Fan Bingbing leads Forbes's Chinese top celebs list

Actress Fan Bingbing leads Forbes China's recently released list of China's most luminous celebrities.

Forbes China's annual celebrity list is based on income and appearances in magazines, newspapers, TV shows as well as online. Stars from the Chinese mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong are included in the rankings.

The actress has become a magnet for fashion brands looking for star power in the mainland luxury goods market that is poised to become the world's largest. Louis Vuitton is one such client she's embraced. She made some 110 million yuan last year. This is the first time Fan was put on the list’s top spot.

In the strict terms of earnings, Fan came in second only to Kung Fu star Donnie Yen, who made 115 million yuan last year. The Forbes China Celebrity 100 list ranks the most influential celebrities from the Chinese mainland, and as it takes into account their exposure, the highest earner might not automatically be the most influential celebrity. Yen is only ranked number 18 on the list.

In second position we find Taiwan superstar Jay Chou. He unveiled his 12th studio album, "Opus 12," last December. His new movie "The Rooftop" is in the works, being filmed both in Taiwan and on the Chinese mainland, which he stars in and also directs. He made 104 million yuan last year.

The third is evergreen Hong Kong star Andy Lau who is now in his 50s. The fourth to tenth positions are taken by Jackie Chan, Zhang Ziyi, Eason Chan, Yang Mi, Huang Xiaoming, Jolin Tsai and Lin Chi-ling.

Mo Yan, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature, is featured on the list for the first time, taking up the 16th position. But the real soaring star is Sun Li. Due to her popularity gained from the hit TV series "Legend of Zhen Huan," the actress went from the 96th place to the 22nd on the list. One American TV channel has even bought broadcasting rights of the Chinese drama.

In the athletic field, tennis superstar Li Na was ranked 11th, while Liu Xiang was listed 44th. Sun Yang (#31) and Lin Dan (#42) are on the list for their extraordinary performances at the London Olympics. However, ever since Yao Ming retired in July 2011, he disappeared off the list. Yao topped the list six times since 2004.

Due to the booming success of the Chinese film industry, blockbuster filmmakers Stephen Chow (#24), Ang Lee(#29), Huang Bo(#34), Xu Zheng(#38) and Wang Baoqiang(#98) have all entered the list, especially since the crew of the biggest grossing Chinese film of all time, "Lost in Thailand," consisted of Huang, Xu and Wang. The total income of film industry has grown to 17 billion yuan, a 30.18 percent increase from last year.

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