bachelor’s degree at the University of Toronto, a double major in Western art history and economics.

In 2000, she signed up with the Taipei-based Catwalk Model Agency and became a full-time model.

She started to attract public attention in 2002 after she appeared in a TV commercial for Angel Tong’s (唐安麒) beauty group in Hong Kong.

In 2004, Chi-ling starred in a series of advertisements in Taiwan that included giant building-size posters, billboards, and television commercials. Almost overnight, she skyrocketed to national fame.

Her rise initiated a Taiwanese craze for supermodels, an effect commentators called “The Lin Chi-Ling Phenomenon.”

The reason she is so highly sought after as a model is not hard to see. Her face has near perfect symmetry, her legs go on and on and she is extremely well kept.

Her dazzling career took a U-turn on August 8, 2005, when she fell from the back of a horse she was riding and was inadvertently trampled while shooting a commercial in Dalian, China.

It took her four months of treatment and therapy to recover from six broken ribs, a punctured left lung, and an accumulation of blood in the pleural cavity.

As part of her image makeover, the model started to shoot films in 2007 and has since appeared in at least one film a year.

As for her personal life, the love triangle between her, model-actor Jerry Yan (言承旭), and childhood friend and lavatory manufacturer heir Scott Qiu (邱士楷) has been staple tabloid fodder.

She seems to be involved in a battle between her heart and her head. Jerry represents her heart, while Scott would be the smart, safe move that is favored by her mother.

Chi-ling broke down at a charity event in January 2011, saying she wants true love.

The post Lin Chi-ling appeared first on May Daily.

The trio then formed the girl group SHE, an acronym derived from the first letter of each member’s name.

They represent different characteristics — Selina for sweet-nature, Hebe for confidence and Ella for courage.

Their first album Girls Dorm (女生宿舍), released in 2001, instantly became a hit with sales totaling 750,000 copies in Asia.

With popularity always the point, the girls have been dubbed the “Asian Heavenly Girls Group” (亞洲女子天團), just like the other “Heavenly Kings” and “Heavenly Queens” in Mandopop.

In 2007, SHE’s 10th album Play triggered political controversy as many Taiwanese independence advocates reckoned the main song, Chinese Language (中國話), kissed China’s ass.

While some people support the song writer’s idea, saying Americans would not deny they speak “English,” some Chinese netizens also criticized the girls for losing their self-esteem and being interested only in image and money.

Still, the album sold more than 120,000 copies in Taiwan, injecting a ray of hope into the nation’s dim record industry.

Beyond singing, the trio also release books, act in TV series and films, as well as host TV programs.

The three girls are very close even off camera, and supportive of each other. There has been no change in the lineup. They have all reiterated that SHE would never disband although they might present their own works in different areas.

Selina has been co-hosting variety shows on-and-off since 2006, while Hebe launched her first solo album in August 2010, and Ella has been active in TV idol series.

Further information:

Chinese: Selina’s Sina Weibo

Hebe’s Sina Weibo

Ella’s Sina Weibo

SHE’s official website

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She primarily works in Hong Kong and had a narrow escape from the jaws of scandal when her planned collaboration with Edison Chen (陈冠希) on Tang Lu Jump. Her planned lead disappeared from public view after his photo scandal.

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She started transforming herself into TV drama actress in 2006 and had a lead role debut in Knock Knock Loving You (敲敲愛上你) in 2007.

But her name was not really widely known in the Chinese-speaking world until nude pictures of her and playboy pervert Justin Lee (李宗瑞) went viral on the Internet in August 2012.

She dated the Taiwanese heir for five months in 2008 and was said to be so heartbroken at their breakup that she tried to slit her wrists.

After Justin’s sex photo scandal was revealed, some said Maggie knew about the pervert’s sick behavior before the breakup and Justin threatened to make public the naked pics, which led to her attempt to commit suicide.

Maggie’s manager said she would temporarily take a hiatus from showbiz.

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Her bold acting in the 2007 film Ping Guo (Apple, 苹果), aka Lost in Beijing — which depicts sex and gambling — gained her international recognition. The film had its premiere at the 2007 Berlin International Film Festival.

She set up her own company in 2007 to produce TV dramas and serves as the honorary principal at the Fan Bingbing Film and TV School she established in Beijing.

Fan has become one of the best-known actresses in China and not always for good reasons. These include temper tantrums with other actresses and reporters.

Her exposure in the international media was greatly boosted after she walked the red carpet at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival on May 12, 2010, in the unique “Dragon Robe” she part-designed.

Faced with criticism that she showed overweening ambition, as the attire is associated with an empress, she imperiously said of her principal critic: “After all, she doesn’t wear my Dragon Robe.”

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She is currently a model at the Beijing-based New Silk Road Model Company.

Her fame grew online in 2008 and her blog used to be visited by thousands daily. Traffic spiked exponentially when she was caught up in the “Shoushou Gate” scandal in mid-February, 2010.

He ex, Yang Di (杨迪) uploaded three sexually explicit videos of Zhai as well as numerous photos. Rumors were soon spread that Zhai intended to commit suicide.

Yang claimed he was Zhai’s photographer, and said that when Zhai first became a model three years ago, she had already been involved in several pornographic videos with a previous boyfriend.

On Feb 25, Zhai posted a statement on her blog (http://blog.sina.com.cn/u/1246279100) telling supporters that she was fine and would not kill herself. She also vowed to bring the person who circulated the videos to justice.

A report on yule.baidu.com said the scandal was apparently staged as the famous Hong Kong director Wong Jing (王晶) had signed a contract with Zhai before “Shoushou Gate.”

Zhai was to star in three films, three commercials and two scantly-clad photo albums.

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