On Monday, hundreds of locals in ethnic Tujia costumes launched an “official ceremony” to rename the Qiankunzhu mountains, prototypes for “the Hallelujah Mountains,” reports The China Daily.

The peak is 1,074 meters above the sea level and one of more than 3,000 mountains in the Yuanjiajie Scenic Spot- the core area of the World Natural Heritage Wulingyuan Scenic Zone in Zhangjiajie City, Hunan Province.

Hollywood photographers spent four days shooting there in 2008 and the pictures became the prototypes for many elements in “Avatar”, said Song Zhiguang, director of the Yuanjiajie Scenic Spot Administration.

The photos inspired the movie director Cameron to feature the floating “Mt. Hallelujah” in the world of “Pandora,” he said.

Li Ping, an official with the Zhangjiajie branch of the China International Travel Service, revealed that about 25 minutes of “Avatar” were shot in Zhangjiajie, and the “Qiankunzhu mountains” appeared for several times.

“Pandora is far but Zhangjiajie is near. Tourists are welcome to the ‘Miracle tour to Avatar’s floating mountains,” said Song.

~ANI

Organizers of the 2009 show claimed they were unable to locate Yin Youcan and Fang Ziyuan who are dancers.

Authorities in the country put a ban on miming after an embarrassing revelation over the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, reports The BBC.

A nine-year-old girl went on to charm audience worldwide, earning the title of China’s “smiling angel” with a song at the event.

She was later revealed to have lip-synched the track of a seven-year-old singer who was not considered pretty enough to appear, the paper said.

~ANI

The financial strain and stigma Tony had to endure as a result of his father’s absence caused him to become restrained and more of an introvert. As luck would have it, Tony met with the King of Hong Kong comedy and entertainment industry Stephen Chow. Chow inspired Tony to pursue an acting career, partly to help him release his frustrations and fears wihtout the stigma. Today, Tony is a reknowned television and film star who has been a six (6) time award winner at the Hong Kong Film Awards, three (3) time winner at the Golden Horse Film Awards and the winner of “Best Actor” at the Cannes Film Festival (2000) and the Asian Film Awards (2008).

His real big break through on his international scene was his work in Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s 1989 film “A City of Sadness” which won the Venice Golden Lion. Robert De Niro is reportedly an admirer of his work.

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The thirty five year old actor, producer and director graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Architecture from the University of Oregon. As luck would have it, after graduation he headed to Hong Kong for some traveling and while there, also began modeling. One of his work as a model got him noticed by Hong Kong’s famous film director Yon Fan. From there it seemed good fortune continued to find Wu. He was at a restaurant opening in Hong Kong when he met world superstar Jackie Chan. Chan introduced him to Willie Chan (agent at Jackie Chan’s JC Group), Willie Chan signed him on and “the rest,” as they say “is  history!”

Since Wu’s entrance into film, he has acted in more than 40 films including Blood Brothers, Protege, Night Corridor (Producer and actor) and Ming Ming. In 2004 he won the Golden Horse award for “Best Supporting Actor” for his work in “New Police Story,” and in 2005 was the recipient of the Hong Kong Film Awards for “Best New Director” with his debut “The Heavenly Kings.” He is fluent in English, Cantonese, Mandarin and Shanghaiese. He continues to model and also runs a website www.alivenotdead.com, a platform for artists, actors and filmakers.

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Joan Chen studied acting at the Shangai Film Studio in 1975 and by 1977 she made her debut on China’s big screens. Her rise to populatity in China came when she played a deaf mute girl cured by acupuncture in the movie “Little Flower.” Since then, she has starred in numerous roles and won many awards within and outside China including: Golden Horse Awards, Asian Film Awards, AFI Award, Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards, Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award and the Hundred Flowers Awards.

Joan Chen is a graduate of Cal State Northridge with a degree in Film production. She lives in San Francisco with her family.

Known as the Father of Chinese Rock & Roll, Bejing based Korean Cui Jian was born into a musical family, Cui Jian became exposed to Rock & Roll in the early 80s by way of music tapes he listened to that were brought into China by tourists and foreign students.

Taking inspiration from the likes of Bob Dylan, he learned to play the guitar. Soon, he was singing and began performing in public. Cui Jian was preparing to reveal a new kind of music to China, Chinese Rock & Roll! In 1985, he got his premilinary breakthrough when he  made an appearance on a popular Bejing talent show.

In 1986 he released what he considers his first real album, Rock ‘N’ Roll On The New Long March”. The album became the biggest selling album in China’s history and “the rest,” as they say, “is history.”

Visit Cui Jian’s official website for more information.

She is often compared to Britney Spears and is now with Warner Music after her stint with Universal, Sony BMG and Capitol Records. This past Fall 2009, she launched her own clothing label “Seventy Two Changes” during New York Fashion Week in New York.

Visit Jolin Tsai’s official website (in Chinese)
Visit Asia’s finest for more info. about Jolin Tsai