Li Yugang (; born July 23, 1978) is a Chinese singer, artist, the soloist of China National Opera & Dance Drama Theater and national first class actor.  He specialises in "nándàn" (男旦) roles, which is male who plays female role in Peking opera and is also known for his ability to sing in both male and female voices. Li has released a number of CDs.

Today, the range of Li Yugang's influence extends far beyond the entertainment world, opening up new dialogues among critics of contemporary music, theatre and aesthetics, and has become an icon in China's contemporary cultural scene.
Beyond his professional and international accolades, Li is known as a celebrity in his own hometown, Gongzhuling in Jilin, and is respected for his generous donations and help to local charity organisations, especially in education. 
A very modest man who is aware that he has not had the rigorous training of traditional Peking opera, he is constantly studying and passionately committed to make China's rich cultural heritage accessible both to the young generation and to audiences around the world.

Early life

Li was born into a farming family in Jilin province in 1978.  His parents were too poor to send him to college even though he was accepted by the provincial Art College. He worked in various jobs in Changchun after finishing high school.

Li went to Xi'an to work as a waiter in an entertainment club after he became jobless in Changchun for a full year.  He was fascinated by the singers whom he came across for the first time in his life. Soon, he was allowed to sing a few songs and became a club singer. His breakthrough came when one day a female colleague didn't show up and he had to take her place singing in female voice. "That's how I started with female roles" recalled Li Yugang. His talent to sing both male and female voices impressed the audience. The owner of the establishment hired him full-time and he started to have a proper job. From 1998 to 2006, he began to be trained professionally and to develop his singing and acting in nan dan (male plays female role in Peking Opera).

Career

Early years 
In 2006, Li came to prominence after he came third in the Star Boulevard (), a nationwide talent competition programme on CCTV. His performance in "Farewell My Concubine" () and "The Drunken Beauty" (), both from the famous Peking Opera made him an overnight sensation. He became a highly sought-after performer afterwards.

The following year, Li became an unprecedented success when he gave his first solo performance in Beijing: "Where Flowers are Unbounded" (). In April 2008, Li made a special performance in the "2008 United Nations Spring Cultural Festival" at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. In 2009, he was invited to join the "China National Opera & Dance Drama Theater" and was awarded "National First-Class Actor"(National Treasure). In that same year, Li Yugang was invited to perform at Sydney Opera House in Australia, the second Chinese artist to have done so, and was awarded Southern Cross Gold Prize for Culture by the Australian Government.

Stage 
For stage performance, Li created "Flowers in the Mirror, Moon in the Water" ( in 2010 and "The Painting of Four Beauties" ( in 2011. Together he performed over 100 shows in the country and internationally.  In 2015, Li Yugang directed and starred in his own stage masterpiece "Lady Zhaojun" (, a grand Oriental Poetic Stage production which took him three years in preparation. "Lady Zhaojun" premiered in Beijing on April 16–19, 2015.

On  26 April 2019, a brand-new musical adaptation of  "Lady Zhaojun" premiered at Beijing Tianqiao Art Center, and then launched a global tour in June. As of 8 Dec. 2019, "Lady Zhaojun" has toured 46 performances at home and abroad.

In 2023, "Lady Zhaojun" plans to restart the tour.

Music 
In 2010, Li Yugang released his debut album "The New Drunken Beauty" (, and then released "Dream-chasing Chant" () and "Lotus" (. In 2014, the Rhymoi Music company released Li Yugang's "Once Upon a Time in Shanghai" ( CD album. 

On 10 November 2016, the single "Happened to meet you" () was released for the 10th anniversary of his debut and the self-titled album was released in 2017. "Happened to meet you" stayed on the music charts for 10 weeks, and the music video for the song reached over 100 million views on YouTube. After that, he started the tour of "Li Yugang's 10-year Classic Concert" () on 17 Dec. 2016.

By now(2023), Li Yugang has released nearly a hundred singles, mainly in Chinese style. He has also blended variety styles like R&B,  rap and electronic elements into his music.

Cross-Border 
In addition to being a stage actor and singer, Li Yugang has also branched out into writing, planning and holding cultural gatherings, promotion of ceramic culture, and film director. 

In November 2016, his first literary work "The beauty I met" () which recorded his pilgrimage to China's intangible cultural heritage with words and pictures was published. At the end of 2016, Li 's art space "Jade Space" () was completed in Beijing, extending his love and obsession with traditional culture from stage art to life aesthetics. In May 2021, after the "Jade Space" in Beijing and Suzhou, Li Yugang's porcelain culture-themed art space - "Jade Workshop" () was unveiled in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province.

In 2019, the short film "A Date After Twilight", Li directed and starred, was set as the opening film of the 86358 Short Film Exchange Week hosted by Jia Zhangke Art Center. On 30 March 2023, Li has begun filming his feature directorial debut "Nostalgia in the Cloud" ().

Stage works 

 2010 "Flowers in the Mirror, Moon in the Water" ()
 2011  "The Painting of Four Beauties" ()
 2012 "New Flowers in the Mirror, Moon in the Water" ()
 2019 "Lady Zhaojun" ()

Director's works

Discography

Singles 

(English titles with "*" are from the official.)

Studio albums

EP

Live album of Musical

References

External links

Li Yugang's space on Bilibili

李玉剛全球歌友會 Li Yugang Global Fan Club (Facebook)
CCTV-星播客-男扮女装李玉刚

1978 births
Living people
21st-century Chinese male singers
Singers from Jilin
People from Siping