Jerry Yan Voted No.1 Dream Lover

Taiwan idol Jerry Yan (言承旭, pinyin: Yán Chéngxù), star of the hit idol drama Meteor Garden and member of the boy band F4, came out tops in an online poll asking "Who is your dream lover?" amongst male idol stars. The poll, conducted by Yahoo! Taiwan, was open for one week in the second half of April, and attracted over 55,000 votes. Yan was the clear winner with 12,137 votes, ahead of pop superstar Show Luo (罗志祥, pinyin: Luó Zhīxiáng - 9,871 votes) and former male model turned actor and singer Ming Dao (明道 - 9,765 votes).

Yan was last seen in a TV series almost a year ago in Down With Love, and hasn't released an album since January 2010. However he remains in the spotlight through his public appearances and charity work. The 34 year-old came to fame with his starring role in the Taiwanese romantic drama Meteor Garden in 2001. The series was an adaptation of the Japanese managa series Boys Over Flowers - both of which were squarely aimed at a target audience of teenage girls. Meteor Garden was a massive hit, and resulted in two sequels, Meteor Rain and Meteor Garden 2. It also spawned the boy band F4, made up of Yan and the three other main male cast members.

F4 went on to release two studio albums: Meteor Garden in 2002 and Fantasy in 2003. Both records were the biggest-selling Mandarin albums of the year. The group went into hiatus for several years while band members pursued individual projects, but released a third album in 2007. Yan has also released three solo albums. Since Meteor Garden he has also appeared in three further hit series - The Hospital in 2006, Hot Shot in 2008, and last year's Down With Love.

Original sources (both in Chinese): the Sina entertainment pages and this Macao Daily article.

April Flavour of the Month: Law Lok-lam

Law Lok-lam feels a death scene coming on

Prolific Hong Kong television actor Law Lok-lam (罗乐林, pinyin: Luó Lèlín) caused great alarm amongst those of a superstitious nature earlier this month. In the space of just 24 hours, five different characters he was portraying in various TV series all died. It's unusual enough for an actor to have five different series running concurrently, but to die in all of them, more or less at the same time, is almost spooky. If Oscar Wilde thought one death a misfortune, and two carelessness, what would he have made of Law's situation?

Law's first death, as the founder of the Ming Dynasty, the Hongwu Emperor, was a peaceful one at least - shuffling off this mortal coil via old age in the TVB series Relic of an Emissary. An hour later, he was dead again, this time violently beaten to death in the martial arts series Grace Under Fire. An off-screen death followed a few hours later, in the repeat series Police Station No.7. That evening, in another repeated series, Face to Fate, he kicked the bucket for the fourth time, vomiting blood in the process. Virtues of Harmony 2 is a TVB 2002 sitcom getting a repeat airing, but it was no laughing matter for Law when again the character he was playing passed away - demise number five.

The run of bad luck experienced by Law's characters made international news, and some wits on the net quickly composed a song about him: 同是天涯罗乐林. (The title is basically a play on words of a famous Chinese proverb). There was also criticism from viewers directed at the television station, TVB, or at least their programming department. Wasn't it a bit tasteless to have an actor repeatedly dying, not to mention tempting fate? Law himself, a modest retiring sort who normally shuns the glare of publicity, was non-plussed by the whole thing. "Why would dying in a drama matter? It's not for real" he was quoted as saying in reaction to the sudden media attention.

Law Lok-lam has been acting since 1971, first as an extra before graduating to supporting roles. The high school drop-out has appeared in countless TV series in his forty year career, many of them as villains. Since 1990 he has been acting exclusively in TVB series, and in that 21 year period he would have been in close to a hundred shows. Before that he was with the other major Hong Kong network, ATV, from 1989 to 1999, appearing in almost fifty series.

For a great overview of the actor and his career, the entertainment magazine Mingpao has an excellent in-depth article (BTW brilliantly translated by llwy12, one of the hardworking folk at the AsianFanatics Forum).

Beijing Students' Honour Aftershock

The 18th Annual Beijing Student Film Festival Awards were held on the 28th of April, with Feng Xiaogang's Aftershock (唐山大地震) taking home the main prize of Best Film. The epic drama that starts with the destructive Tangshan earthquake of 1976 and concludes with the 2008 Sichuan earthquake is the second highest grossing mainland Chinese film of all time. However, apart from the top prize at the Australian-held Asia-Pacific Screen Awards, this is its first Best Film award at a major awards ceremony.

The Best Actor trophy was awarded to local star Ge You ((葛优)) for his performance as a conscientious doctor in Chen Kaige's Sacrifice. The veteran actor, who recently turned 54, had a stand-out year in 2010, also appearing in the box office hits, Let the Bullets Fly and If You Are the One 2.

Best Actress was won by emerging superstar Fan Bingbing (范冰冰) for Buddha Mountain. Her performance as a teenager who strikes up an unlikely friendship with a retired Peking Opera singer had earlier this year won her Best Actress at the Tokyo Film Festival. Buddha Mountain was produced by Fan's own production company, Fan Bingbing Workshop, which she established in 2007.

Best Director award went to arthouse favourite Huo Jianqi (霍建起) for White Flower in Autumn, a biopic of one of the earliest leaders of the Chinese Communist Party, Qu Qiubai. A Jury Prize went to the film Biluo Snow (碧罗雪山). Directed by Liu Jie (best known as the cinematographer of Beijing Bicycle), the film also won the Jury Prize at the Shanghai International Film Festival last year. I know little about the film except that it employs a cast of non-professional actors.

The Festival also gave awards in the Most Popular categories. Wen Zhang (文章) won Most Popular Actor for his performance as the autistic son in the moving drama Ocean Heaven. Yao Chen (姚晨), China's most followed micro-blogger, was named Most Popular Actress, on the back of her performance in the television martial arts sitcom, My Own Swordsman. Feng Xiaogang (冯小刚), director of Aftershock, won Most Popular Director.

Television awards were also presented at the ceremony. Best TV Film Award went to the controversial Vegetate (我是植物人), an expose of shady practices in the pharmaceutical industry. Li Naiwen (李乃文), who played a paparazzo turned investigative journalist in the same show, was named Best TV Actor. Best TV Actress was awarded to Wang Liwen (王黎雯) for Moving Hearts.

The full list of winners can be found here - sorry, Chinese only.

Charmaine Sheh Named No. 1 Artist By Next Magazine

Hong Kong's entertainment glossy Next Magazine every year publishes its Top Ten TV Artists and Top Ten TV Shows. This year the number one artist was Charmaine Sheh (佘诗曼, pinyin: Shé Shīmàn), while the series she starred in, TVB's historical romantic comedy Can't Buy Me Love (公主嫁到), was named number one TV program. The awards were dominated by Can't Buy Me Love - Hong Kong's most watched TV program in 2010 - with four of the Top Ten Artists - Sheh, Moses Chan (陈豪, pinyin: Chén Háo), Linda Chung (钟嘉欣, pinyin: Zhōng Jiāxīn) and Fala Chen (陈法拉, pinyin: Chén Fǎlā) - starring in the series.

Charmaine Sheh's number one award may prove to be the crowning achievement of her twelve-year career with TVB. Earlier this year she announced that she would not be renewing her TVB contract in order to pursue opportunites elsewhere. It has been remarkable career for the 35 year-old former Miss Hong Kong runner-up. She has been named in the Next Magazine Top Ten Artist lists for an amazing ten consecutive years, and the second time she has been ranked number one (the previous occasion was in 2007).

No Regrets (巾帼枭雄之义海豪情), 2010's second most watched TV series in Hong Kong, came number two in the Top Ten Programs. And two of the stars of the show, Wayne Lai (黎耀祥: Lí Yàoxiáng) and Sheren Tang (邓萃雯, pinyin: Dèng Cuìwén), were named number two and number three in the Top Ten Artists list. Lai's two ranking was the second year in a row that he has held the runner-up position, while Tang was last year's number one. Fala Chen was No Regret's other Top Ten Artist.

In something of a surprise, Raymond Lam (林峰, pinyin: Lín Fēng), who won the Favourite Male Character at this year's TVB Anniversary Awards, could only finish number eight in the Top Ten Artists. Last year he starred in The Mysteries of Love (谈情说案), which was ranked number three in the Top Ten Programs. And Natalie Tong (唐诗咏, pinyin: Táng Shīyǒng), who appeared in the martial arts drama A Fistful of Stances (铁马寻桥), made her first appearance in the Top Ten Artists list, sneaking in at number ten.

The top ranked variety show on the list was the cooking show, Kitchen Diva Louisa (和味苏), hosted by Hong Kong actress turned celebrity chef Louisa So. The highest ranking non-TVB program was the ATV law drama series The Men of Justice (法网群英)

The Top Ten TV Artists were:

1. Charmaine Shen (佘诗曼)
2. Wayne Lai (黎耀祥)
3. Sheren Tang (邓萃雯)
4. Moses Chan (陈豪)
5. Tavia Yeung (杨怡)
6. Linda Chung (钟嘉欣)
7. Bosco Wong (黄宗泽)
8. Raymond Lam (林峰)
9. Fala Chen (陈法拉)
10. Natalie Tong (唐诗咏)

And the Top Ten TV Programs:

1. Can't Buy Me Love (公主嫁到)
2. No Regrets (巾帼枭雄之义海豪情)
3. The Mysteries of Love (谈情说案)
4. The Rippling Blossom (鱼跃在花见)
5. Kitchen Diva Louisa (和味苏)
6. A Fistful of Stances (铁马寻桥)
7. Beauty Knows No Pain (女人最痛)
8. Fun With Liza and Gods (荃加福禄寿)
9. The Men of Justice (法网群英)
10. Ghost Writer (蒲松龄)

The full list of Next Magazine's award winners can be found at this Asian Fanatics post.

China Dominates Asia Rainbow TV Awards

No posts for some time, due to a few weeks' stay in hospital. But I'm now in recovery mode and can resume blogging - and there's a few news items to catch up on over the next few days.

Zhou Yun and Chen Jianbin with their Best Actor awards

We'll begin with the Asia Rainbow TV Awards which were held back on 22 March. The awards, held for the first time, were dominated by Chinese shows and actors. Best Modern Drama was awarded to A Beautiful Daughter-in-law Era (媳妇的美好时代), a family drama which focuses on the relationship between mother and daughter-in-law, a sometimes rocky relationship in Chinese society.

A Chinese production also won in the Best Action Drama category, A Legend of Shaolin Kung Fu: Heroes in Trouble (少林寺传奇). In the Best Comedy category, the award went to the Taiwanese romantic comedy Hi My Sweetheart (海派甜心) starring pop superstars Show Luo and Rainie Yang. The only category in which Chinese productions missed out was Best Historical Drama - won by Japan's The Pleiades. The Chinese nomination, Three Kingdoms (三国) may have failed to win the Historical Drama award, but compensated with the Jury Grand Award for Television Drama Program.

Chinese actors were also to the fore at the ceremony. 40 year old mainland actor Chen Jianbin (陈建斌), a regular in Chinese TV dramas, was named Best Actor in a Drama for his portrayal of the famous warlord and military strategist Cao Cao in Three Kingdoms. Rising actress Zhou Yun (周韵), who had small but important roles in the blockbusters Let the Bullets Fly and Bodyguards and Assassins, took home Best Actress in a Drama. She was recognised for her performance in the popular drama Golden Anniversary of a Stormy Romance.

The two co-stars of the mainland show Marriage Battle (婚姻保卫战), Huang Lei (黄磊) and Ma Yili (马伊琍), were named Best Actor and Best Actress in a Comedy respectively. Huang made his acting debut back in 1991 in the Chen Kaige film Life on a String, in which he played the blind apprentice Chinese lute player. In 1996 he was awarded Best Supporting Actor at the Changchun Film Festival for The Phantom Lover, and is twice Best Actor winner at the Golden Phoenix television awards.

34 year old Ma first came to Chinese TV viewers' attention with her appearance in the 1997 idol drama Black Hole. She became a bona fide star with her leading role in the third series of the historical drama Princess Returning Pearl in 2002, and followed up with another hit historical series, Residence of the Qiao Family. In 2007 she starred in the modern drama, Struggle, and in the same year was awarded Best Actress at the Changchun Film Festival for The Good Man. She then took an extended break from acting when she gave birth to her first child, a daughter. Marriage Battle marked her return to the small screen.

The full list of award winners can be found at the official Asia Rainbow TV Awards website.

China's Oriental Film Festival Awards

The 2011 Oriental Film Festival Awards (2011东方影视盛典), which honour achievements in both film and television, were held at the Beijing National Aquatic Centre last week. The awards are organised jointly by Shanghai TV, Shanghai Oriental Media Group and Oriental TV, and recognise both popular and critical success in the film and television industry over the past year.

In the category of Most Outstanding Film of the Year (年度最具价值电影), the award was taken by the mainland box office hit Let the Bullets Fly (让子弹飞). The action comedy, directed by Jiang Wen and starring Wen alongside Chow Yun-Fat and Ge You, earlier this year became the highest grossing Chinese film of all time. It is also up for multiple nominations at the Asian Film Awards.

Most Outstanding TV series of the Year was given to Three Kingdoms (三国), the big budget series based on the classic Chinese novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The 95 episode series was directed by Gao Xixi (高希希 - pictured left, and looking decidely underwhelmed with his awards), who also picked up an award for Best TV Drama Director (电视剧年度最具实力导演). Feng Xiaogang (冯小刚), who in 2010 directed the earthquake film Aftershock and the romantic comedy If You Are The One 2, was awarded Most Outstanding Film Director.

In the acting awards, Hong Kong martial arts star Donnie Yen (甄子丹, pinyin: Zhēn Zǐdān) was named Most Outstanding Asian Movie Star. 2010 was another big year for the action hero, starring in Bodyguards and Assassins, Ip Man 2, 14 Blades (a hit with the public if not with critics), and Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen. In the latter film, as well as starring Yen was also the action director. Nicholas Tse (谢霆锋, pinyin: Xiè Tíngfēng), who last year won Best Supporting Actor at the Hong Kong Film Awards for his performance in Bodyguards and Assassins, and who in 2010 also appeared in the rom-com Hot Summer Days and the crime thriller The Stool Pigeon, was named Most Outstanding Hong Kong-Taiwan Actor.

Mainland actor Sun Honglei (孙红雷), who appeared in If You Are The One 2 and the comedy Welcome to Shamatown was named Most Outstanding Film Actor. Xu Fan (徐帆), wife of Aftershock director Feng Xiaogang, and who impressed with her performance as a grieving mother in that film, was awarded Most Outstanding Film Actress.

Most Outstanding TV Actor was given to Wu Xiubo (吴秀波) who acts predominantly on the small screen in China. Last year he appeared in several popular drama series, including Before the Dawn (for which he has already won a Most Popular Actor award at the National Drama Awards) and Shanghai, Shanghai. Hai Qing (海清), who starred in A Beautiful Daughter-in-Law Era, Dwelling Narrowness and also Before the Dawn, was awarded Most Outstanding TV Actress.

An article on the 163 news portal (but in Chinese) provides a list of some of the award winners. I think there were also several Most Popular Actor/Actress awards handed out as well, and if I can track down a list I'll post them later.

The Asia Rainbow TV Awards Nominees Announced

The inaugural Asia Rainbow TV Awards (亚洲彩虹奖电视颁奖礼), organised by the Hong Kong Television Professionals Association (HKTVA) will be held on 22 March. There will be 24 awards in the following four main categories: TV series; variety shows; documentaries; and animation. Thirteen countries will be competing in the awards, and last week the organisers announced the nominees.

In the TV Series categories it was mainland China that led the way in nominations. It has one nomination in the Best Historical Drama category, Three Kingdoms (三国). In the Modern Drama category, A Beautiful Daughter-in-law Era (媳妇的美好时代) has been nominated, while Marriage Battle (婚姻保卫战) has been nominated for Best Comedy. In the Best Action Drama category, two of the three nominees were from mainland China - The Legend of Bruce Lee (李小龙传奇) and A Legend of Shaolin Kung Fu: Heroes in Trouble (少林寺传奇). The only Taiwanese show nominated in the TV series categories was Hi My Sweetheart (海派甜心) for Best Comedy, while Hong Kong series missed out completely.

Unfortunately there's a little glitch with the official website, and the names of the actor nominees aren't available. The best I can come up with is that Hong Kong actors Pakho Chau (周柏豪, pinyin: Zhōu Bǎiháo) and Ella Koon (官恩娜, pinyin: Guān Ennuó) from the RTHK comedy Room to Let (有房出租) are up for nominations in the Best Comedy Actor and Actress categories. Also nominated for Best Comedy Actor and Actress are Taiwan's Show Luo (罗志祥, pinyin: Luó Zhīxiáng) and Rainie Yang (杨丞琳, pinyin: Yáng Chénglín) who both starred in Hi My Sweetheart. Mainland actor Huang Lei (黄磊) is another Best Comedy Actor contender for Marriage Battle.

Mainland actors Hu Jun (胡军) in Golden Anniversary of a Stormy Romance (金婚风雨情) and Chen Jianbin (陈建斌) for his portrayal of the famous general Cao Cao in Three Kingdoms are contenders for Best Actor in a Drama Series. Actress Zhou Yun (周韵) in Golden Anniversary of a Stormy Romance is competing for Best Actress.

And for fans of TVB series wondering where are their favourites amongst the nominations, the Hong Kong network has shunned the Asia Rainbow TV Awards because they didn't have time in their busy schedule to submit any nominations.

An incomplete list of nominees can be found at the offical website (link above).

The Rippling Blossom's Ratings Bloom

Hong Kong's TVB had its first major hit TV series of the year with the screening of the modern love story, The Rippling Blossom (鱼跃在花见). The film stars actor-singer Julian Cheung (张智霖, pinyin: Zhāng Zǐlín) as a masterchef of Japanese cuisine and heir to a Hong Kong sushi restaurant. Although Cheung has a big fan base his TV roles have been rare over recent years as acting takes a back seat to his singing career.

Other stars in the series are Michael Tse (谢兴华, pinyin: Xiè Xīnghuá) as his half-brother and rival, and Myolie Wu (胡杏儿, pinyin: Hú Xìng'ér) and Tavia Yeung (杨怡, pinyin: Yáng Yí) as the love interests. (Both actresses were recently featured in an article by Hong Kong's The Sun newspaper as future Fa Dans or TV divas.) The series also features veteran actor-director Damien Lau (刘松仁, pinyin: Liú Sōngrén) as a Japan-based chef known as the God of Fish.

Although the storyline follows the well-worn route of TVB's family business dramas with their sibling rivalry and double-crossing, The Rippling Blossom started strongly in the ratings. It not only kept its initial audience but also continued to build in viewer numbers. The 20-episode series commenced on 7 February, and its first week of screening attracted a healthy average rating of 29. Each subsequent week its ratings grew by an additional point, and its final two episodes had an average of 34, peaking at 38. This makes it the highest rating series so far on TVB this year, although of course we're not even a quarter of the way into the year.

As well as the strong cast, the series' appeal no doubt was also due to the beautiful scenery, with a substantial part of the story taking place in Japan in autumn and winter. Numerous cooking and eating scenes also left viewers' mouths watering, and Julian Cheung may have stamped himself as an early front-runner for this year's My Favourite Actor awards. For those interested, here's an informative review from Chen's Just Me blog.

Who Will Succeed Charmaine Sheh as TVB Fa Dan?

TVB's reigning Fa Dan - Charmaine Sheh

Hong Kong television actress Charmaine Sheh (佘诗曼, pinyin: Shé Shīmàn) has for the past decade being the number one star at TVB, Hong Kong's premier TV network. She has earned the title Fa Dan (best translated as "diva" and given to actresses whose popularity guarantees them the best roles), and is a six-time winner at the TVB Awards in the Favourite TV Character category. A former runner-up in the Miss Hong Kong Pageant, the 35 year old has appeared in some of TVB's most popularly-acclaimed series, including War and Beauty (2004), Maiden's Vow (2006), Beyond the Realm of Conscience (2009) and last year's Can't Buy Me Love. However last month Sheh announced that she would not be renewing her TVB contract in April, with rumours that she would take up acting opportunities in mainland China.

Sheh's departure has now fuelled speculation on who will replace her as TVB's number one star. One article, in Hong Kong's The Sun newspaper and translated in this Asian Fanatics Forum post, has nominated five possible successors to her Fa Dan title: Fala Chen, Kate Tsui, Tavia Yeung, Linda Chung and Myolie Wu.

29 year old Fala Chen (陈法拉, pinyin: Chén Fǎlā) was born in Chengdu before moving to the United States when she was 15 years old. After winning several titles in the US beauty pageant circuit she took part in the Miss China International pageant in 2005 in Hong Kong where she was a runner-up. Despite missing out on the crown, it led to a contract with TVB and she made her acting debut in the 2006 series Forensic Heroes. She appeared in TVB's biggest series of 2007, Heart of Greed, and in the same year won Best Supporting Actress at the TVB Awards for her performance in Steps. In 2008 she appeared in another major TVB hit, Moonlight Resonance, and also 2010's Best Drama Series, Can't Buy Me Love, for which she was nominated in My Favourite Female Character category. She also won her second Best Supporting Actress award in 2010, for No Regrets which was Hong Kong's highest rating series last year.

Kate Tsui (徐子珊, pinyin: Xú Zǐshān) is another beauty pageant graduate, winning the 2004 Miss Hong Kong title. She has appeared in hit series La Femme Desperado (2006 and Hong Kong's answer to Desperate Housewives) and Moonlight Resonance (2008), and in 2007 won the TVB Awards Most Improved Actress award for On The First Beat and Steps. The 31 year old however tends to divide audiences with her sexy roles, which more conservative viewers consider a little unsuitable for a true Fa Dan. She has also embarked on a singing career, again with divided opinions about her ability.

Probably the leading candidate for future Fa Dan is Tavia Yeung (杨怡, pinyin: Yáng Yí). The 31 year old actress began her career in 1999 after graduating from a TVB training school. She started off in minor roles before attracting attention for her performance in The Awakening Story in 2001, and Eternal Happiness the year after. In 2003 she won Most Improved Actress at the TVB Awards, and has since appeared in many of TVB's most popular and awarded TV series. In 2008 she was awarded Best Supporting Actress for Moonlight Resonance, then followed it up a year later with Best Performance of the Year for both Sweetness in the Salt and Beyond the Realm of Conscience. She's currently starring in TVB's highest rating series so far of 2011, The Rippling Blossom.

Former winner of the Miss China International Pageant in 2004, Linda Chung (钟嘉欣, pinyin: Zhōng Jiāxīn) is the youngest on the list at 26 years old. Although born and raised in Canada, she moved to Hong Kong to pursue an acting career, and with just her third series role, Always Ready, she was named Most Improved Actress at the 2006 TVB Awards. The following year she was again awarded Most Improved Actress for two shows, The Biter Bitten and Forensic Heroes. She has also been nominated in the Favourite Female Character category in three of the past four years: Heart of Greed (2007), Legend of the Demigods (2008) and Can't Buy Me Love (2010).

Tavia Yeung's main contender for the successor title may be Myolie Wu (胡杏儿, pinyin: Hú Xìng'ér). Born in Hong Kong but educated in Northern Ireland, the 31 year old is yet another actress to break into the Hong Kong TV business via a beauty pageant, finishing runner-up in the Miss Hong Kong content in 1999. Her early career looked promising, winning TVB's Most Improved Actress for Golden Faith, and coming close to winning Best Actress in 2005 for Wars of In-Laws (she lost out to her co-star Linda Wang). The following year she was again in the top five nominees for Best Actress for To Grow With Love, a role for which she reportedly put on 50 pounds. Wu was particularly good in comedies, but her career has fallen away a bit in recent years with few stand-out roles. She is another who also polarises viewers' opinions regarding her acting skills. Her appearance in this year's hit series The Rippling Blossom may see her career on the rise again.

Chinese TV Series Palace A Ratings Hit

Mainland China's first big idol drama of the year, Palace (宫, pinyin: Gōng) has been a major hit for its producers, Hunan TV. It gained an impressive ratings figure of 1.99 for its opening episode on January 31, which translates into 8.24 percent of the viewing audience. This figure betters the ratings for the premiere of another smash hit idol drama, Meteor Shower in 2009.

Palace combines the soap opera elements (and storylines) of Taiwan-Korea idol dramas with the costume dramas so beloved by Hong Kong TV, and also throws a bit of time travel into the mix. The heroine of the story, played by 24 year old Yang Mi (杨幂), is a simple-hearted modern girl (as they so often are in these idol dramas) who by accident is thrown back into 18th century Imperial China where she winds up in the court of Emperor Kangzi. Much palace intrigue then ensues with our heroine using her knowledge of the future to her advantage. There are also several romantic twists and turns as she first rebuffs one of the Emperor's sons (Zhong Fengyan), falls in love with another son, played by Mickey He (何晟铭, pinyin: Hé Shèngmíng) before discovering his true (evil) nature, and makes an enemy of a third son, played by Feng Shaofeng (冯绍峰), before discovering his true (good-hearted) nature and falling in love.

The two leads, Yang Mi and Feng Shaofeng, were already well-known TV stars in China, though this series has lifted their stardom to another level. Yang came to prominence in the 2006 TV series Return of the Condor Heroes, and appeared in recent blockbuster shows Chinese Paladin 3, Dream of the Red Chamber and Schemes of a Beauty. The 32 year old Feng gained fame in the Mainland-Hong Kong co-production The Drive of Life in 2007, and also starred in Schemes of a Beauty. Palace also stars well-known Hong Kong TV stars Maggie Shiu and Sonija Kwok.

The series has continued to build on its strong ratings debut, climbing episode by episode. By episode 16 of the 39 episode series, it had a rating of 3.23 or 11.2 percent. Although the nationwide ratings for the remainder of the series are yet to be published at the time of writing, ratings figures for 27 capital cities have been released. They show it had a phenomenal 16.75 percent audience share for the final episode screened on 21 February. (Ratings figures have been taken from Wikipedia's Chinese-language entry for Palace, which I can't link to unfortunately).

Now There's a New Naked Chef...Literally

UK TV chef Jamie Oliver first rose to fame with his TV series The Naked Chef in which he, happily, did not appear naked but did preach the virtues of simple cooking. However someone in Hong Kong has taken the Naked Chef concept literally. Jessie Au, producer of Hong Kong's version of Naked News, has come up with an idea for a cooking show with a difference. The TV chef, Flora Cheung (张静思, pinyin: Zhāng Jìngsī), will cook in the nude...well, almost - a transparent cooking apron will protect her from nasty spills.

Watch out for batter splashes!

The show will screen on NOW TV's adult pay TV channel Ice Fire, and will screen twice a month. It's expected to make its debut later this month. The show's creators hope Naked Chef (not officially it's English title, if in fact it has one) will get more male viewers interested in cooking. Although the show's in Cantonese, as hostess Cheung helpfully explained, viewers should still be able to follow what's going on.

Flora Cheung is a 26 year old model with little previous hosting experience and no professional cooking experience. She's probably best known as a former Miss Hong Kong contestant who created a scandal when it was revealed she had taken part in a nude photoshoot.

TVB's Most Watched TV series in 2010: Can't Buy Me Love

2010's top ten most watched TV series on Hong Kong's number one network, TVB, were released at the end of December. In a year in which there were no real stand-out series, the historical romantic comedy Can't Buy Me Love (公主嫁到) just edged out No Regrets (巾帼枭雄之义海豪情) for the number one spot.

Hong Kong viewers TV might well be forgiven if last year they experienced an overwhelming feeling of deja vu. Can't Buy Me Love was very similar to the number one show of 2009, Beyond the Realm of Conscience - same historical period, and featuring many of the same cast members, just with more laughs and less dramatic moments than the 2009 show. And No Regret was the spin-off series from 2009's number 2 ranked show, Rosy Business, again with both shows starring much the same cast members.

Can't Buy Me Love is set in the Tang Dynasty and contains several tried and true elements familiar to Hong Kong TV series. There are lavish costumes and sets, bickering couples, a plotline involving the ups and downs of a family business, some palace intrigue, and an evil female villain. It stars Charmaine Sheh (佘诗曼, pinyin: Shé Shīmàn), Moses Chan (陈豪, pinyin: Chén Háo), Louis Yuen (阮兆祥, pinyin: Ruǎn Zhàoxiáng), Susanna Kwan (关菊英, pinyin: Guān Júyīng), and a host of other stars from the TVB stables. The series ran for 31 episodes from August to October, and had an average rating of 34 points, equivalent to 2,150,000 viewers). It peaked at 45 points in the final episode of the series.

Last month it won Best Drama series at the 2010 TVB Anniversary Awards. However its stars missed out on the acting awards, although Charmaine Sheh picked up the My Favourite Female Character award for her portrayal of Princess Chiu Yeung. Instead the acting awards were swept by the cast of No Regrets. Wayne Lai (黎耀祥: Lí Yàoxiáng) and Sheren Tang (邓萃雯, pinyin: Dèng Cuìwén) repeated their 2009 success with Rosy Business - that deja vu feeling again - to win Best Actor and Actress. Evergreen Mak (麦长青, pinyin: Mài Chángqīng) and Fala Chen (陈法拉, pinyin: Chén Fǎlā) were named Best Supporting Actor and Actress respectively.

No Regrets is set in 1930s Guangdong on the eve of the Japanese occupation of the city. The series combined elements of a war drama and police/triad thriller, and averaged 33 points (2,110,000 viewers) over the course of its 31 episodes. The show's final episode peaked at 47 points or 3 million viewers, making it the most watched TVB episode of the year.

The full top 10 TVB series in 2010 are (courtesy of the Hyn5@FortunateCity blog):
1. Can't Buy Me Love, 34 points (2,150,000 viewers)
2. No Regrets, 33 points (2,110,000 viewers)
3. The Mysteries of Love, 32 points (2,040,000 viewers)
4. A Pillow Case of Mystery II, 31 points (1,990,000 viewers)
5. A Watchdog's Tale, 31 points (1,970,000 viewers)
6. When Lanes Merge, 31 points (1,960,000 viewers)
7. Every Move You Make, 31 points (1,950,000 viewers)
8. Gun Metal Grey, 30 points (1,920,000 viewers)
9. Ghost Writer, 30 points (1,910,000 viewers)
10. A Fistful of Stances, 29 points (1,820,000 viewers)

Civil War Drama Wins at Shanghai TV Festival Awards

The 16th Shanghai Television Festival was held this month, culminating in the holding of its Magnolia Awards for both Chinese and international productions. The Road We Have Taken (人间正道是沧桑) was the big winner amongst the local productions. The Chinese civil war drama won the TV Series Golden Award, Best Director (Zhang Li and Liu Miaomiao) and Best Actor (Huang Zhizhong). The other major winner was A Beautiful Daughter-in-Law Era (媳妇的美好时代): it took out the runners-up TV Series Silver Award, Best Actress (Bai Han), and Best Screenplay.

The Road We Have Taken's title can be literally translated as The World is Full of Vicissitude, and is actually a Mao Zedong quotation. The series is also known under the not-so-catchy English title of Vicissitudes: Course of Uprightness (the title used on the official Shanghai TV Festival website), and is based on a book by Jiang Qitao. The storyline spans three decades, and is about a family torn apart during the Civil War. Two brothers (played by Sun Honglei and Zhang Zhizhong) find themselves on opposite sides during the war, one a high-ranking official in the Communist Party, the other also an officer but with the Nationalist Party. The series also, according to the publicity blurb, "shows the historical inevitability of the Communist Party taking the place of the Nationalist Party and establishing the New China". So a little bit of Marxist Historical Determinism theory thrown in with the family feuding.

The Road We Have Taken was one of many productions from last year that were timed to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic. It stands out from other civil war dramas because of its realistic battle scenes - special effects were by the same Korean team responsible for the award-winning film Assembly. The Road We Have Taken cost a reported 50 million yuan (or about US$7.5 million) to make, relatively expensive by mainland standards.

The 41 year-old Huang Zhizhong (黄志忠), who was recognised as Best Actor, is almost a staple of mainland historical TV dramas. He made his acting debut back in the 1996 drama Cao Cao, and has gone on to appear in over 30 productions. His series include the all-star Big Family (2000), Great Ming Dynasty 1566 (2006) and Ghost Plan 1950 (2008). The Magnolia Award is his first major acting award.

A Beautiful Daughter-in-Law Era is another family saga, but set in modern-day Beijing. Mixing comedy and drama it focuses on a newly-married couple and their newly-acquired in-law families. I came across an insightful review of the program, particularly from a Westerner's perspective, at a blog called Mark's China Blog. Bai Han (柏含), winner of the Best Actress award, is a veteran actress - she played the title character's mother in the series.

Awards were also given for animated series, and popular children's show Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf (喜羊羊与灰太狼) won the Golden Award. A PDF link to all the award winners in English, including the international category winners, can be found at the Festival website.

The Mysteries of Love Rates Well, But Japan Cries Foul

TVB appears to have a new hit on its hands with the police drama The Mysteries of Love (谈情说案, pinyin: Tán qíng shuō àn). In its first week on air it had an average rating of 31 and peaked at 33. The last time a TVB series averaged 30 or above was A Watchdog's Tale which debuted in the last week of December 2009. The new series, however, has not been without controversy, with the Japanese claiming The Mysteries of Love plagiarises their country[s 2008 TV series, Galileo.

Like Galileo, which in turn was based on a well-known Japanese mystery novel, The Mysteries of Love pairs a coldly rational physics professor with an emotional policewoman who's a bit of a romantic at heart, to form an unlikely crime-fighting duo. And, as in the Japanese series, romance inevitably develops between the two. It wouldn't be the first time of course that a TVB series has been accused of copying other shows. Barely a new show is released these days without critics and netizens identifying similarities with other shows. In fact, another series currently airing on TVB, Sisters of Pearl, has also been sprung for its strong resemblance to a Japanese series - Matriarchial Family.

In the role of the physics professor, Raymond Lam (林峯, pinyin: Lín Fēng) returns to the small screen after more than a year's break. It's his first role since his award-winning 2008 series Moonlight Resonance. He is teamed with one of his Moonlight Resonance co-stars, Tavia Yeung (杨怡, pinyin: Yáng Yí), who seems to have the Midas touch when it comes to hit TV series. She has appeared in the most-watched programs from each of the past three years: last year's Beyond the Realm of Conscience, Moonlight Resonance in 2008 and its 2007 prequel Heart of Greed.

Perhaps to differentiate The Mysteries of Love from its Japanese version, the show's producers have added a subplot in which they give the policewoman's superintendent a love interest. Kenneth Ma (马国明, pinyin: Mǎ Guómíng) plays the superintendent, who also happens to be the best friend of Lam's professor character. Canadian-born actress-singer-model Bernice Liu (廖碧, pinyin: Liào Bì'ér) plays a journalist who captures the womanising superintendent's heart.

Liu got her entertainment career off to a start when she won Miss China International in 2001, leading to a TVB contract. In recent years she has been one of TVB's highest-earning stars. Ma was just recently seen in another successful TVB series, A Fistful of Stances, in which he earned praise from critics for his performance.

A Fistful of Stances is TVB's First Hit Series of 2010

A third of the year has passed, and it has taken that long for Hong Kong's TVB to finally air a series that has drawn in the audiences. A Fistful of Stances (铁马寻桥, pinyin: Tiě Mǎ Xún Qiáo) is a martial arts action series set in Hong Kong around 100 years ago. A family drama in the mould of last year's hit Rosy Business, the story focuses on the Koo family who run a martial arts school.

A Fistful of Stances stars American-born Kevin Cheng (郑嘉颖, pinyin: Zhéng Jiāyǐng) as the long-lost son who returns then sets on a path of revenge against the family's enemies. Cheng started out as a singer and won Best New Artist at the Metro Radio Golden Song Awards in 1994. His acting career was confined to supporting roles until 2004 when he played the lead in the TVB series Hard Fate. In 2006 his performance in the romantic drama series, Under the Canopy of Love, won him Best Actor at the TVB Anniversary Awards.

Despite having the lead role, Cheng's performance in A Fistful of Stances was overshadowed by Kenneth Ma (马国明, pinyin: Mǎ Guómíng) playing his on-screen brother. Ma made his screen debut back in 1999, but his breakout year wasn't until 2006 when he won Most Improved Actor at the TVB Anniversary Awards. In A Fistful of Stances Ma won most of the praise from both critics and viewers, so much so that as the series progressed he received more and more screentime at Cheng's expense. Expect him to feature heavily when the 2010 awards are handed out.

Others in the cast included Tavia Yeung, last year's Best Actress winner at the TVB Anniversary Awards, in a smaller but eye-catching role as the family matriarch. Selena Li, Nancy Wu and Natalie Tong played the love interests, while Dominic Lam made a memorable villain. The series also featured appearances by veteran stars Yuen Qu and Kara Hui (who just last week won Best Actress at the Hong Kong Film Awards).

The series had a slow start ratings-wise, averaging just 25 points in its first two weeks. However A Fistful of Stances steadily built an audience and has become the most talked about series of 2010, at least so far. In its second last week it averaged 32 points, and the its two-hour finale averaged 37 with a peak of 43 points, despite being up against the Hong Kong Film Awards ceremony on rival station ATV.

Rosy Business Stars Head Next Magazine Awards

Hong Kong's Next Magazine announced its annual TV awards last week, and the winners list was dominated by the two most popular shows of 2009 - Rosy Business (巾帼枭雄) and Beyond the Realm of Conscience (宫心计). The first two spots on Next Magazine's Top Ten Artistes of 2009 went to Rosy Business's two leads, Sheren Tang (邓萃雯, pinyin: Dèng Cuìwén) and Wayne Lai (黎耀祥: Lí Yàoxiáng). However Beyond the Realm of Conscience was named number 1 in the Top Ten TV Programs, with Rosy Business in second position.

Sheren Tang, now in her mid-forties, has been considered unlucky in the past - or the victim of entertainment politics - for not picking up as many awards as she might have deserved. Although she made her acting debut in 1985, it wasn't until 2002 that she won her first major award, a TVB Best Supporting Actress trophy. Two years later, her performance as an evil concubine in the hit series War and Beauty made her one of Hong Kong TV's biggest stars. However, in what was considered a maor upset at the time, she missed out on Best Actress for her performance, having to settle for Best Supporting Actress again instead.

She has received further Best Actress nominations for the TVB series La Femme Desperado (2006), The Family Link (2007) and Your Class or Mine (2008). She finally broke through for a Best Actress award at the Ming Pao awards last November, swiftly followed by victory at the TVB Anniversary awards the following month, beating Beyond the Realm's Charmaine Sheh in what was dubbed the Battle of the FaDans (or Divas).

The forty-five year old Wayne Lai (pictured left) is somewhat of a late bloomer in the business. Although he has appeared in over 50 TV series, and over 20 films, it wasn't until three years ago that he earned his first award. He was named Best Supporting Actor from Malaysian pay-TV channel Astro Wah Lai Toi for his performance in the TVB costume drama Safe Guards. The following year he followed up with a TVB Best Supporting Actor trophy for The Gentle Crackdown II, a comedy series set in the Ming Dynasty. His performance in Rosy Business won him Best Actor trophies at the Ming Pao and TVB Anniversary Awards.

In total Rosy Business had four of its stars in the Top Ten list - Ron Ng was at number eight and series villain Susan Tse was placed ninth. Beyond the Realm of Conscience also accounted for four of the Top Ten artistes: Charmaine Sheh, Tavia Yeung, Moses Chan and Susan Tse, who was in both series.

The full list of the Top Ten TV Artistes is:
1. Sheren Tang
2. Wayne Lai
3. Charmaine Sheh
4. Tavia Yeung
5. Moses Chan
6. Linda Chung
7. Bosco Wong
8. Ron Ng
9. Susan Tse
10. Fala Chen

The Top Ten TV Programs are:
1. Beyond the Realm of Conscience
2. Rosy Business
3. You're Hired
4. E.U
5. A Chip Off the Old Block
6. Burning Flame III
7. Off Pedder
8. A Watchdog's Tale
9. Hong Kong Gossip
10. The Voice

Next Magazine also gave out several other awards including Most Promising Male and Female Artists. The full list of award winners can be found at this Asian Fanatics forum post.

Locals Hold Their Own at 2nd Singapore Entertainment Awards

The 2nd Singapore Entertainment Awards were announced last week with awards announced for music, TV and movies. Two types of prizes were given - the most popular awards as voted by the public, and "Best of" awards voted by a panel of judges from the media.

In the popular awards, Singapore's own JJ Lin (pictured left) won two awards - Most Popular Local Singer and Most Popular Music Video. Another Singaporean, Stephanie Sun, was awarded Most Popular Female Singer while Taiwan's Show Luo was named Most Popular Male Singer. Hong Kong's Eason Chan won his usual suitcase-load of awards: Best Male Singer, Golden Chart Male Singer of the Year, Golden Chart Song of the Year (For You) and Best Album (5F/Blissful).

In the TV categories there were awards handed out to Hong Kong and Taiwan small screen stars. Two stars of the hit Hong Kong series Beyond the Realm of Conscience, Moses Chan and Charmaine Sheh, were named Most Popular Male and Female TV Actor respectively. In the Taiwan categories, Most Popular Male TV Actor was Mark Zhao, last seen in the crime drama Black and White. The Actress award went to singer/actor Rainie Yang, who starred in the romantic comedy series Hi My Sweetheart.

A selection of some of the main award winners are:
Most Popular Male Singer - Show Luo (罗志祥)
Most Popular Female Singer - Stephanie Sun (孙燕姿)
Most Popular Local Singer - JJ Lin (林俊杰)
Most Popular Band - Mayday (五月天)
Most Popular Group - S.H.E
Most Popular Regional Newcomer - Alien Huang (黄鸿升)
Most Popular Music Video - JJ Lin (林俊杰), However Many Hundred Days (第几个100 天)

Best Album - Eason Chan (陈奕迅), 5F/Blissful (上五楼的快活)
Best Local Singer - Tanya Chua (蔡健雅)
Best Male Singer - Eason Chan (陈奕迅)
Best Female Singer - Tanya Chua (蔡健雅)

Best Asian Movie - Mother (South Korea)

Most Popular Hong Kong TV Actor - Moses Chan (陈豪)
Most Popular Hong Kong TV Actress - Charmaine Sheh (佘诗曼)
Most Popular Taiwan TV Actor - Mark Chao (赵又廷)
Most Popular Taiwan TV Actress - Rainie Yang (杨丞琳)

Radio 100.3 U Chart Song of the Year - Kelvin Tan (陈伟联), Forever Friends (分手的情书)
Radio 100.3 Most Popular Song - Yoga Lin (林宥嘉), You Are What You Eat (看见什么吃什么)
Global Chinese Golden Chart Male Singer of the Year - Eason Chan (陈奕迅)
Global Chinese Golden Chart Female Singer of the Year - A-Mei (张惠妹)
Global Chinese Golden Chart New Generation Artistes Of the Year - Yoga Lin (林宥嘉) and Rachael Liang (梁文音)
Global Chinese Golden Chart Group of the Year - Mayday (五月天)
Global Chinese Golden Chart Song Of The Year - Eason Chan (陈奕迅), For You (给你)

The full list of winners can be found here (PDF file and in Chinese).

TVB General Manager Arrested in Corruption Case

Stephen Chan (陈志云, pinyin: Chén Zhìyún), a general manager with Hong Kong's largest TV network, TVB, has been arrested by Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). Chan, three other TVB employees and an executive of an advertising and production company were all arrested on Thursday March 11 "in relation to corruption allegations". They are alleged to have cheated TVB out of HK$10 million (about US$1.3 million).

While ICAC has yet to release details of the case, the allegations are believed to centre on the actions of a shell company established by Chan and his cohorts. Chan is suspected of awarding TVB production contracts to his shell company, then outsourcing them to other production companies at a cheaper price and pocketing the difference. A second set of allegations is believed to concern the shell company's charging shopping centres and other promotional outlets appearance fees for TVB stars, but not passing the fees on to the stars. Stephen Chan may also be charged with accepting bribes.

As General Manager of broadcasting, a post he held from 2003, Chan was one of TVB's highest ranking executives. He was also the best known to the public, courtesty of a hosting role on the interview show Be My Guest. His dual role as executive and on-screen star was a controversial one, with critics claiming his hosting duties were distracting him from his management responsibilities. Only last month Chan had denied rumours that he would soon leave TVB.

The other four people arrested were TVB head of business development Wilson Chan, variety department executive producer Wilson Chin, TVB actor Ning Jin, and Edthancy Tseng Pei Kun, the director of Idea Empire advertising production company. ICAC has yet to lay any charges, but all four TVB employees were suspended by the station after the arrests.

Little Tigers Voted Favourite Act at CCTV New Year's Gala

CCTV's New Year's Gala (中国中央电视台春节联欢晚会) has become an institution for Chinese viewers, as symbolic of Spring Festival as dumplings and red envelopes. An estimated audience of 700 million tune in to watch the variety show every year on Chinese New Year's Eve. Its popularity may be slowly slipping, especially with the younger generation, but it remains the most talked about TV event in mainland China. Unknown acts can, with an impressive performance on the show, become instant sensations, while established stars vie for guest spots each year.

Two week's after the Gala, on Lantern Festival Day, CCTV hosts another variety program, the My Favourite Spring Festival Evening Show. At this ceremony the favourite acts in a variety of categories from the Gala show are announced. One of the biggest hits of this year's Gala show was the reunion of Taiwan's original boy band, Little Tigers (小虎队, pinyin: Xiǎo Hǔ Duì). The three-member group, made up of Benny Chen, Alec Su and Nicky Wu, formed in 1988 and were an instant success not just in Taiwan but across the Chinese-speaking world. Their career lasted just six years, but their popularity paved the way for a succession of boy bands.

On the New Year's Gala Show Little Tigers performed three of their biggest hits: Love, Fly Butterfly and Green Apple Paradise. They were voted the Favourite Act in the Song and Dance category, finishing ahead of another comeback star, Wang Fei. The wave of nostalgia their act provoked amongst viewers has sparked rumours that the trio may get back together permanently.

The Gala Show is as much about comedy skits as it is about music, and the king of comedy acts for this year, as voted by the viewers, was veteran performer Zhao Benshan (赵本山). It was the Gala Show that gave Zhao his first break back in 1987, and he has been a Gala Show stalwart ever since, appearing every year but one over the past 24 years. Born in 1958 in north-east China - the home of many of China's best comic performers - Zhao has also had a successful acting career. In 2007 he was nominated for Best Actor at Taiwan's Golden Horse awards for his performance in the drama-comedy Getting Home.

A third category awarded at the Lantern Festival show is the "Opera, Folk and Other" category. For the second year in a row Taiwanese magician Lu Chen (刘谦, pinyin: Liú Qiān) was voted the favourite act. The 33 year-old has had his own show on Taiwanese TV since 2003, but really hit the big-time last year on the Gala Show. His appearance launched a craze for magic acts, and magician classes reported a sudden increase in enrolments last year.

This year's performance by Lu Chen was not without its critics, including one of China's most outspoken writers, Han Han. Han criticised Lu's act as "an immense disappointment", "professionally unethical" and put on by "a bunch of swindlers". This outburst in turn provoked a curt but angry response from Lu Chen. The exchange is comprehensively covered by the excellent Danwei blog. To quote from Danwei, it wouldn't be "a proper CCTV Spring Festival Gala without a scandal or two".

(Source, in Chinese: this Yahoo article)

CCTV's Top Five TV Stars of 2009

CCTV is China's national government-owned TV network. It's English-language channel, CCTV 9 has a program called Culture Express that aims to introduce various aspects of Chinese culture to foreigners. The Culture Express website has just published an interesting article presenting those actors it regards as the "top five TV stars of last year".

At Number 5 is Wang Baoqiang (王宝强), who has been one of the most familiar faces on both the big and small screens in recent years. He first came to public attention with his supporting role in A World Without Thieves, in which he played a naive and too-trusting boy who becomes the target for thieves on a cross-country train ride. He became a household name in China when he starred as a naive and too-trusting soldier in the 2007 hit series Soldiers Sortie. Last year he was in another popular series - according to the article it set a CCTV viewing record - My Brother is Shanliu. Wang played a naive (starting to see a pattern here?) but very skilled sniper in this World War II drama.

Another star of Soldiers Sortie, Duan Lihong (段奕宏), was at number 4 for his performance in My Chief and My Regiment, dubbed by Culture Express as "China's Band of Brothers". Duan started his career with a series of roles in arthouse movies before hitting the big time with Soldiers Sortie. In My Chief and My Regiment Duan played the regimental commander, and won Most Popular Actor at the Shanghai TV Festival for his performance.

Yao Chen (姚晨) was just announced as Baidu's Most Popular Mainland Actress, and was rated number 3 by Culture Express for her performance in the espionage drama Undercover. Coming to prominence in the 2005 comedy costume series My Own Swordsman, the 30 year-old made her name as a comic actress. So Undercover marks a turning point in her career, playing a hot-tempered peasant girl who becomes a guerilla fighter during China's civil war. Her performance earned her a Flying Aspiras nomination for Best Actress. Last year she also appeared in Sophie's Revenge, the Zhang Ziyi produced comedy, and will next appear alongside her husband, fellow actor Ling Xiaosu, in the series Days Spent with a Flight Attendant.

Number 2 on the list is another actress, Yan Ni (闫妮) who also rose to fame with My Own Swordsman. She has starred in a string of popular TV series on the mainland, such as Going Home, Around My House and National Action. In 2009 her career took another leap forward when she won the Flying Aspiras award for North Wind, a TV series in which she played a party cadre in rural China during the Mao years. She received further aclaim for her comic performance in the hit film Cow, and was cast by China's premier director Zhang Yimou in A Simple Noodle Story. Next will be a starring role in The Founders, a drama series looking at the pioneers of China's oil industry.

And number 1 on Culture Express' list is another Undercover star, Sun Honglei (孙红雷). He took out Best Actor at the Flying Aspiras Awards for his performance as a Communist mole in the Kuomintang during the civil war. Sun started his career mainly in supporting roles, with his performances as the villain in the martial arts epic Seven Swords, and as a gangster boss in Blood Brothers probably the best-known. The 39 year-old showed his versatility with a prominent role in the 2008 Mei Lanfang biopic Forever Enthralled, playing the opera star's most ardent fan. Last year he too also starred in A Simple Noodle Story.