Yifei will spend Children’s Day; June 1st; with 80 children who lost their parents in the quake

Breaking news as translated by the amazing Wan Mei:

"China Harper's Bazaar Charity Event
Source: Netease, Sina
Abridged translation by Wan Mei

A number of things mentioned about Yifei:

Will spent International Children’s Day (June 1) at Sanya with 80 children who lost their parents in the quake

Hope to build a new school for affected children

Revealed that the 15 men, 9 dogs team Yifei organized only managed to rescue a little girl while searching in the Dujiangyu (Ed: one of the hardest-hit region) and Beichuan (Ed: worst hit region – the autonomous county of mostly Qiang population might have be completely relocated elsewhere).

Also presented at this event is Chen Kun (who happens to be a Sichuan native), her former co-star in A NOBLE FAMILY

This event raised RMB 217 million that night alone.

This is the video coverage, a poor sound quality 15:50 video with over 10 minutes of Yifei:
data.vod.sohu.com






Picture credits as per above pic watermark(s).

Yes, that's tears in Yifei's eyes!

Speaking of tears, read the following as translated by Wan Mei!

It certainly brought tears to my eyes!

"Sources: Chengdu Commercial Daily and Hainan Economic Daily
2008-05-28

The resilient girl who wish to sing at the beach

"Dong Xue, everyone loves you! We will support you. Be strong and courageous – I hope that you would weathered the difficult times ahead and ride out this storm, when everything will be transformed and made wonderful again!” - encourages actress Liu Yifei on a personal video recording to the orphan girl.

Yesterday, Crystal Liu Yifei heard that among the earthquake orphans in Pengzhou there is a little girl that likes her. Yifei called up the “Sunshine Action” group which is responsible for Dong Xue, asking them to convey her message of encouragement to the child. After consideration, the "Sunshine Action" group decided to choose Dong Xue to participate in the trip to the beautiful Sanya where she could spend sometime there to recover from her grief and receive counseling.

When the earthquake occurred, 14-year-old Dong Xue and her classmates were lucky enough to find safety by fleeing the classroom. However, more pain and sorrow was in stored for this frail little girl.

In the afternoon, the parents of all the other students have picked up their children and take them home. Except for Dong Xue - she waited for them until nightfall but her parents never show up.

She tried to comfort herself by thinking that as May 13 is her father’s birthday, so perhaps her parents are busy at home preparing for a birthday party. However, by the next morning, her parents still did not appear, so Dong Xue tried to comfort herself once more that perhaps her father or mother was injured and was being treated in a hospital.

By noon, she could stand it no more - she made her way home from school. Harsh reality then hits her like a hard blow - her mother is dead, and her father gone missing.

In but an instant, the earthquake took away the two dearest people in Dong’s life. Now more than 10 days have passed, and Dong Xue has to not only face the enormous grief of losing her mother, but also the fact that her father may never be found.

Her parents are gone - and with them the warmth and security of her home. Dong Xue had to take up residence with a relative. In the aftermath of the earthquake, Dong was changed in many ways.

The 14-year-old girl has beautiful big eyes and a winsome face. But these eyes are filled with tears and she sat quietly, fighting the urge to weep. She told us that she and other children going through experience of the disaster has become more mature and learnt the to be strong and resilience.

Dong said that she will study hard, as this is what her parents would have wanted. In the midst of suffering, only one dream in the heart of this little girl has not changed even by the disaster.

The hope is that she would one day be a leading television actress like her favorite star Liu Yifei - flying graceful in the sky, like a fairy from heaven. When she heard that her favorite star has send her a personal message of encouragement, Dong’s face lighted up – and reveal a innocent smile seen for the first time in days.

Even now, Dong Xue is embarking on her trip to 15 days of sunshine, beaches and swaying palm trees. She has always loved the sea, and one of her greatest desire now is to sing aloud at the seaside the song "Sunshine always comes after a thunderstorm"….

PS: Together with the message recording, Crystal Liu Yifei also gave Dong Xue a card she handmade herself and some stationery she bought for the girl.

Abridged Translation by Wan Mei"

Thanks so very much Wan Mei for the effort in translating!
YKT

Liu Yifei to built schools, to accompany orphans

First, please note that the following is a little dated (but within the month of May 2008). It was first reported on May 5, 2008. But since this is a new blog and there may be new readers who have not browsed through the archives of posts by JC or seen the earlier post at his blog at Crystal-LiuYiFei.com, here it is again, this time by vivibear c/o Firdon c/o tracylsy, excerpt follows:

"Yifei's road to fame

She is 21 and already one of the most recognizable faces on the screen. Liu Yifei was propelled to fame portraying classic beauties in martial arts TV dramas. She recently appeared in the "Forbidden Kingdom" with superstars Jet Li and Jackie Chan. Many predicted she will be the next international star from China.

She is young, beautiful and adorable, Liu Yifei has been receiving lavish praise from her fans. In addition to her slim figure and perfect face, Liu has an innocent looking manner. Ever since her first appearance on the screen, Liu's breathtaking beauty has been constantly lauded.

Liu Yifei's performance in the "Forbidden Kingdom" caught the attention of the William Morris Agency based in the U.S. She became the second Chinese actress to join in the company following Zhang Ziyi.

Liu's portrayal of Golden Sparrow won praise from Jackie Chan. The Hollywood blockbuster paved the way for Liu to break into the international circle.

In 2002, Liu was accepted into the Performance Institute of Beijing Film Academy at the age of 15. She was the youngest student in her class. But she was also the most famous due to a popular TV series "The Story of a Noble Family". Liu played a spoilt girl born with a silver spoon, in 1930's China. It was her first role on television. Despite her unevolved acting, many audiences found Liu's charm irresistible.

Shortly after, she was chosen to portray "Wang Yuyan" in "Heaven Dragon -the Eighth Episode". The drama, adapted from a Louis Cha martial arts novel is set during the Song Dynasty. Her fame was further enhanced as she starred as the lead in the drama " The Return of the Condor Heroes". After intense speculation on who would get the role of "Xiaolongnv", the part was offered to her. Even the author himself backed Liu Yifei.

Liu once said actress Audrey Hepburn was her favourite actress and role model. Liu looks to become a woman as graceful and benevolent as she -- one day in the future."

Click here to view the video at YouTube

Moving along, I found something way more recent and posted on Thursday, May 29, 2008, 1:45 PM PT in Variety USA. Excerpt follows:

"Chan in China quake relief effort
Film star, duo team for Live Aid-style record
By HAN SUNHEE
To raise money for the Chinese hit by the recent earthquake, Hong Kong star Jackie Chan has teamed with Korean singer-producer Park Jin-young (aka JYP) and "Tae Guk Gi" helmer Kang Je-kyu to make a Live Aid-style record.

The song, "Asia Is one, We Love Asia," celebrates the unity of the region in the face of the devastating quake that hit the Sichuan province on May 12.

Chan has already finished recording a song for the project in Beijing with Chinese stars including Yifei Liu ("Forbidden Kingdom") and Bingbing Fan ("Battle of Wits")."

Read the full article at www.variety.com.

And finally, I found more on Yifei's efforts to "built schools, to accompany orphans," excerpt follows using the Google BETA Translation:

"Liu Yifei to built schools, to accompany orphans

[Liu Yifei] donated one million yuan, the China Children's Fund and is
Orphans will be set up emergency relief fund, which is a long-term cooperation, at every stage to the reconstruction of disaster areas orphans schools.

[APPARENTLY, THE FOLLOWING IS IN YIFEI'S OWN WORDS]

I have a web site as a spokesman for the Joint CKU CSV and two dogs groups, 15 individuals composed of nine German shepherd rescue team, has been in Dujiangyan, the North River led to the seizure of eight victims, including a complete salvation.The capital cost of this team for me to completely responsible for my very own dog, using trained dogs to save people, I think that efficiency will be high.

On the level of contributions, I do not have too much to consider, the community all the people trying, I and my mother would cry every day watching television, they can only hope that more people were rescued, the faster the end of this disaster. I have not made too many contributions, I read the news there is a beggar, are every patch, but he has donated twice. A total of 105 yuan, are coins, they are the most admired people moved and the people.

Proposal

Post-disaster reconstruction, I still focus on building more schools, before that 1 million donation is the cost of building schools. I not only hope to be able to look at the way the building of schools and that schools not completed in time go Peipei helpless children, they are too concerned about the needs of everyone."

Please note the above is a Google BETA Translation. Hence, please excuse the bugs.

Click here [Chinese Language site] for more.

Yifei in Joyful Base Camp Special on June 3, 2008

JC here, according to "Wan Mei," the pics may not be very recent nor related to any Earthquake relief effort.

The following was posted earlier by "YKT,"

Thanks to lyf4ever for posting the following pics today May 28, 2008 at 04:33 PM. Just to add that lyf4ever credits lyf.org.








Click here for the last pic as it is too wide for this blog.

Again, thanks lyf4ever and lyf.org!

Apparently, this is from the AP [The Associated Press]??

Yifei is ranked among the top 10 actress for Earthquake relief!

QUOTE: "Earthquake relief in the top ten actress astonishing move (AP)
[..]
9, Liu Yifei - all postponed

Liu Yifei to the earthquake relief operations to a force, to defer U.S. trip, contributions to 1 million yuan in China Foundation for the relief of children orphaned Fund and will participate in today organized by the China Children's Foundation Disaster Relief activities. She said that their only make the obligation only hope for the suffering compatriots sent a warm and help them tide over this difficult moment." Credit: bbs.club.sina.com.cn

Please note the above is a Google BETA Translation. Hence, please excuse the bugs.

Meanwhile, Wan Mei is back with another scoop:

QUOTE: "After 4 days of waiting since I first know about it, I am happy to announce that Liu Yifei and Jackie Chan has indeed been confirmed as the special guests for the June 3rd Post-quake Special edition of the award winning Joyful Base Camp variety show.

Kenny Bee was also listed to appear in the same show according to May 24 news but this has been not been confirmed as yet.

Joyful Base Camp is an award-winning variety show developed by Hunan TV with a reputation of getting famous celebrities to appear as guests. It even managed to get footballer David Beckham to appeared on its stage for one hour in 2007.

Official confirmation of Yifei as special guest can be found at www.hunantv.com"

Thanks Wan Mei for the scoop above!

I found more on this at:

news.rednet.cn

QUOTE: "Red Net - May 28 (Xinhua Qing Zhu) 4 Chuan Wenchuan earthquake affects everyone's heart, as the entertainment business of Big Brother - the first time Jackie Chan contributions to the disaster area 10 million yuan, and the task at hand Full stop, disaster relief organizations artists, the Foundation for the disaster relief fund-raising, donations and in-depth first-line material.

Jackie Chan always wanted to make the greatest efforts to help the disaster areas of friends, the earthquake occurred, he also took the value of millions of material went to the hardest hit in Deyang of Sichuan, called on where the injured children. Witnessed the scene of the disaster areas, Chan also can not help but shed tears, but also indicated that it will donate 6 million yuan reconstruction of two local schools!

In addition, Jackie Chan, Liu Yifei, and so on June 3 to participate in the future of Changsha in Hunan "Happy Camp" charity special program of the recording, to continue his love activities. According to "Happy Camp" Long-producer, Hunan TV is the current program with the China Youth UNICEF production, mainly to the earthquake-stricken area in Sichuan to have vision problems encourage the children to encourage them to return from haze Bright."

Please note the above is a Google BETA Translation. Hence, please excuse the bugs.

And finally, Wan Mei says:

QUOTE: "This is a new video from SOHU with additional scenes including Yifei registering and signed for the taxi driver's donation on his behalf. The SOHU reporter voice-over also affirm this.

www.mediafire.com"

Thanks Wan Mei for the video link!
YKT

Yifei in a new fund raising effort called "Love Action 99" or "Ai-99 Action"

Hello, I'm YKT and welcome to yifei-liu.com which is a blog about Crystal Liu Yifei.

First, I must state clearly that I know her name is spelt "Liu Yifei" with the family name first.

Two reasons: the domain for "Liu Yifei" was already registered and for the reason that "Yifei" is a more common search and simpler search pattern according to JC.

Speaking of JC, a very big thanks to him for setting up this blog for me to update!

Speaking of update, xtlover posted the following at asianfanatics.net. Apparently, Yifei was involved in a new fund raising effort called "Love Action 99" or "Ai-99 Action" and here are some of the early pics:



(xtlover credits chihung of lyf.org for the pics)

In addition, xtlover also posted music video screen caps:



(xtlover again credits chihung of lyf.org for the screen caps)

My thanks to xtlover and chihung for the above.

The amazing Wan Mei has given some insights on the above:

"This picture is taken on 20-May-2008
Yifei's signature:


(Uploaded to natalieportman.org thanks to JC)

I don't have time to translate Yifei's action plan for the 'Ai-99 Action' for now but just to note that the 15 men, 9 dogs team fully sponsored by Liu Yifei managed to save one life under the rubble as of May 20.

Beside Yifei and Zhang Guoli (pictured), Jackie, Jet Li, HXM, Hu Jun, Faye Wong are among the other 97 celebrities committed to this is."

Wan Mei gives more details about the above mentioned music video:

"Yes, the video is the official version of 'Cheng Nuo Promise'.

Yifei appeared in the segment 0:44 to 0:46.

Cheng Nuo Promise.wmv

The song and lyrics are the same as the unofficial version I posted earlier.

The difference is Yifei appeared before Fan Bingbing in the official version while in the unofficial version FBB is shown first."

Thanks alot to Wan Mei for the insights and details!!

And finally, firdon uploaded "Yifei featured on CCTV9 Culture Express 5/5/08" to YouTube:

Click here

Thanks firdon!
YKT
BTW, my nick on YouTube is YKT2008.

Hi,

Due to feedback that Crystal-LiuYiFei.com has been loading slowly at times, yours truly and "YKT" have set up this New blog at Yifei-Liu.com

Hopefully, you'll find that Yifei-Liu.com loads faster for your convenience. Please kindly update your bookmarks.

Yours truly and "YKT" will be updating the New blog at Yifei-Liu.com

Thanks,
JC

Crystal Liu Yifei's handwritten note

Hi there, first up, "Wan Mei" wrote that "Liu Yifei was in attendance [at] a CCTV televised fund-raising event on May 18 as reported. However, Yifei who had donated one million Yuan to aid children affected by the quake kept a low profile and did not appear on stage." Thanks "YKT" for another "Wan Mei" scoop!

"YKT" sent me a pic/scan of a Crystal Liu Yifei handwritten note dated May 15:

"On it says:

Wishing that the victims be courageous, strong, and bide through this hard times together!

I hope everyone can help the areas affected by the earthquake and let the children rebuild their homes!"

"YKT" credits "angeLLina" for the translation. Very moving message indeed!

And finally, "YKT" says "lyf4ever" posted lots of scans of Yifei that was featured in "Fans mag" at
http://crystal-yifei.net/index.php?showtopic=3618

My thanks to "Wan Mei," "angeLLina," "lyf4ever," and "YKT" for sharing!

JC

Crystal Liu Yifei - permanent volunteer of "The One Foundation" disaster-relief Charity fund, participated in the "Promise" song

Yowza, more emails from "YKT" brimming with scoops & pics from "Wan Mei" and pics from "lyf4ever" as well!

First, FK = Forbidden Kingdom, and FK2 = Forbidden Kingdom part 2.

"Wan Mei" wrote: "There wouldn't another FK2, at least for this year because in the aftermath of the quake Jet Li announced he will not do any acting this year but focus on the One Foundation Fund.

The One Foundation is disaster-relief Charity fund co-founded by Jet Li and the Red Cross Society of China in 2007.

BTW, Liu Yifei is a permanent volunteer of the One Foundation. Jet Li is her recruiter (during filming of FK).

Edit by Wanmei: The official English name is 'Individual Long-Term Volunteer' but in Chinese it is 'Permanent Volunteer'

The entire list of permanent volunteers of the One Foundation can be found at: www.onefoundation.cn/html/en/volunteers.htm

Liu Yifei's name is the third one in the first line for those who can't recognize Crystal's name in Chinese."

Further to my post about Liu Yifei donating RMB 1,000,000 to children affected by earthquake below, "Wan Mei" adds a touching story of an anonymous taxi driver:

“Even giving 200 Yuan would not have been a small amount for this gentleman,” exclaimed a visibly moved Liu Yifei, as she held the bundle of RMB10 and RMB20 notes in her hands.

Apparently Yifei’s female assistant and another staff took a taxi to meet up with her during the donation event. In the course of conversation, the taxi driver learnt that Liu Yifei is giving away one million Yuan to children affected by earthquake.

Upon hearing this, not only did he refuse to charge taxi fare, he took out his collection of the day and handed 200 Yuan to Yifei’s assistant. He insisted that he wanted to donate the money and drove away without leaving his name or contact details. Yifei’s assistant only managed to jot down his license plate number"

More touching reports follows: Crystal Liu Yi Fei participated in a music project called the "Promise" song to raise funds. Herewith, more details on this and the translation by "Wan Mei,"

"Some further information about this song:

Original Title: Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies
Music composed by Wong Ka Kui (1961-1993)
New Lyrics by Andy Lau Tak-Wah
Translation:
How many…How many joy taken away?
How many lives buried in a wink… [Jackie Chan]
Transformed into silence
Tears twinkle on the eyes
Dust and dirt on desolate faces (I rather it’s me)

Needless say… Behind you there is me…
Through rugged future I’ll stay with you [LYF and FBB]
There’s One of you…There’s One of me
Burden’s not a sign of weakness
Walk forward, for surely lies ahead - broaden is the path [Li Bingbing]
(You’ve still got me) [Quartet]

Partial translation by: Wan Mei
I have highlighted the part sang by Yifei (it is at times obscured by co-singer Fan Bingbing’s voice). I will leave the translation of the rest of the song to Andy Lau’s fans.

You can now download the song 'The Promise' by benbu.net
I believe the download link is provided by LYF's Thai fans.
However, be warned that Yifei’s segment is very short, she appeared at 00:50 seconds to 00:54 only in the MV.
[click here]
File name: cheng nuo [Promise].wmv"

"For those who don't want to download, you can also view in on Youtube now:
[click here]

You can also watch the production of the "Promise" song on [YouTube]:
[click here]

Yifei is seen arriving with her mother at time 1:23 to 1:26

Another link of video to a LYF interview by benbu.net during the recording provide by same person:
[click here]"

"This is a link to the Yifei donate 1million yuan Video "in FLV format (the common source is from SOHU):"
[click here]

"File Name is:

[08.05.15]Liu Yifei Qu Xiao Mei Guo Xing Wei Zai Qu Er Tong Juan Kuan 100 Wan.flv

The bundle of RMB20 and smaller notes you see in the video clip should be from the anonymous taxi driver who requested Yifei to donate on his behalf I reported before."

Short Clip with Liu Yifei on MTV China 512 Earthquake Operation by MTV China and One Foundation
[click here]"

Huge thanks to "Wan Mei" for the scoops, translation, pics and links to various vids!!!

And finally, "lyf4ever" uploaded Crystal Liu Yi Fei's Earthquake related interview over at YouTube and found these pics from SINA:



(Hint for newbies for the pic above: Crystal Liu Yi Fei is not the lady with earrings. Crystal Liu Yi Fei is the one with darker hair)

Thanks "lyf4ever" for the pics and link and to "YKT" as always for sharing!

JC

Crystal Liu Yifei donated One Million RMB* to Children Fund, offers to help Earthquake Orphans

*RMB 1,000,000 = approx USD140,000.00



Translation from "Wan Mei" follows:

"China and CCTF launched its Emergency Children Aid program on May 13 2008 evening.

On May 14, Crystal Liu Yifei called in and expressed her desire to aid the children in the earthquake affected areas. She pledged RMB 1,000,000.

On May 15, Liu Yifei canceled her trip to United States and arrived at the CCTF office located on the 9th floor of the All-China Women’s Federation Building at 2pm to donate her RMB 1,000,000 to the Aid Fund.

Yifei said she and her mother were in tears while they watched on television the sad plight of the inhabitants of the earthquake affected areas, particularly orphans who lost their parents in the disaster. Yifei indicated that this is only the first of the donations she will give to the fund. She also planned to take time off from her work to visit the disaster areas, counseling the orphans, give a little help and relief to them.

Liu Yifei’s sincere expressions of love won praise and applaud from the committee members of CCTF.

A driver from a car-rental company got wind of Yifei’s donation to CCTF and rushed to the All-China Woman Building. Through the help of some workers, he managed to pass his daily collection totally RMB 200 to the hands of Liu Yifei and requested that Yifei place the donation on his behalf. Many presented were moved by his gesture."

Source: ent.163.com

Earlier "Wan Mei" translated the following that may offer more insights:

"Due to her work schedule Liu Yifei would have left for US today. But due to her desire to contribute to Sichuan earthquake relief efforts, she decided postpone to her trip. She also donated 1,000,000 Yuan to the Orphan funds managed by CCTF (China Children and Teenage Fund).

Yifei will also appear in CCTF donation drive activities for earthquake victims on May 16.

Yifei says the earthquake tragedy has bound the hearts of everyone in the country, garnering aid from every corner of society and she is only doing what she can to help.

She hope that such acts could bring a small measure of warmth and relief to suffering earthquake victims and help them through their period of tribulation."

Source: ent.sina.com.cn


Thanks "YKT" for notifying me of the above translations in an email. "YKT" also sent excerpts of posts by "Wan Mei" that pertains to the above:

"BTW, Tianjin Daily has post up the list of the recent 2008 Forbes Chinese Celebrity Top 100 to show how much each of the celebrity give:
[..]
(bracket) is annual income estimates by Forbes.
[..]
87. Liu Yifei (3 million Yuan)
Personal Donation: 1 million Yuan

That’s 1/3 of Yifei’s annual income!
Most people wouldn’t be willing to do that, no matter how secure our financial condition is.

Note that there’s no information on how much many of the Top 100 celebrity gave (or didn’t give at all) but Yifei definitely gave the highest donation proportionally to her income."
[..]
Actually, proportionally to her income, she already donated more than almost all actors/actresses
To date, one million yuan is also one of the highest individual donations by actor/actresses.

For example, compare with her ["Forbidden Kingdom"] costars:

Jet Li gave 1 million = same as Yifei but is from his charity fund and the lastest earning for Jet is 240 million Yuan for past year."

Huge thanks all around to "Wan Mei" for the translations and addendums. Thanks "YKT" for emailing me!

I found this late review of the "Forbidden Kingdom" which mentions Crystal Liu Yi Fei's superb performance in the movie:

"A Bite-Sized Return
By Cap'n History
[..]
The best thing in this movie may be the performance of Liu Yifei. This talented Chinese actress brings the only real human touches to this movie, in a role that is quiet yet strong. She's already a minor pop sensation in China......"

More at: thecaptainofhistory.blogspot.com

JC

Topic created by Liu Yifei on 2008-5-12 22:12

Title: Hope everyone is safe!

Greetings to all.

I read on ‘Yifei Tea Society’ (*1) the severe consequences of the earthquake (*2) on fans in the Sichuan and surrounding areas. (Unwell Emoticon)

This disaster strike so suddenly and without warning - I am really concern about everyone out there. (Crying Emoticon X 3)

I hope all of you are safe and sound and not harmed in anyway!!!

Notes by Wan Mei:
(*1) A sub-forum of www.liuyifei.org
(*2) 7.8 magnitude Earthquake in China on May 12, 2008
Translated from Chinese by Wan Mei
Original message link: www.liuyifei.org/bbs/viewthread.php?tid=240917

Thanks to "YKT" for the email and "Wan Mei" for the translation and notes.

My prayers to the people of China
JC

MAY 11

Hi folks, "YKT" found the following from asiamedia.ucla.edu; apparently, the Asia Media section of the University of California: "SINGAPORE: Online Google searches reflect offline buzz [..] Google's Hot Trends tracker is the most effective tool for getting up-to-date lists of top searches in Singapore

The Straits Times
Friday, April 25, 2008
By Alfred Siew

What goes on in the real world is mirrored online and more or less in real time, according to a new hour-by-hour tracking device from Google Singapore.

[..]Besides Google, Yahoo also offers a list of top search terms. On its Singapore website (www.yahoo.com.sg), Mas Selamat was the second most searched term on Wednesday afternoon after Liu Yifei, the Chinese actress starring in the Forbidden Kingdom movie."

"In other words, Liu Yifei was the top search term in Singapore that week," according to "YKT."

"YKT" also sent a find by the amazing "Wan Mei,"

"Impact is imminent
By Liu Wei

Joan Chen. Gong Li. Zhang Ziyi. Liu Yifei? The starlet who co-starred with Jet Li and Jackie Chan in The Forbidden Kingdom may just be China's next big thing. Thanks to her performance in the kungfu blockbuster, the 20-year-old has just joined the William Morris Agency (WMA), the prestigious talent and literary agency with past like Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, and Katharine Hepburn. Liu is one of the agency's only two Chinese actresses; the other is Zhang Ziyi.

The comparison is inevitable as the two young Chinese beauties have much in common.

They both achieved fame at a young age. At 20, Zhang starred in Zhang Yimou's The Road Home (Wode Fuqin Muqin) and one year later she appeared in Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Wohu Canglong). Also at age 20, Liu co-starred with Jet Li and Jackie Chan in the $70 million project, which has since become a global smash.

Now they are in the same agency and share an ambition to make it big not only on the domestic market, but on the global arena.

"Zhang has been the most successful Asian star in the world," she says. "I am just starting, so it's hard to compare but for me it's an honor to be compared to her."

Born to a French-language professor and a dancer, Liu received dance, singing and piano training as a little girl. At age 10 she moved to America and spent four years at a middle school in Long Island. She speaks fluent English and her straightforwardness thanks to her years in the States also helps her easily communicate with international filmmakers.

Liu is happy that many of the roles offered to her are modern, multi-dimensional characters.

Despite all of her advantages, Liu says she admires Gong and Zhang's cooperation with acclaimed film directors such as Zhang Yimou and Ang Lee.

"For my next character, I would not care if it is a leading role or a supporting one, as long as the director is really good," she says.

Her dream may soon come true. In May she will audition for a Clint Eastwood film.

Different from Zhang's apparent toughness and what Time Magazine calls as a sense of purpose and a will of steel, Liu impresses audience with her soft voice, sweet smile and gentle gestures. One of her noted roles is the fairy-like Xiaolongnu (little dragon girl) in The Return of the Condor Heroes, a TV series based on Hong Kong wuxia writer Louis Cha's novel. The girl lives in a stone tomb for 18 years, eats only honey and is as pure as a pearl.

However, Liu laughs when asked is she is like any of the characters she has played.

"Most of the time I am tender and delicate," she says. "But I can be very tough and independent, just like Golden Sparrow in The Forbidden Kingdom."

Liu's parents divorced when she was 7. Since then she has been living with her mother Liu Xiaoli. Although she entered the entertainment industry when she was 15, her mother did not accompany her to interviews. For every role offered to her, her mother would ask her opinion first and would not make decisions for her.

Most of the time she is just another 20-year-old. The first thing she does after getting home is play with her three Schnauzers. She is reading Totto-chan, or The Little Girl at the Window, female Japanese writer Tetsuko Kuroyanagi's bestseller about a little girl's friendship with her caring headmaster.

"I actually hope audience won't care who I am, but focus on the characters I play," she says. "If they forget Liu Yifei when seeing the various characters, I will feel satisfied."

"Beauty seems not a bad thing to me," she laughs. "My two favorite actresses, Audrey Hepburn and Vivien Leigh, are both famous belles. A good actor has both power inside and out. The thing is, not to rely on your beauty."

Despite her recent signing with WMA, Liu says that she will try to star in at least one Chinese film a year.

"Being a Chinese actor is important to me," she says. "I hope whenever people see me, whether I am famous or not then, they know me as a Chinese actress."

(China Daily 05/06/2008 page19)"

Thanks again "Wan Mei" for the scoop and "YKT" for sharing the news for the benefit of Crystal Liu Yi Fei's fans.

JC

Woah, YKT inundated my inbox with emails! First up thanks YKT for sharing the news with us! Here it is by the numbers:

1) Bei Ruo Yi of crystalliuyifei.com posted:

"In case you missed it, you can watch Liu Yifei at the premiere of "The Forbidden Kingdom" in Beijing on April 16, 2008 here: ent.sina.com.cn"

2) Wan Mei wrote:

"Culture Express is an English-language program broadcast on the Chinese Government's state television channel CCTV-9. On 5/5/2008 it showcase a 3 minutes 51 seconds video introducing "Xiaolongnv" Liu Yifei to the world. CCTV-9 can be viewed through a number of cable and satellite providers in the world. For example, it is available as Channel 509 on ASTRO Malaysia. This video can also be access on the Web through this link: cctv.com. At date of writing, this is one of the most watched video of the day on the CCTV website."

3) Wan Mei declares that Liu Yifei is "No#1 in IMDb for Most Popular With Fewer Than 5 roles:"

"This was reported by WCC Daily, a newspaper in Western China. I can confirmed this since I have a IMDB Professional Account but I didn't held it too much regard before. For those who don't know, this refer to the StarMeter rating, a feature only viewable by Internet Movie Database Movie Pro members. The Most Popular With Fewer than 5 roles is slightly misinformed because Yifei has starred in more than 5 roles but information in IMDB is not up to date. However, it does bestow Yifei the distinction of being the first Asian female to achieve the Rank of #1 in a IMDB Pro category More useful, but of no lasting value is her current weekly Star Meter rating = 107 or the highest ranked Chinese female artist in the World (according to IMDB Pro) for the past week in Star Meter Ranking."

4) Wan Mei wrote:

"Lookout for Yifei as a special guest in the CZTV special “Thoughts on Journey to West characters” for the Journey to the West 2009 TV series on this May or June 2008. The producer of JTTW is Zhang Jizhong (ROCH 2006). Following the success of the Journey to the West themed Forbidden Kingdom, Zhang is now in preliminary discussion with the Weta Group (LOTR, Narnia) on employing Weta's fantasy skills for the upcoming TV series. “Thoughts on Journey to West characters” will be broadcast for 8 weeks each Saturday on CZTV from May 10, 2008. Each show has a running time of 40 minutes and will featured a celebrity invited by Zhang Jizhong. The May 10 session will feature Huang Xiaoming as the special guest and focus on the character of Monkey. Like other celebrities in this show, Yifei will present her insight and character analysis on one of the yet undisclosed major characters in Journey to the West. It is generally believed that Yifei would be offered a cameo role in JTTW 2009. Latest update: The first session of JTTW talk-show, on the character of Monkey has been recorded today. It will be broadcast by CZTV at 9pm, May 10."

Thanks again to YKT for sharing Wan Mei's brilliant ''scoops'' and world exclusives as well as a post by Bei Ruo Yi of crystalliuyifei.com.

JC

APRIL 27 7 PM ET

"YKT" sent lots of emails to me, but I was offline on a trip, so here they are in one big 'tasty' update!

"YKT" forwarded a find by "dearlady":



























All pics credit: sina.

There's even a video of Crystal Liu Yi Fei at sina.

Huge thanks to "YKT" and "dearlady"!!!

Speaking of video, I found a short interview featuring Crystal Liu Yi Fei at YouTube.

And finally, I found this news.xinhuanet.com. Excerpt follows: " BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Martial arts adventure "The Forbidden Kingdom" raked in 16 million yuan (2.3 million U.S. dollars) in Chinese mainland within 24 hours after its Thursday debut, the Beijing News reported on Saturday. The movie sets the highest opening day box office record in China this year, according to the newspaper."

APRIL 21 9:36 PM ET

"YKT" sent me 2 huge pictures of Crystal Liu Yi Fei. They are not considered spoilers as smaller variations have been released before the movie premiered. UPDATE: "YKT" uploaded to flickr:





Thanks again to the amazing "YKT" for the 2 huge pictures.

JC

UPDATE APRIL 20 11 PM ET

"YKT" emailed an interesting writeup from sfgate.com. Excerpt follows:

Hard kicks: Yifei Liu is one tough cookie. The 20-year-old Chinese actress managed to hold her own against Jackie Chan and Jet Li in "The Forbidden Kingdom." For the medieval adventure pairing the famous actor-fighters she, as Golden Sparrow, spent 19 weeks trading punches and getting kicked by an assortment of seasoned martial-arts warriors. "Three guys go on this journey, and Golden Sparrow is the only girl on the team, so I had to be very strong and sometimes even kick ***," she says. "It was a really interesting experience." Liu, who's also a singer with Chinese- and Japanese-language albums on her resume, came to the gig well prepped. Fluent in English - she spent five years in Teaneck, N.J., as a teenager - she is famous in China for her work in so called "wuxia" dramas such as "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils." But "Kingdom," directed by Rob Minkoff ("The Lion King"), raised the bar in terms of intensity. "This was not the kind of beautiful fantasy action where you fly around," Liu says. "In 'Forbidden Kingdom,' they kick very hard. It really hurts. But I said nothing, because that's what an action movie should be like." That attitude has generated attention in Hollywood. Her stateside career is being handled by the William Morris Agency, which signed her after seeing "Kingdom." "Movie producers have noticed me now, so I feel pretty lucky to be auditioning for American movies," she says. "I have this wish to create different kinds of characters, no matter what language or background. I can play normal girls, too."

Thanks "YKT" for your emails! Interesting 5 years in New Jersey?

UPDATE APRIL 20 9 PM ET

Yowza!! I saw "The Forbidden Kingdom" twice!! It was that good!! Crystal Liu Yi Fei is so lovely and her acting is great!!

Alright, I've tried my best to remove major spoilers on this blog for the benefit of those that have not seen the movie. Here are some non spoiler news/excerpts:

Quote:

Liu Yifei’s character is modeled after Cheng Pei-pei’s dart-tossing character in GOLDEN SWALLOW. When facing the Jade Warlord she says, “come drink with me,” an obvious reference to the same-named prequal to GOLDEN SWALLOW

Endquote.

Click here to read the rest of the writeup.

"YKT" is back and sends the following non spoiler (I checked) news as well:

Quote:

Yifei Liu succeeds in imbuing the film with a lighter version of Zhang Ziyi's youthful ardor. In a near-great teen-fantasy moment, the Golden Sparrow saves Jason from toppling down a sand hill - and her swaying hair parts to reveal a naked intensity in her eyes.

Endquote.

Credit baltimoresun.

"YKT" also sends news that "The Forbidden Kingdom" did very well in the box office:

Quote:

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 4/20/08 — ‘The Forbidden Kingdom’ pulled some serious punches this weekend, becoming the biggest Chinese film opening in American box office history. [..] In China film history, only Jet Li’s ‘Hero’ in 2002 opened nearly as well in America, at $18 million [..] “We were in the heart of China when we made the movie,” Kingdom director Rob Minkoff told Hollywood Today. “We worked with a primarily Chinese crew. I’d say 90% of everyone we worked with on the movie were either from mainland China or Hong Kong. Hengdian is the studio that we were primarily based at, which is a studio that’s been there ten years and has really spectacular sets. It’s about a five-hour drive from Shanghai. It’s pretty remote.” “Since we were coming all this way to make a movie about China, we wanted to make sure that we really saw China and showed China to our audience,” says Kingdom executive producer Casey Silver. “We had the approval and support of the Chinese government.” ‘The Forbidden Kingdom’ was shot at the sound stages of Hengdian World Studios, the Gobi desert in Dunhuang, the Nine Bends River, the waterfall at Xianju, the Wuy Mountains, and at Anji and Fangyan.

Endquote.

Click here to read the rest of the writeup.

APRIL 18 1:21 AM ET



Click here to bid for The Forbidden Kingdom Poster signed by Crystal Liu Yi Fei and other cast members such as Jackie Chan at eBay.

Proceeds benefits The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation.

JC

APRIL 17 10:08 PM ET

Before we get to the news excerpt, "muli" sent me a lovely picture of Crystal Liu Yi Fei via email:

Photo credit: as per the above.

In addition, "muli" pointed me to a link over at news.yahoo.com where "muli" found this pic:

Quote:

i love the way how liu yifei seems to avoid jackie chan in this pic:

Unquote.

Photo credit: Reuters/yahoo! news. Thanks again "muli."

Alrighty then, onto the news excerpt by Rick Bentley of McClatchy Newspapers:

Quote:

Actors hope 'Forbidden Kingdom' raises their profiles in Hollywood [..] "I think the work of some great Chinese directors has brought to an American audience more and more of a curiosity about China, especially now with the Olympics," Yifei says during an interview at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. She adds that this interest in China is creating more work in American films for Chinese actors. "Forbidden Kingdom" was directed by Rob Minkoff, the man behind the animated "Lion King" and "Stuart Little." [..] Yifei [..] was born in the Wuhan, Hubei, province of China, took a more artistic path to her career. The former model studied singing, dancing and the piano until she moved as a child to the United States with her mother. She returned to China four years later when she was a teenager to pursue an acting career. [..] In the past six or seven years since then, she has landed several lead roles in Chinese television series and has had a successful music career. She's released on album of rap and soft rock. Yifei easily related to her role of Golden Sparrow because like her, the character found a balance between her warrior and artistic sides. [..] Now that the film has been released, Chou and Yifei will go on to other movies. Both are ready for more work in American cinema. "Every actor wants to go to Hollywood because it is the largest film industry in the world," Yifei says.

Unquote.

For the complete writeup, please click here.

JC

Wow, "muli" from crystalliuyifei.com/forum sent me an email with a link to a new pic of Crystal Liu Yi Fei at the World Premiere of "The Forbidden Kingdom" in Beijing!



Photo credit: sina. Thanks alot "muli!"

UPDATE: APRIL 16 11:16 PM ET

As at date and time of this update, news.com.au/couriermail confused Song Hye Gyo with Crystal Liu Yi Fei.

Song Hye Gyo is a popular and lovely Korean actress. I am actually a fan of Song Hye Gyo aka Song Hye Kyo as well and created a simple beta page last year.

As at date and time of this update, here is the picture news.com.au/couriermail is using:



And here is the caption that news.com.au/couriermail is using as at date and time of this update:

Quote:

"Chinese starlet Song Hye Gyo, also known as Crystal Liu Yi Fei, Liu Yifei, or Liu Yefei ... China's Hannah Montana, stars with Jackie Chan and Jet Li in a Kung Fu fantasy."

Unquote.

Woah, I guess the major upside is Liu Yifei is now known as "China's Hannah Montana!"

[UPDATE: 28 MAY 9:50 PM ET: ''news.com.au/couriermail'' has corrected the error after "putriN" of soompi.com informed ''news.com.au/couriermail.''

My thanks to "putriN" for informing ''news.com.au/couriermail'' and "lin" of soompi.com for informing me.

I wrote the above, "Woah, I guess the major upside is Liu Yifei is now known as "China's Hannah Montana!" so as not to appear too harsh to ''news.com.au/couriermail.''

"Hannah Montana" is a Disney production and is very popular in the US.

At no time am I comparing Liu Yifei with the star of "Hannah Montana."]

In other time sensitive news, Crystal Liu Yi Fei pic is on the Front Page of www.yahoo.com as at date and time of this update! As you know, www.yahoo.com is the world's most visited portal, hence it's another indication that Crystal Liu Yi Fei's fame is rising!

Remember this is very time sensitive news as the good folks over at yahoo.com frequently update their Front Page.

JC

APRIL 15 9:39 PM ET

As promised (see posts below) Crystal Liu Yi Fei is now in Beijing for the World Premiere of "The Forbidden Kingdom." There was the inevitable press conference and the pics are available at sina.com. I've uploaded one pic to my other site NataliePortman.Org and here it is:


Photo credit: sina.com and thanks to ''YKT" for the alert!

According to china.org.cn, excerpt:

"There will be a global premiere ceremony to be held in Eastern Beijing's Chaoyang Park on Wednesday, organizers say."

JC

APRIL 15 2:12 AM ET

While waiting for pics of Crystal Liu Yi Fei at the World Premiere of ''The Forbidden Kingdom" in Beijing on April 16, ''YKT'' of Crystallized sent word that Crystal Liu Yi Fei was indeed present at the earlier San Francisco preview of ''The Forbidden Kingdom."

Kindly refer to my post below, "Chance to meet Crystal Liu Yi Fei in person..." and check out this thread at crystal-yifei.net (prior registration required to view thread at Crystallized).

UPDATE APRIL 15 10 PM ET

For your convenience, herewith the excerpt:

"According to this blogger Jason who attended said event, he confirmed Crystal Liu Yi Fei was there."

"Thanks to the good people at CAAM (who put on SFIAAFF), I was invited to a special sneak preview of the movie that unites Jackie Chan and Jet Li for the first time ever! [..] director Rob Minkoff, screenwriter John Fusco, and stars Collin Chou and Yifei Liu (making her American movie debut) were in attendance and introduced the film."

Anyone with pics of Crystal Liu Yi Fei at the aforementioned events, please email me.

Meanwhile, ''YKT'' emailed me the following:

Movieweb.com has a contest for ''Forbidden Kingdom one-sheet poster, trading cards'' and more.

Folks in Malaysia may enter the following contest:

Excerpt: "NST and Sony Pictures International are giving away 222 tickets to our readers to attend a special screening of The Forbidden Kingdom on Saturday at Cathay Cineleisure Damansara, Hall 9, at 11am."

Click here for more details.

Finally, "YKT" says that Crystal Liu Yi Fei is gracing the cover of "Southern Weekly No. 207" mag in China. Thanks again to ''YKT'' for the heads up!

JC

APRIL 10 12:55 AM ET

"YKT" from crystal-yifei.net aka as Crystallized English Forum wrote to me saying that according to screendaily.com:

Quote:

US producer Casey Silver has confirmed that the world premiere of martial arts action adventure The Forbidden Kingdom will take place in Beijing on April 16.

Endquote.

As it is the World Premiere and as it is held in Beijing, there is a likelihood that Crystal Liu Yi Fei may grace the said premiere.

Moving along, "YKT" added that kansascity.com is running a contest for a screening of "The Forbidden Kingdom." The venue is not stated on the page but it'll most likely be a theater in Kansas City on April 17. That's just a day before it opens Stateside.

And finally, "YKT" says that Crystal Liu Yi Fei is on the cover of several magazines in Asia.

• "Monday magazine" and "Harper's Bazaar" in China
  
• "Ming" and "Jessica" mag in Hong Kong
  
• "Nuyou" mag in Singapore
  

Much thanks to "YKT" for the news!

(UPDATE: APRIL 10 10:10 PM ET: Variety has just given a rather lukewarm review of "The Forbidden Kingdom.")

Quote:

Those salivating at the thought of Jet Li and Jackie Chan going mano-a-mano are likely to be among the more disappointed customers for "The Forbidden Kingdom." While top-billed duo do indeed occupy plenty of screen time, this is basically the latest version of that post-"Star Wars" fantasy concept in which only a middle-class white teenage boy can save the universe from, y'know, Evil. On its own terms, it's a handsome albeit unexceptional juvenile adventure shot on some magnificent Chinese locations by d.p. Peter Pau. Biz should be healthy if unspectacular, with stars boosting Asian markets, and strong ancillary sales.

Endquote.

JC

APRIL 6 1:57 AM ET

It's April and we are days away from the US premiere of "The Forbidden Kingdom" movie featuring Crystal Liu Yi Fei on 4.18.08.

Folks who are in San Francisco, CA may get a jump on the rest of the nation by 'snagging' the following invite:



Man alive!! That's right!! You get to meet Liu Yi Fei in person!!

Quote:

LIONSGATE AND THE CENTER FOR ASIAN AMERICAN MEDIA (CAAM) INVITE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY TO A SPECIAL ADVANCED SCREENING OF "THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM" Starring JACKIE CHAN and JET LI Thursday, April 10, 7PM, Sundance Kabuki Cinema, 1881 Post Street, San Francisco, CA. Stars Collin Chou and Liu Yifei will be joined by director Rob Minkoff and screenwriter John Fusco. RSVP by Monday, April 7 @ 5PM to ForbiddenKingdomSF@thaweb.com or (415) 591-9632 WITH YOUR NAME, PHONE NUMBER & AFFILIATION (CAAM). This invitation will not gain you admittance. You must RSVP. RSVPs will be taken on a first come, first served basis.

Endquote.

Moving along, folks who are legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia may enter ''The Forbidden Kingdom'' Sweepstakes and try your luck in winning a free trip to China.

And finally, Yahoo Movies US has more info on ''The Forbidden Kingdom'' movie.

(UPDATE: Folks not in the US can check out the imdb link in my 1st post on March 17th below for International Release Dates)

JC

After years of updating my old fan/celeb sites, I know that it is a Fact that there are alot of lies, false rumours and misinformation about celebs.

I found this very pertinent and Factual post by ''Danni'' who is a ''Moderator'' at crystalliuyifei.com's forum.

Quote:

Someone has been spreading false rumours about our beloved Liu Yifei on some bulletin boards and in the printed media.

The false rumours are:

(1) Liu Yifei is actually 25 year-old not 19.

http://fun.huash.com/gb/fun/2005-04/18/content_1809391.htm

http://dadao.net/php/dadao/temp_amusement.php?ArticleID=35881

(2) Liu Yifei underwent a sex change.

Chongqing Evening News reproduces online rumours that actress Liu Yifei underwent a sex change between 2001 and 2002 because her mother wanted a girl instead of a boy. The allegations come from someone claiming to be Liu Yifei's childhood friend, so naturally the Chongqing Evening News credulously runs the story under the headline, "Liu Yifei's childhood friend reveals..."

http://ent.sina.com.cn/x/2005-07-14/0954779461.html

Regarding Yifei's age, Yifei's mom had already explained it convincingly. How do you explain Yifei's height from 1.67m to 1.7m if she is already 25 year-old?

Regarding Yifei's "sex change," there is no doubt that the originator of this lie was someone who searched for Liu Yifei online but found another Liu Yifei who is a transexual. This transexual "Liu Yifei" had sex-change operation that makes him a "woman" at a hospital in Shanghai, June 13, 2006. He is 25 year-old. That explains the rumours why our beloved real Liu Yifei "is actually 25" and "sex-change rumour." If the sex change rumour was spread earlier than June, 2006, there is no doubt that it originated from someone who personally knew the transexual "Liu Yifei"'s intention of sex change. It was probably the childhood friend of this "Liu Yifei." We do not know for sure, but the the age and sex change coincide with the transexual Liu Yifei that we do not rule out the possiblity that it was a childhood friend of this transexual (or someone who read about this transexual) who spread the rumour.

We at CrystalLiuYifei.Com strongly condemn these false rumours and urge Yifei's fans NOT to believe these lies that was spread to tarnish Liu Yifei. Whether it was just a joke or a prank, we believe that it is not right to spread this kind of rumour that could hurt someone's reputation be it Yifei, other celebrities or anyone out there.

Endquote.

I would like to echo ''Danni" above in condemning these misinformation and lies regarding Crystal Liu Yi Fei.

I also wish to add that these misinformation and lies may be spread by more than one mere individual. I've seen lies spread in YouTube vids, blogs and also in imdb.com's message board.

Everyone is welcomed to an opinion about celebs but malicious misinformation, lies or false rumors are wrong.

Let me not get started on malicious photoshopped pics of celebs. It's rampant and plain wrong.

JC

Potentially a hot-button issue, but hey, this is a personal blog.

I'm taking issue with the Gender at IMDB's resume of Crystal Liu Yi Fei.

What's with "Gender: Other"??

Crystal Liu Yi Fei is most certainly 100 percent female!

If anyone disputes this, simply email me and I can point to sites that can prove this!

Another problem is the issue of Ethnicity.

What's with "Indian/South Asian, Asian, Indian/South Asian"??

Why repeat "Indian/South Asian" twice??

Anyway, "Indian/South Asian" is incorrect.

Most sites on the web states that Crystal Liu Yi Fei was born in Wuhan. It is a city in Hubei province in China. Simply google "wuhan, hubei, china" or check out the Atlas, Wuhan is not geographically near to India or South Asia.

Interestingly, wiki.d-addicts.com/Crystal_Liu states that her nationality is American. Is she an American Citizen with Voting Rights or a Permanent Resident??

JC

What's up with alternate names?

To save resources (arguably the Earth), I suppose folks should have fewer alternate names (or aliases) as possible. I realize I'm oversimplifying, but fewer alternate names = fewer records = less physical data storage/less paper etc.

Case in point, the many alternate names for actress Crystal Liu Yi Fei:

• Birth Name: An Feng (安风)
• Alternate Names: Liu Yi Fei (刘亦菲 or 劉亦菲), Crystal Liu, Liu Yi-fei, Liu Yifei, Liú Yìfēi, Liu Xi Mei Zi (刘茜美子), Liu Xi Meizi, Liu Ximeizi, Liu Qian Mei Zi, Liu Qian Meizi, Xixi, Qianqian, Ling Er, Xiao Bao Zhi, Baozi, イーフェイ (Japanese translation), Lau Yik Fei (Cantonese translation), Lưu Diệc Phi (Vietnamese translation)
  

And more recently, Liu Ye Fei. Hence, my old beta blog, LIU-YEFEI.COM.

Another case in point, is Shu Qi. Check out her many alternate names at www.shu-qi.mobi.

Hey, I'm just expressing an opinion, hence this is a personal blog. I guess I'm nostalgic for the days when I was updating NataliePortman.Org. It was either Natalie Portman (stage name) or Natalie Hershlag (real name).

JC

(UPDATE: Folks emailed me noting that there was a mistake in the spelling of her name in the US poster below. That's why I noted "alternate name." Alternate names or aliases of individuals are a result of historical typos or spelling errors et al.)



''The Forbidden Kingdom'' US poster.

Please note Crystal Liu Yi Fei 's alternate name ''Liu Yefei'' above and the date ''4.18.08.'' This is the date for the US Theatrical Premiere.

For other worldwide release dates, please check the movie link provided in my first post below.

''The Forbidden Kingdom'' features Jet Li and Jackie Chan besides Crystal Liu Yi Fei.

Click on the links below for more:

''The Forbidden Kingdom'' official site with the Adobe Flash trailer.

QuickTime trailers at apple.com.

JC

Yifei-Liu.com is a blog about actress Crystal Liu Yi Fei (also known as Liu Yifei, Liu YeFei, Christal Liu Yi Fei and Cristal Liu Yi Fei).

She is a major star of ''The Forbidden Kingdom'' movie* which opens on April 18, 2008 in the US (please check local listings) and ''Condor Heroes'' TV series, which I highly recommend. The English subtitled version of ''Condor Heroes'' TV series is available to purchase at amazon.com. Apparently, stocks are running low.

Please visit my other fan site NataliePortman.Org and the sister site/blog NataliePortman.CC which is updated by my very good friend, Cal.

For more pictures, visit asianfanatics' gallery.

Amplification: ''The Forbidden Kingdom'' movie*: click here for International Release Dates.

JC