Xi Jinping's second wife was famous before she married the Chinese president: Who is Peng Liyuan?

Under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, China has achieved economic prosperity within the last ten years - but at the same time, the country has also raised eyebrows with its political proximity to Russia and its support during the Ukraine conflict, as the Südwest Presse reports.

However, while Xi Jinping does not enjoy a particularly high celebrity status apart from his role as president, the situation is quite different for his wife. His second wife, Peng Liyuan, is the country's First Lady and was a celebrity in China even before her husband took office.

Early fame

Already at the age of 20, the now 60-year-old Peng Liyuan was discovered as a singer, as the Aargauer Zeitung reports. After joining the Communist Party, she finally had her breakthrough as a singer - in 1983 at the Chinese New Year Festival, which generated the highest viewer numbers worldwide every year with its famous television gala.

Since then, she has thrilled her audience with exquisite performances in extravagant costumes. In addition to singing the praises of the Party and the People's Liberation Army, she has even appeared as a soprano in the musical Mulan.

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Popular with the people

In 1987, Peng Liyuang, who came from a poor background, finally married now-President Xi Jinping. Since then, she has mainly been involved in charitable activities on a voluntary basis - in addition to educational work in the field of tuberculosis and AIDS. She is a special ambassador for the WHO and Unesco. She also campaigns for the right to education for girls and women in China.

With her commitment and her popularity with the people, Peng Liyuang is certainly fulfilling her role as First Lady and, according to the Aargauer Zeitung, is also the first presidential wife of whom the people are really proud. If that's not a stellar career!

This article was translated from Ohmymag DE.

Sources used:

Aargauer Zeitung: 'Staatsbesuch - Die Rote First Lady: In ihrer Heimat ist die Präsidenten-Gattin ein Star'

Südwest Presse: 'Xi Jinping: Ist er der mächtigste Mann der Welt? - Der Präsident von China im Porträit'