Beijing Pops: Pianist Lang Lang Welcomes Baby Boy, Reyizha Applauded for Lead Performance

Feeling left out when your Chinese colleagues are gossiping about a trending star? Puzzled by those glamorous Chinese faces in subway ads, but can't even tell who they are? Beijing Pops will help you get through it all with the latest pop culture and celebrity news.

Chinese pianist Lang Lang welcomes his first baby

Pianist Lang Lang and his German wife Gina Alice posted on Weibo to announce the birth of their baby boy on Thursday, captioned “He’s coming! The little audience of our family concert!” In the post, the couple shared pictures of their hands holding a little one. Netizens commented “Congratulations! We can expect a piano trio show.”

Lang Lang and Gina first met in Germany. They are both pianists and after years of dating, they got married in the Palace of Versailles in Paris in 2019. The same year, the couple appeared on a reality show in which Gina charmingly affects the accent of northeastern Chinese. The couple attracted a lot of fans through the show as they put their loving and easy-going relationship on display.

Beijing actress applauded for remarkable lead performance in hit TV series

Beijing-born actress Reyizha was highly praised online for her acting in the hit TV series, Love of Mountain and Sea, a 23-episode drama that recently aired on TV and streamed online, following the story of how a Chinese inland city managed to rise out of poverty. In the drama, Reyizha plays a kind, strong-willed, and upbeat woman who drags her poor family out of difficult times.

Audiences first got to know the 34-year-old actress in the acclaimed Chinese historical drama, The Legend of Zhenhuan (which was also well received by foreign audiences who viewed it on Netflix) in which she played horse tamer Ye Lanyi. In 2019, she was nominated for best actress for her dramatic performance in the online series The Longest Day in Chang’an.

In real life, however, her unrestrained and frank character has given rise to controversy. She refused to stay silent in the face of body-shaming and cyber-bullying about her dress style as well as her diagnosis of clinical depression. Rather, she fought back by reblogging every post that abused her. Some criticized this response as "using violence against violence," while still others accused her of begging for attention.

She didn't take that lying down either. In an interview, she famously replied to these voices, saying “If you criticize my actions, fine. But if you want to point fingers at my life, then sorry, I already have parents and I don’t need you to educate me on how to be a good person.”

Yang Mi’s new film comes just in time for CNY

Beijing actress Yang Mi’s new film A Writer's Odyssey (Previous title: Assassin in Red) will hit the big screen on Chinese New Year. The suspense movie follows two parallel stories: one following the plot of a fantasy novel series following a heroic teenager on a quest to end the tyrannical rule of Lord Redmane, and the other rooted in reality, telling the tale of an author who becomes the target of an assassin. Yang plays the villain in this action-packed film.

Her career began at a very young age with her debut at the age of four in a historical drama, in which she played the little princess of the emperor. But what made her fame overnight was the TV series Palace: The Lock Heart Jade that aired in 2011. The drama became the number one most-viewed show as soon as it hit the airwaves and gained over 10 billion views in a matter of just a few months. Since then, Yang has become a go-to actress for many of the country's top directors. 

Mulan's Liu Yifei becomes the new face of luxury brand Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton announced Friday on Weibo that Chinese American actress Liu Yifei will be the brand's new ambassador and will be featured in its spring 2021 campaign. Liu is the first official female face for the brand in China since Fan Bingbing stepped away over her tax scandal.

Born in 1987 and a graduate of Beijing Film Academy, Liu has gained global recognition in recent years thanks to her starring role in Disney’s live-action remake of Mulan. Since her acting debut at the age of 15, she has performed in more than 30 TV dramas and movies. For Chinese audiences, her most memorable performance was as “the little dragon maiden” in Louis Cha’s masterpiece Demi-gods and Semi-devils, in which she vividly depicted the character as a cold beauty. In 2015, she began dating Korean actor Song Seung Heon (the leading actor in hit Korean drama Autumn Tale) after co-starring in a film with him. However, in 2018, Song revealed that the couple had broken up due to the hectic schedules of both actors.

READ: Beijing Pops: Aftermath of Zheng Shuang’s Surrogacy Scandal

Images: Weibo, iQiyi, Douban