Chinese President Xi Jinping is on an official visit to France this Monday, May 6. He is accompanied by his wife, popular singer Peng Liyuan.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is on an official visit to France, to Paris this Monday, May 6, and to the Hautes-Pyrénées on May 7. His wife accompanies him on this trip. A woman who counts alongside the all-powerful Chinese leader. Peng Liyuan has a particular profile. The first lady of China is a variety singer. A huge star, practically since she was 18, when she joined the People’s Liberation Army in 1980. After studying and obtaining a master’s degree in traditional ethnic music, she became a singer and soldier.
Within the army, she quickly stood out and was sent to boost the morale of the troops. Her nickname is then: “the Peony Fairy”. She climbs the hierarchy until today she becomes general-brigade leader. Every year, she participates in the New Year TV gala, the most watched show by hundreds of millions of Chinese. Its performances take place on aircraft carriers or tanks. “Probably 90% of his songs praise the Communist Party, and the rest celebrate our wonderful life,” music critic Qi Youyi sarcastically commented to the BBC in 2013. His most famous songs are called “On the Plains of Hope”, “The People of Our Village” or “Mount Everest”. She has made around fifty tours in her career.
In 1987, Xi Jin Ping married a star. He is nine years older than her. Peng Liyuan finally put his career on hold in 2007, after 20 years of marriage, when his husband was tipped for power. She will only sing exceptionally, during the earthquake in Sichuan for example in 2008. She is even ambassador of the World Health Organization (WHO) for tuberculosis and AIDS since 2011. In 2014, she was appointed envoy UNESCO special fund for the advancement of education for girls and women. In 2012, a survey voted her the second favorite personality of the Chinese, ahead of Jackie Chan.
