Xu Jinglei rose to fame in China with the television seriesA Sentimental Story, where she played a policewoman who falls for a gangster. Thereafter, she starred in romance film Spicy Love Soup, where she won the Society Award at the Golden Phoenix Awards for her performance. In 1998, Xu and actor Li Yapeng paired up in Cherish Our Love Forever, a story based off the life and love between a group of young college students. The television series struck a chord with young audiences and became a massive hit in China, where Xu and Li were hailed as the "Nation's Couple". The two would later pair up again for the film sequel Eternal Moment, set ten years after the drama. Xu solidified her success in 2002 with the films Spring Subway and I Love You, both popular hits in China and particularly with younger audiences. Along with Zhang Ziyi, Zhou Xun and Zhao Wei, Xu was hailed as one of the Four Dan Actresses in China. Xu won the Huabiao Award for Outstanding New Actress for her performance in I Love You and the Hundred Flowers Award for Best Actress for Spring Subway. The same year, she won the Golden Rooster Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Far from Home. In 2006, Xu starred alongside Takeshi Kaneshiro, Tony Leung and Shu Qi in the crime dramaConfession of Pain. She received her first acting award in Hong Kong; the year's Most Attractive Actress at the Hong Kong Society of Cinematographers Awards. Xu was then cast as the female lead in the war epic, The Warlords by Peter Chan. After an extended hiatus from acting, Xu made a comeback in the science fiction thriller Battle of Memories.
Directing career
Xu made her directorial debut with the film My Father and I, where she also starred as the lead actress. The film, which tackled the delicate relationship between a Chinese father and his daughter, received widespread critical acclaim and won her a Golden Rooster for Best Directing Debut. Her second directorial work, Letter from an Unknown Woman was a romantic story based on the classic novel of Stefan Zweig, and won her the Silver Shell for Best Director at the San Sebastian International Film Festival in Spain. After two successful art-house films, Xu had a shot in innovative film making in Dreams Come True, an experimental film shot in one setting. However unlike her previous two films, Dreams Come True was panned by critics. Xu became the first female director in China whose films gross more than 100 million yuan, for her 2010 film Go Lala Go!. The film, adapted from Li Ke's bestseller of the same name which is about a young woman's growth in society, is Xu's first attempt at commercial production. Xu continued to direct romantic features Dear Enemy and Somewhere Only We Know, which were moderately successful at the box office. Deviating from her former productions which mainly focuses on romance and family, Xu returned with action cop thriller The Missing in 2017. She also announced that she would be producing an alien-themed online comedy series based on the popular online novel "My 200-Million-Year-Old Classmate".
Other activities
Xu is popular in China, and in mid-2006, her Chinese-language blog had the most incoming links of any blog in any language on the Internet, according to blog search engine Technorati. In 2006, Xu founded her own production company, Kaila Pictures Corporation. She uses the same name for her monthly digital magazine, which was first launched in April 2007. In 2010, she launched her first jewelry line which was sold on online stores. Xu also launched an education and film fund with 200,000 yuan to support braille publications, education for the children of migrant workers, and filming. In 2008, Xu was awarded the honorary title of "China Environmental Ambassador" at an awarding ceremony cosponsored by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the United Nations Development Program on World Earth Day.
