Following a star's quiet ascent

Actress Liu Haocun's flight was delayed by severe weather. The plane circled above the city before finally touching down at Beijing Capital International Airport around 2 am — hardly an ideal landing time for anyone with a busy day ahead.

Yet, after only a few hours of sleep, Liu was already back on schedule. At 7 am, she was ready to head to a studio in eastern Beijing for a styling shoot tied to a new film.

"She has incredible resilience. Once she sets her mind on a goal, she gives it her all," says one of her team's members who was helping Liu to prepare for her interview with China Daily.

At first glance, Liu gives the impression of being delicately petite. But beneath that quiet, gentle exterior lies a surprising reserve of tenacity.

Luck and skepticism have both shadowed her path to stardom. Six years after her screen debut in Zhang Yimou's One Second — a tear-jerking tale of a father's desperate search for a final image of his late daughter — Liu has grown into one of China's most recognizable young actresses.

Following that film, she appeared in a string of blockbusters, from the cancer-themed A Little Red Flower (2020) to the heartwarming Remember Me (2024) and the suspense thriller Vanishing Point (2026).

But what recently propelled her to a new level of fame is the television drama The Lead, adapted from Chen Yan's Mao Dun Literature Prize-winning novel of the same title.

Set in Shaanxi province in Northwest China, the series spans more than four decades, tracing the rise of Yi Qin'e — a young shepherd from a remote mountain village who eventually becomes a star of Qinqiang Opera, an ancient and influential form of Chinese folk theater that originated in the region.

"As an actress, I feel truly honored to portray a character like Yi. This is also the first time I have taken on a role that spans decades," Liu says.