Tao Hong (; born 15 January 1972) is a Chinese actress and former synchronised swimmer. A

National Games of China The National Games of the People's Republic of China (), sometimes known as the All China Games (though not to be confused with the All-China Games), is the premier sports event in China at national level. It is usually held once every four year ...

champion, Tao was part of the Chinese national team at several synchronised swimming competitions from 1987 to 1991, including the

1991 World Aquatics Championships The 1991 World Aquatics Championships took place at the Claremont Superdrome in Perth, Western Australia from 3 to 13 January 1991 with 1142 participating athletes. Medal table Medal summary Diving ;Men ;Women Open water swimming ;M ...

. As an actress, Tao has received wide acclaim for films like ''

Colors of the Blind ''Colors of the Blind'' is a 1997 Chinese drama film directed and co-produced by Chen Guoxing, starring Tao Hong as a blind girl training to become a competitive sprinter. The script was written by Wan Fang. At the time of filming, Tao Hong was ...

'' (1997) and ''

Forgetting to Know You ''Forgetting to Know You'' () is a 2013 Chinese drama film written and directed by Quan Ling. It was Quan's directorial debut. The film debuted at the 2013 63rd Berlin International Film Festival, but was not released domestically until August 29, ...

'' (2013), though she is better known for hit TV dramas like '' Sunny Piggy'' (2000), ''Nothing in the Mirror'' (2002), ''Chuncao'' (2007) and ''The Red'' (2014). Internationally, Tao is probably best known for her small role in the Academy Award-winning film ''

The Red Violin ''The Red Violin'' (french: Le Violon Rouge) is a 1998 drama film directed by François Girard and starring Samuel L. Jackson, Carlo Cecchi and Sylvia Chang. It spans four centuries and five countries as it tells the story of a mysterious red-col ...

'' (1998).

Athletic career

Tao Hong began practicing with the Beijing Synchronized Swimming Team in 1983 when she was 11. In 1984, she officially made the team. She made the national team for the first time in 1987. At the

, China finished 6th, which would remain China's best finish at the event until 2007. Although a member of the national team, Tao missed both the 1988 and the 1992 Olympics, since she was slightly weaker than her teammates

Tan Min Tan Min (; born 25 August 1972) is a former synchronized swimmer from China. She competed in both the 1988 and 1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), ...

Guan Zewen Guan Zewen (, born 11 November 1971) is a former synchronized swimmer from China. She competed in both the women's solo and the women's duet competitions at the . References 1971 births Living people Chinese synchronized swimmers Oly ...

, and

Wang Xiaojie Wang Xiaojie (王孝傑) (died February 8, 697), formally the Duke of Geng (耿國公), was a Chinese military general and politician of the Chinese Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, serving in campaigns against Tibet, Eastern Turks, an ...

at solo and duet competitions, and team competition did not become an Olympic event until 1996 after she retired to pursue acting.

Notable National Competitions

International Competitions

Acting career

In August 1993,

Jiang Wen Jiang Wen (born 5 January 1963) is a Chinese actor, screenwriter, and director. As a director, he is sometimes grouped with the "Sixth Generation" that emerged in the 1990s. Jiang is also well known internationally as an actor, having starred wit ...

, who had been preparing for his directorial debut ''

In the Heat of the Sun ''In the Heat of the Sun'' is a 1994 Chinese film directed and written by Jiang Wen. The film is based loosely on author Wang Shuo's novel '' Wild Beast''. Jiang Wen, known as one of China’s best actors and seen in numerous films such as ''Red ...

'', went to the Beijing Synchronized Swimming Team looking for a good swimmer for his female lead. Even though Tao did not remotely fit the physical description of the role, Jiang liked her smile so much that he invited her to his set for a supporting role. The film was a big hit, and at the suggestion of Jiang, she retired from the Beijing club and applied to 3 professional acting schools:

Central Academy of Drama The Central Academy of Drama (), abbreviated Zhong Xi (), is a drama school in Beijing, China. It is a Chinese state Double First Class University Plan university identified by the Ministry of Education of China. The school is the first theatre ...

Beijing Film Academy Beijing Film Academy (BFA; ) is a coeducational state-run higher education institution in Beijing, China. The film school is the largest institution specializing in the tertiary education for film and television production in Asia. The academy h ...

and

Shanghai Theatre Academy Shanghai Theatre Academy () is a public university in Shanghai, People's Republic of China dedicated to dramatic art education. Its predecessor was Shanghai Municipal Experimental Theatre School cofounded by the famous educator Gu Yuxiu (:zh:顾 ...

, all highly prestigious and selective. She was accepted to all 3 and chose Central Academy of Drama. She was the class president and became the first student in school history (along with classmate

Duan Yihong Duan Yihong (; born May 16, 1973) is a Chinese actor best known for his role as Yuan Lang in '' Soldiers Sortie'' (2006), Long Wenzhang in '' My Chief and My Regiment'' (2009), and Hei Wa in '' White Deer Plain'' (2011). Biography Duan Yihon ...

) to receive a perfect grade. In 2015, she participated in the making of a music video of

The Hopes of President Xi "The Hopes of President Xi", also known as "To Be an Upright Man for a Lifetime", is a song written by Chinese leader Xi Jinping and composed by Yanhui Jiang (). The song is sung by detainees in the Xinjiang internment camps The Xinj ...

Filmography

Films

Television

Acting Awards and Nominations

Personal life

Tao Hong married actor Xu Zheng in 2002. They first met and became friends in 1999 while co-starring in the wacky romance TV series '' Sunny Piggy''. They have portrayed a married couple in 2 films, ''Unfinished Girl'' (2007) and Xu's directorial debut ''

Lost in Thailand ''Lost in Thailand'' is a 2012 Chinese comedy film directed and co-written by Xu Zheng and starring Xu Zheng, Wang Baoqiang, and Huang Bo. The film is about three Chinese men traveling in Thailand: two competing scientists searching for their boss ...

'' (2012). They have also collaborated in the 2002 TV series '' Sky Lovers'' (Segment 5, "Sun Tanning") and 2 films in which they did not appear in the same scene: '' No Lonely Angels'' (2002) and ''

No Man's Land No man's land is waste or unowned land or an uninhabited or desolate area that may be under dispute between parties who leave it unoccupied out of fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dump ...

'' (2013). In 2005, they starred in the Chinese adaptation of the Broadway comedy ''

Last of the Red Hot Lovers ''Last of the Red Hot Lovers'' is a comedy by Neil Simon. It premiered on Broadway in 1969. Production The play opened on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on December 28, 1969, and closed on September 4, 1971, after 706 performances and si ...

'', with Xu playing the would-be adulterer and Tao playing all 3 seductresses. First staged in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, the play caused a sensation, and the couple subsequently performed the play over 30 times in 10 major cities like

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

Xi'an Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by #Name, other names, is the list of capitals in China, capital of Shaanxi, Shaanxi Province. A Sub-provincial division#Sub-provincial municipalities, sub-provincial city o ...

Zhengzhou Zhengzhou (; ), also spelt Zheng Zhou and alternatively romanized as Chengchow, is the capital and largest city of Henan Province in the central part of the People's Republic of China. Located in north-central Henan, it is one of the National ...

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...

, and

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...

, receiving overwhelming support everywhere that they canceled their holiday travel plans for more performances. At each city they performed some jokes in the local dialect. Their daughter was born on 30 December 2008 in Beijing.

Notes

External links

*
Tao Hong
on

Sina Weibo Sina Weibo (新浪微博) is a Chinese microblogging ( weibo) website. Launched by Sina Corporation on 14 August 2009, it is one of the biggest social media platforms in China, with over 582 million monthly active users (252 million daily acti ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tao, Hong 1972 births Living people Actresses from Wuxi 20th-century Chinese actresses 21st-century Chinese actresses Chinese synchronized swimmers Sportspeople from Wuxi Chinese stage actresses Central Academy of Drama alumni Chinese film actresses Chinese television actresses Chinese voice actresses Synchronized swimmers from Jiangsu Synchronized swimmers at the 1991 World Aquatics Championships