Zhao Wei's So Young So Successful In China

Zhao Wei's So Young is a phenomenal success already in China.

Leading Chinese actress Zhao Wei's feature film debut So Young has proven a huge box office success in China, taking 350 million yuan ($56 million) in its first week.

Its nostalgic theme - a love story set in the 1980s and 1990s - has connected in a big way with Chinese audiences. Hopefully the movie - based on the best selling Chinese novel, To Our Eventual Lost Youth, by Xin Yi Wu - can expand its success internationally.

Zhao Wei is a megastar in her native China. Also known as Vicki (or Vicky) Zhao, she has built a formidable reputation as an actress, pop singer and now director.

She is one of the "Four Dan actresses" in China (四大花旦), along with Xu Jinglei, Zhang Ziyi (best know internationally for Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and Zhou Xun.

(Dan originally referred to female roles in Chinese opera - but, aside from their box office power, you could label these four actresses a kind of female Chinese "brat pack"!)

To read more about So Young's success, please check out this article: Box Office Smash: So Young, So Successful at China.org.cn.

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