Zhang Huiwen (, born 13 September 1993) is a Chinese actress. She received widespread media attention after debuting in

Zhang Yimou Zhang Yimou (; born 2 April 1950) is a Chinese film director, producer, writer, actor and former cinematographer.Tasker, Yvonne (2002). "Zhang Yimou" i''Fifty Contemporary Filmmakers'' Routledge Publishing, p. 412. . Google Book Search. Retriev ...

's film '' Coming Home'' (2014), and is also noted for her roles in ''

Nirvana in Fire 2 ''Nirvana in Fire 2'' () is a 2017 Chinese television series starring Huang Xiaoming, Liu Haoran, Tong Liya and Zhang Huiwen. It is the sequel to ''Nirvana in Fire'', which is based on Hai Yan's novel with the same name. The stories take place aft ...

'', '' The Flaming Heart'' and ''

Legend of Fei Legend of Fei (有翡) is a 2020 Chinese historical drama based on Priest's novel ''Bandits (有匪)''. It was directed by Wu Jingyuan and stars Zhao Liying as Zhou Fei and Wang Yibo as Xie Yun. The series tells the growth story of the female w ...

''.

Early life and education

Zhang Huiwen was born on 13 September, 1993 in

Yingtan Yingtan () is a prefecture-level city in the east of Jiangxi province, People's Republic of China, bordering Fujian to the southeast. Its location near the trisection of Jiangxi, Fujian, and Zhejiang has made it a strategically important city for ...

Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. From 2007–2010, she studied at the No.1 Middle School in Yingtan City,

Jiangxi Province Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north into hi ...

. In 2010, Zhang was admitted to

Beijing Dance Academy The Beijing Dance Academy (BDA, ) is a municipal public professional dance college at Haidian, Beijing. The academy is the highest institution for dance education and assessment in the People's Republic of China, conducting the nationwide teache ...

, China's leading dance institution, and graduated in 2014 with a degree in Chinese folk dance.

Career

2013–2016: Beginnings

In March 2013, while a student at the Beijing Dance Academy, Zhang was discovered by renowned film director

, who hand-picked her for the role of "Dan Dan" in '' Coming Home'' due to her excellent dancing skills. Before the official filming, Zhang went to the

National Ballet of China The National Ballet of China (NBC), known in China as the Central Ballet Troupe was founded on 31 December 1959. It is the national ballet company of the People's Republic of China. The ballet company works from the Tianqiao Theater, this was spe ...

to receive special ballet training for two months, and her dance performance was also affirmed by the media. On May 16, 2014, the film '' Coming Home'' was released nationwide. On the first day it was released, it broke the box office record for the first day of a literary film with a record of 30 million yuan. In the end, the film received nearly 300 million yuan in mainland China, breaking the box office record for Chinese domestic literary films on the release day, the speed of breaking 100 million yuan, the total number of days of release, and the total number of box offices. Zhang was highly praised for her performance, and received four Best Newcomer awards at the 9th

Asian Film Awards Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 6th

Macau International Film Festival The Macau International Movie Festival () is an international film festival that takes place in Macau, China. The first festival took place between December 26, 2009 and January 2, 2010. It was organized by mainland Chinese businessman Xu ...

, 22nd

Beijing College Student Film Festival Beijing College Student Film Festival, first held in 1993, is an annual event organized by Beijing Normal University and Beijing Municipal Bureau of Radio, Film and Television. It is held in April or May, and is one of the biggest film festivals i ...

and 9th Chinese Youth Video Forum. Following the success of '' Coming Home'', Zhang ( Yimou girl) frequently appeared in major fashion magazines and fashion events, becoming the new darling of the fashion industry. In 2015, Zhang starred in the coming-of-age youth film '' Forever Young'' by

He Jiong He Jiong (, born 28 April 1974) is a Chinese television host, singer, actor, director and a former Arabic lecturer in Beijing Foreign Studies University. In 2020, he ranked 53rd on ''Forbes'' China Celebrity 100 list. Early life and education ...

in his directorial debut. The film made US$38.5 million in its three-day opening weekend in China, debuting at first place at the Chinese box office and third worldwide behind '' Minions'' and ''

Terminator Genisys ''Terminator Genisys'' is a 2015 American science fiction action film directed by Alan Taylor and written by Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier. Produced by Skydance Productions and distributed by Paramount Pictures, the film is a reboot o ...

''. In 2016, Zhang appeared in the Hong Kong police film ''

Line Walker ''Line Walker'' ( literally "Apostle Walker") is a 2014 Hong Kong crime thriller drama produced by TVB, starring Michael Miu, Charmaine Sheh and Raymond Lam as the main leads, with Sharon Chan, Benz Hui, Elena Kong, Sammy Sum, Oscar Leung and ...

''. The same year, Zhang starred in the youth romance film '' Crying Out in Love'', based on

Kyoichi Katayama is a Japanese author. Biography Katayama was born in the Ehime Prefecture and graduated from Kyushu University. Katayama's first major book was '' Kehai'' (Sign). The book won the Bungakkai Newcomers award. Katayama wrote the book ''Socrates i ...

's 2004 novel ''

Socrates in Love is a 2001 Japanese melodrama novel, written by Kyoichi Katayama and published by Shogakukan, which revolves around narrator Sakutaro Matsumoto's recollections of a school classmate whom he once loved. It is also known as , which author Kat ...

''.

2017–present: Rising popularity

In 2017, Zhang made her small-screen debut in the historical wuxia drama ''

'', the sequel to the critically acclaimed drama ''

Nirvana in Fire ''Nirvana in Fire'' () is a 2015 Chinese historical drama based on Hai Yan's book ''Lang Ya Bang (瑯琊榜)''. It was directed by Kong Sheng and Li Xue, and stars Hu Ge, Liu Tao and Wang Kai as Mei Changsu, Princess Nihuang and Prince Jing. T ...

''. The series earned a

Douban Douban.com (), launched on 6 March 2005, is a Chinese online database and social networking service that allows registered users to record information and create content related to film, books, music, recent events, and activities in Chinese c ...

score of 8.5 from more than 144,766 user reviews, and led to increased recognition for Zhang. In 2019, Zhang starred in the fantasy detective film ''

The Great Detective ''The Great Detective'' is a Television in Canada, Canadian television drama, which aired on CBC Television, CBC from 1979 to 1982. It starred Douglas Campbell (actor), Douglas Campbell and James Dugan. Background ''The Great Detective'' was i ...

'', and was included as one of the 32 actors in the

China Movie Channel China Movie Channel (), the trade name of (), an agency at the Chinese Government's State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television. In mainland China, the agency provides programming to the China Central Television chann ...

Young Actors Project. In 2020, Zhang starred in the wuxia romance drama ''Love a Lifetime'', and gained attention for her supporting role in the wuxia drama ''

''. In 2021, Zhang starred in the comedy film ''Overall Planning'', followed by the commemoration anthology series ''Faith Makes Great''. The same year, Zhang starred in the emergency rescue drama '' The Flaming Heart'', historical slice of life drama ''Marvelous Women'' and detective romance drama ''Heart of Loyalty''.

Social activities

On May 21, 2014, Zhang joined the charity "Dandelion" project at the 67th

Cannes International Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

's media meeting ceremony, signed on the spot to support the "Dandelion" Poor Girl Dream Project, and recorded a video call to call on more people to pay attention to the education of children in poverty.

Filmography

Film

Television series

Short film

Television show

Discography

Other activities

Endorsements

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Huiwen 1993 births Living people 21st-century Chinese actresses Chinese film actresses Chinese television actresses Actresses from Jiangxi Chinese female dancers Beijing Dance Academy alumni Best Newcomer Asian Film Award winners