If you're like many laowai in China (myself included), you may struggle to name any more than a handful of Chinese celebrities. And yet, Twitter's most followed stars (Katy Perry and Justin Beiber) wouldn't even crack the top 3 of this list when compared to followers on Weibo.
So if you're going to get flabbergasted every time a Chinese friend doesn't recognize Bob Marley, you might as well familiarize yourself with some local stars. We figure matching them to their closest western counterparts will make things a good deal easier. So here we go.
Chen Kun | Ryan Gosling
There's more to this comparison than being two of the most handsome hunks in the acting world. Both children of divorce raised by their mothers, Chen Kun and Ryan Gosling showed talent at a young age - Chen sang in nightclubs while Gosling sang at weddings and in various appearances on the Disney Channel. While they both still perform as musicians, Chen and Gosling have achieved far more recognition as top-notch actors and heartthrobs.
Bonus tidbit: Chen has also been called "the #1 cosplayer in China".
Fan Bingbing | Jessica Alba
You might recognize Fan Bingbing from her minor role in X-Men: Days of Future Past. Both Fan and Jessica Alba gained fame in TV roles at a young age (Fan Bingbing in My Fair Princess and Jessica Alba in Dark Angel) before moving into films. Though they each have had successful acting careers, neither is considered a super talented actress. But what they lack in acting chops, they more than make up for in other departments - both are fashion icons, active philanthropists, and savvy businesswomen (Alba co-founded The Honest Company while Fan launched Heart Ali and Fan Bingbing Studio). Unsurprisingly, you'll find both Fan and Alba on Forbes' lists of powerful celebrities.
Liu Ye | Jake Gyllenhaal
Actors Liu Ye and Jake Gyllenhaal can both be applauded for their ability (and preference, really) to take on varied and challenging roles in films. Each has played characters ranging from melancholic introverts to manly Casanovas, and plenty inbetween. But what really made us jump to this comparison is that both Ye and Gyllenhaal made waves when they starred as homosexual men - Gyllenhaal in Brokeback Mountain and Ye in Lan Yu, for which he won Best Actor at the Golden Horse Awards.
Bonus tidbit: In preparation for their roles as homosexual lovers, Liu Ye and his co-star, Hu Jun, spent 48 hours locked in a room together. Then, for twelve years following the film's release, the two intentionally avoided all contact with each other. Oh my!
Vicki Zhao | Jennifer Aniston
Like most of China's big celebs, Vicki Zhao has seen success as both actress and pop singer. Like Jennifer Aniston with Friends, Zhao rose to stardom as a lead in a mega-popular TV show (My Fair Princess). The two women also went on to act in films, serve as ambassadors for top brands, and even direct their own projects (Zhao's directorial debut, So Young, was a box office hit, while Aniston has directed several short films).
Another thing these women have in common, despite being well-liked for most of their careers, is that they've also faced public controversy - Zhao when she was photographed in a dress bearing a wartime Japanese flag, and Aniston when she appeared in the so-called "snobbiest ad ever" for United Arab Emirates.
He Jiong | Jimmy Fallon
Happy Camp is a weekly Chinese TV variety show that regularly features Chinese celebrities and musical performances - much like Fallon's Tonight Show. The show, hosted by He Jiong (also an established singer and professor of Arabic), has been one of China's most popular TV shows for the past decade. Both Jimmy Fallon and He Jiong have seen massive success rubbing elbows with other celebs while appealing to young adults.
Yao Chen | Angelina Jolie
On the surface, both of these stars are often identified by the same physical attribute: their voluptuous lips. But that's just one of a number of traits Yao Chen and Angelina Jolie share. Both are among the highest-paid and praised actresses, both married and divorced famous actors (Yao once, Jolie twice), both are actively involved in world events and humanitarian work, and both made Forbes' list of the 100 most powerful celebrities in the world.
Bonus tidbit: Yao Chen is the most followed celebrity on Weibo, with over 78 million followers!
Jay Chou | Justin Timberlake
Both Jay's and Justin's resumés include singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor, and they've seen massive success on all fronts. Jay Chou has the added notch of director, after directing his own music videos and two feature films. With numerous talents, massive fanbases, boatloads of endorsement deals, and relatively clean public images, it's no surprise both Jay and Justin have achieved international stardom.
Luo Yufeng | Paris Hilton
This one's a bit of a stretch, but bear with me. Luo Yufeng, often referred to as "Sister Feng" or "Sister Phoenix", became a controversial Internet celebrity in China after passing out flyers in 2009 seeking a boyfriend who was required to meet excessive requirements. For example, he "must be an elite with a degree in economics or similar from Peking University or Tsinghua University" and "must also be 176 to 183 centimeters tall and good looking." Meanwhile, Sister Feng described herself as the brightest human being in the past three centuries, and added that she would remain the smartest person for the next 300 years.
So how does Luo Yufeng compare to Paris Hilton? The way we see it, they both fall under the category of controversial celebrity with comical relationship escapades who beg the question: How the hell did this person become famous?
Qian Zhijun | Chris Farley
You might recognize Qian Zhijun from 2003's "Little Fatty" internet meme, in which his face was superimposed in a variety of movie posters and photographs. Qian, then an unknown, was humiliated at first, but later embraced his fame and went on to appear in TV, film, advertisements for companies like Apple and Pepsi, and hosting his own cooking show. While less of a comedic legend as Chris Farley was in his over-too-soon career, it is nice to see another unconventional big boy star on this side of the world.
Furong Jiejie | Snooki
We round off our list with China's version of Snooki: Shi Hengxia, commonly known as Furong Jiejie ("Sister Lotus"). Furong Jiejie became an Internet phenomenon in 2005 when she posted on Internet bulletin boards about her struggle to get into a top university. Soon after she had an audience, she began making more controversial posts, talking openly about sex and her desire for a boyfriend. She sprinkled plenty of narcissism throughout, claiming to be an expert dancer with her signature pose "the S-figure", a provocative bent-forward chest thrust. To her credit, she did score some dancing apperances on TV.
Like Snooki and her TV/tabloid shenanigans, Furong Jiejie often led people to wonder, "Is she funny simply because she doesn't know she is?"
What do you think of our celebrity comparisons? Did we miss a golden opportunity to compare two other stars? Let us know in the comments!
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