Li Yapeng (; born September 27, 1971) is a Chinese actor-turned-businessman. He is known for his roles in the TV drama ''Eternal Moment'' (1998) and in two

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signa ...

television adaptations of

Louis Cha Louis Cha Leung-yung (; 10 March 1924 – 30 October 2018), better known by his pen name Jin Yong (), was a Hong Kong wuxia novelist and co-founder of ''Ming Pao.'' Cha authored 15 novels between 1955 and 1972 and became one of the most popul ...

's ''

wuxia ( , literally "martial arts and chivalry") is a genre of Chinese literature, Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although is traditionally a form of historical fantasy literature, its popularity ha ...

'' novels, as Linghu Chong in ''

Laughing in the Wind ''Laughing in the Wind'' is a 2001 Chinese television series produced by Zhang Jizhong, starring Li Yapeng and Xu Qing in the leading roles. The series is an adaptation of Louis Cha's novel '' The Smiling, Proud Wanderer''. It was first broadcas ...

'' (2000) and as

Guo Jing Guo Jing is the fictional protagonist of the wuxia novel ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' by Jin Yong. He also appears as a supporting character in the sequel, ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'', and is mentioned by name in ''The Heaven Sw ...

in ''

The Legend of the Condor Heroes ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' () is a wuxia novel by Chinese writer Jin Yong (Louis Cha). It is the first part of the ''Condor Trilogy'' and is followed by ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' and ''The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber''. I ...

'' (2003). Li announced his retirement from acting in 2010.

Early life

In 1971, Li Yapeng was born in Shuimogou District,

Ürümqi Ürümqi, , is the capital of the Xinjiang, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Northwestern China. With a census population of 4 million in 2020, Ürümqi is the second-largest city in China's northwestern interior after Xi'an, also the ...

Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...

. He has an elder brother, Li Yawei, who is 2 years older than him and is his business partner. Li went to Ürümqi Bayi High School, Xinjiang and Hefei No. 8 High School, Anhui. In 1990, Li entered the

Central Academy of Drama The Central Academy of Drama () is a national public drama school in Beijing, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education (China), Ministry of Education. The academy is part of the Double First-Class Construction. Information The sch ...

Career

Acting

Li gained fame for his role in TV series ''Eternal Moment'' (1998), which established him as a romantic leading man. He is also known for his roles in ''wuxia'' dramas, such as ''Laughing in the Wind'' (2001) and ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' (2003). After the film ''Eternal Moment'' (2011), a sequel to his breakout TV series of the same name, he announced his retirement from acting, but occasionally appeared in variety and reality shows. Since 2021, Li has been a live streamer on

Douyin TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

, as part of his effort to pay off the debts.

Business

Li's investments cover film and television production, travel, publishing, catering, IT industry, real estate, etc. In May 2011, Li went into the

Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business The Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB) is a privately-owned graduate school of business located in Beijing, China., CKGSB on the Li Ka Shing Foundation Webpage. The school was established in November 2002 through the financial supp ...

for EMBA courses. Since 2015, Li has been struggling with a 40 million yuan ($5.5 million) debt stemming from real estate investments.

Personal life

Li's high school sweetheart is Liu Yan, with whom he went to the interview of the

and both were admitted. They broke up in the freshman year. Liu dropped out and tested into the University of International Business and Economics to study accounting. She quit acting after her only film ''Yesterday's Wine'' (1995). After becoming an actor, Li had relationships with host Ke Lan, model Qu Ying, and actress

Zhou Xun Zhou Xun ( zh, s=周迅, born 18 October 1974) is a Chinese actress and singer. Zhou rose to prominence with the film '' Suzhou River'' (2000), followed by films such as '' Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress'' (2002), '' Perhaps Love'' (2005 ...

, respectively, before he married singer

Faye Wong Faye Wong ( zh, 王菲; pinyin: ''Wáng Fēi''; born 8 August 1969) is a Chinese singer-songwriter and actress. Early in her career, she briefly used the stage name Shirley Wong (). Born in Beijing, she moved to British Hong Kong at the age o ...

in 2005. In May 2006, their daughter Li Yan aka Lyla (李嫣) was born with a

cleft lip A cleft lip contains an opening in the upper lip that may extend into the nose. The opening may be on one side, both sides, or in the middle. A cleft palate occurs when the palate (the roof of the mouth) contains an opening into the nasal cavi ...

. In November 2006, the couple established a charity, the Smile Angel Foundation, to give assistance to other children with the condition. On September 13, 2013, Li and Wong announced their divorce. In 2022, Li married former beauty queen Haiha Jinxi (海哈金喜). They have a daughter, Li Xia (李夏).

Filmography

*''The Singer'' (1997) *''

'' (2001) *''Beach'' (2003) *''

'' (2003) *''

The Royal Swordsmen ''The Royal Swordsmen'' () is a Chinese ''wuxia'' television series directed by Deng Yancheng and Wei Liyuan, starring Roger Kwok, Li Yapeng, Wallace Huo, Michelle Ye, Damian Lau, Tammy Chen, Gao Yuanyuan and Eva Huang. It was first shown on Sh ...

'' (2005) *'' Eternal Moment'' (2011)

References

* * * * * *

External links

*
Smileangel Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Yapeng 1971 births Chinese male television actors Chinese male film actors Male actors from Xinjiang Faye Wong Living people Chinese Buddhists 21st-century Buddhists 20th-century Chinese male actors 21st-century Chinese male actors People from Ürümqi Central Academy of Drama alumni