Who is Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan? Who is Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan? Who is Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan? And why should we care? Post to Facebook Who is Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan? Who is Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan? And why should we care? Check out this story on USATODAY.com: CancelSend A link has been sent to your friend's email address. Posted! A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. 8 To find out more about Facebook commenting please read the Conversation Guidelines and FAQs Who is Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan? Maria Puente, USA TODAY 7:05 p.m. EDT June 6, 2013 She's making a splash on the global stage. Why should we care? Mexican first lady Angelica Rivera with Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan in Mexico on June 4.

(Photo: Yuri Cortez, AFP/Getty Images) Story Highlights Some observers compare her to first lady Michelle Obama An ex-Chinese opera and folk singer, she's more famous than her husband in China 'Time' magazine ime calls her an "icon" on its list of the 100 most influential people in the world The eyes of the world will be on President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping as they meet in California this weekend, but fashion types and celebrity watchers will be looking for any sign of Xi's celeb-in-the-making wife, Peng Liyuan. An ex-Chinese opera and folk singer who's more famous than her husband in China, she has been compared to first lady Michelle Obama and ex-French first lady Carla Bruni, hailed at home and abroad as attractive, stylish and a humanizing face for the new China. She is virtually unknown in the West until now, after a score of high-profile appearances with her husband in three Latin American countries on their current overseas tour. But she might not be so visible in America, their last stop: The couple will be tucked away at Sunnylands, the estate of the late Reader's Digest publisher (and President Reagan's BFF) Walter Annenberg in the Republican precincts of Palm Springs.

And she won't be meeting with Michelle Obama. (Photo: Randal Campos, AFP/Getty Images) Peng arrives here with advance notices as a genuine "celebrity." Fashion editors scrutinized her wardrobe (dark, well-cut trench coat and Tod's look–alike handbag) on the couple's first trip abroad, to Moscow in March. Forbes put her on its list of the World's Most Powerful Women; Time called her an "icon" on its list of the 100 most influential people in the world. It's no accident that the World Health Organization appointed her a goodwill ambassador for HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis in 2011. Before her husband's rise to power, Peng rose to prominence from singing soldier (she was a soprano, attaining the rank of major general in the People's Liberation Army's arts troupe), to the colorfully gowned star for 24 years of the annual Lunar New Year gala on Chinese state television. She married Xi in 1987 after they were introduced by friends.

Those who compare Liyan to Michelle Obama say the two share a fashion sensibility, they're about the same age (Obama is 49, Peng is 50), they're both attractive, and both are moms (Peng's daughter is a student at Harvard). Obama also regularly makes the endless magazine lists of powerful, influential or fashionable people. Mrs. O's fashion power is so intense, she often moves product with her choices. Peng's fashion is remarkable in that it's not the drab, uniform-style duds worn by her dour predecessors. Already, her favorite Chinese brand, Exception (maker of the stylish trench coat in Moscow), is seeing stronger sales at home because of her. Still, an American first lady is one of the most famous people in the world, no matter who she is. Before Peng, Chinese first ladies were rarely seen or heard from — ever. That is what makes Peng a standout. In any case, there won't be any way to compare the two side by side. Mrs. Obama is not going to California, opting to stay home with her two daughters, who are finishing the school year this week.

(Photo: Alexander Nemenov, AFP/Getty Images) Perhaps the more apt comparison for Peng is to the late Raisa Gorbachev, wife of former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Chic, smart and self-possessed, she was one of Gorbachev's chief assets in helping to soften the impression of the Soviet Union in the West just before the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. So it is with Peng, who has wowed Latin America on the couple's first trip to the West. They've already visited Trinidad and Tobago (where she stole the spotlight with an impromptu solo on steel drums), Costa Rica (where she was pictured cuddling cute kids) and Mexico (where Peng wore a pair of nude, patent, platform pumps just like Kate Middleton's). Chinese media can't get enough about her; she has gotten more coverage than the official speeches and meetings or the photo grip-and-grins by the men. "First lady's radiance delights world and boosts soft power," crowed the headline in state-owned Global Times , an English-language paper in China, during the couple's first overseas trip in March.

A more sober assessment comes from Rachel Vogelstein , a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, writing on one of its blogs. "It remains to be seen whether the spotlight Peng Liyuan has commanded will help humanize China in the eyes of the world," she wrote. "One thing, however, appears certain: As China's influence continues to grow, all eyes will be on its dynamic first lady." 49 CONNECT TWEET 1 LINKEDIN 8 COMMENTEMAILMORE Read or Share this story: NEVER MISS OUT Life Be a pop culture maven. Get the news, reviews and the juiciest celebrity stories that keep you in the know, Monday-Friday. Who is Peng Liyuan? China's First Lady Famous For Singing Attends US Visit With Husband Xi Jinping [VIDEO] Who is Peng Liyuan? China's First Lady Famous For Singing Attends US Visit With Husband Xi Jinping [VIDEO] 09/22/15 AT 9:10 AM Close Chinese President Xi Jinping was scheduled to arrive in Washington later this week to embark on what was widely expected to be a tense visit at the White House. At his side will be China's famous first lady, Peng Liyuan.

Peng, 52, is a former star singer regarded as a softening force for her husband, a trait that could come in handy during a visit in which the world leaders will wade through tensions of past accusations concerning cyberspying, military aggression and human rights violations. Peng met Jingping, then deputy mayor of Xiamen City in China's southern Fujian province, in 1986 and after months of dating the two married in September 1987. Before Jinping's ascent to power in 2013, Peng was already famous. She appeared for decades on state-run television, singing ballads often complimenting the Communist party. The soprano's past hits included tracks titled "People from Our Village" and "On the Plains of Hope," according to CNN . Since ascending onto the international stage during trips abroad, Peng has brought along a personality that has allowed her to take on a more visible role than past Chinese first ladies. Peng Liyuan, the wife of China's President Xi Jinping, is pictured during their visit to the China-Belarus industrial park "Great stone" near the village of Bykachino, east of Minsk, May 12, 2015.

Photo: Reuters "The image of the Communist Party used to be very dull and the leaders behaved like robots as a part of the state machine with no personal charm at all," said Li Yinhe, a sociologist at Beijing-based think-tank the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences to the BBC in 2013, not long after Jinping became president. "Peng Liyuan is expected to bring something different to the leadership." Russia's President Vladimir Putin (front, right), China's President Xi Jinping (front, left), his wife Peng Liyuan (2nd row, left), and China's Premier Li Keqiang (2nd row), arrive for a gala show to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two, in Beijing, China, Sept. 3, 2015. Photo: Reuters Liyuan's public persona has not disappointed in providing a spark of personality to China's image abroad. The high-profile spouse, widely regarded as the most visible since since Jiang Qing, the late wife of revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, has played a significant role in diplomacy.

"China has conveyed kindness and goodwill to the world through the first lady's public diplomacy," and Peng has "enchanted local and foreign media," according to a research from research by Renmin University of China, via CNBC . Peng has drawn comparisons to her Western counterparts, U.S. first lady Michelle Obama and French first lady Carla Bruni. Peng has been seen as similar to Obama especially for "sense of style, prominence on the global stage, and commitment to their nation's health and education," according to Forbes . The magazine reported that Peng, a former fixture on magazine covers, has eased a lavish lifestyle, instead focusing on activism around women's education, tobacco use and HIV. Xinjing and Peng were expected to arrive in Washington Thursday for the visit with President Barack Obama. With relations between the United States and China tense over disputes in the South China Sea and accusations of hacking, a planned dinner between leaders Xinjing and Obama could likely stand a dose of Peng's personality.

Related Stories Peng Liyuan: Folk singer who became China’s first lady - BBC News BBC News Peng Liyuan: Folk singer who became China’s first lady 5 June 2013 Close share panel Image caption Ms Peng is China's first high-profile first lady since the late wife of Mao Zedong Peng Liyuan is getting into her stride as China's new first lady, more than two months after her husband Xi Jinping became the country's president. Before her husband's accession to power, Peng Liyuan was already famous as one of the China's star singers, For decades, she appeared on China's state-run television programmes, singing syrupy sweet folk tunes extolling the wonders of China's rise. But as the country's first lady, she has now become a focal point for the Western media on the couple's trips abroad and may be China's secret weapon for wooing the West. Ms Peng is China's first high-profile political spouse at the top level since Jiang Qing, the late wife of Chairman Mao Zedong. In contrast, the women married to previous Chinese leaders, from Deng Xiaoping to outgoing leader Hu Jintao, stayed largely behind the scenes.

Overseas, Ms Peng has been compared to former French first lady Carla Bruni. 'The Peony Fairy' The celebrity wife A well-known Chinese folk singer and actress, Peng Liyuan regularly appears on Chinese state TV's New Year Gala - the most watched TV programme of the year She was one of 23 people to receive the first Chinese Arts awards and a 1m yuan ($159,800, £100,000) prize in December 2011 Appointed World Health Organisation Goodwill Ambassador for HIV/Aids and tuberculosis in June 2011 She is a major-general in the People's Liberation Army The hope was when Xi Jinping became president that Peng Liyuan's celebrity status would make the secretive Communist leadership appear more accessible, observers said at the time. "The image of the Communist Party used to be very dull and the leaders behaved like robots as a part of the state machine with no personal charm at all," said Li Yinhe, a sociologist at the Beijing-based think-tank the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

"Peng Liyuan is expected to bring something different to the leadership." Inside China, the simplest questions about Ms Peng's musical career elicit vague answers from those in the Chinese music industry. "It's hard to comment on her music, given the complication of her current situation," admits He Li, director of the China Folk Song Music Board. "We don't want to comment on her too much. If you say she's the best, others will gossip. If you say she's not good, some may object. It's hard to say anything." Nicknamed "The Peony Fairy", Peng Liyuan joined the Chinese People's Liberation Army early in her career and made her name as an entertainer approved by the Communist Party, appearing frequently on state television to sing propaganda songs with titles like Plains of Hope and People From Our Village. "Probably 90% of her songs are complimenting the Communist Party, and the rest celebrates our wonderful life," explains music critic Qi Youyi, with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. 'Cultural warrior' Now Ms Peng only appears on stage occasionally, for large performance gala shows on state television.

Though her name remains well-recognised, her music is mostly appreciated by people over the age of 40, says He Li. "People who like her songs are mostly born in an era when there was little variety of art forms and broadcasting channels, only radio probably," she said. Image caption Peng Liyuan was already famous when she met Xi Jinping in 1986 "There was not much entertainment then. If you played it today, not as many people would like it." Peng Liyuan did not always enjoy a rosy relationship with the Communist Party. Like Xi Jinping, her family was persecuted during the Cultural Revolution. In an interview with Chinese television in 2004, Ms Peng said her father was categorised as a "counter-revolutionary" because some of their relatives served in the Taiwanese army. Those hardships did not prevent her early entry at the young age of 14 to the Shandong University of Arts as a vocational training student specialising in Chinese folk songs. Peng Liyuan then joined the People's Liberation Army in 1980 to work as a so-called "arts and cultural warrior".

The soprano's performance in the debut New Year's Gala on China Central Television (CCTV) in 1983 made her a national celebrity. Over the years, she followed the company to perform overseas in New York, Tokyo and Vienna. Future role When Peng Liyuan met Xi Jinping in 1986, she was already a famous singer while he was the deputy mayor of Xiamen City in southern Fujian province and a divorcee. After just months of dating, they married in September 1987. Their daughter, Xi Mingze, was born in 1992. Image caption Ms Peng may also be enjoying her time living in her official Zhongnanhai residence Many now question what kind of role Peng Liyuan might be allowed to play in the Chinese government. She has scaled back her singing career, appearing less often on state-run television. "She only shows up on very big-scale political performances and she won't sing new songs," He Li said. Ms Peng might do more charity work. She already serves as a goodwill ambassador for the World Health Organisation, spreading awareness on tuberculosis and HIV/Aids. She is also an ambassador for the Chinese Association on Tobacco Control.

Of course, Ms Peng may also be enjoying her time living in Zhongnanhai, the central Beijing compound that houses China's top leaders. In an interview with the state-run Global People magazine in 2011, she described how she enjoyed everyday pursuits, such as riding a bicycle to the market and bargaining with hawkers. While at home, she said that she and Xi Jinping treat each other as husband and wife rather than as state leader and singing superstar. Who is Peng Liyuan? The Chinese leader's wife enjoys fame to rival Kate Middleton's - Mirror Online News Who is Peng Liyuan? The Chinese leader's wife enjoys fame to rival Kate Middleton's The wife of President Xi Jinping is possibly the world's only superstar folk singer who also holds the rank of army general Share Star: Peng Liyuan has a fame to rival Kate Middleton (Photo: ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images) Share Get daily updates directly to your inbox + Subscribe Could not subscribe, try again laterInvalid Email She has global fame to rival Kate Middleton . But when the wife of the Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in the UK for a state visit tomorrow it will be the first many Brits have heard of her.

So who is the glamorous Peng Liyuan who shot to fame as a Chinese folk singer before marrying the future president? Here is the lowdown on China's First Lady. Who is Peng Liyuan? Born on November 20 1962 in Yuncheng County, Shandong province to humble beginnings, Peng is the daughter of a school master and opera singer. Mystery: She has global fame but is barely known in Britain (Photo: Getty) According to the Daily Telegraph her family suffered during the Cultural Revolution when her mother was called a spy for having relatives in Taiwan and her father was forced to clean public toilets and imprisoned and the family was exiled to the country. Who is Xi Jinping? Everything you need to know about the Chinese President's visit to the UK Peng was denied the opportunity to go to school but her talent at singing saw her win a competition to land a place aged 14 in the Shandong University of Arts specialising in Chinese Folk Songs. Later she attended the Conservatory of Music in Beijing where she apparently sent money home to her family as well as helping poorer students with food stamps. Career She shot to fame after performing in the New Year's Gala on national broadcaster CCTV in 1983.

She became a regular performer for the People's Liberation Army and became a household name among China's billion-strong population. Status: Peng is arguably more famous than Xi Jinping (Photo: ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images) In 1989 Peng sang to the troops one month after they had gunned down protesters in Tiananmen Square. She has also performed internationally in New York, Tokyo and Vienna. Marriage Peng first met Xi Jinping, then a rising star in the Communist Party, in 1986 and she later revealed she had dismissed him as a country bumpkin with coarse skin. However she was obviously won around because they were married secretly on September 1 1987 and for years only top party officials knew about the union. Wed: The pair were married in 1987, the year after they met (Photo: Getty) Peng continued to tour as a singer while Xi stayed in the south of the country focussing on his political career. Their daughter Mingze was born in 1992. She studied at Harvard University in the US and has since returned to China.

Humble: She found fame after her astonishing voice was discovered (Photo: ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images) For the first part of their marriage Peng was the more famous of the two, and for many people her notoriety still eclipses her husband's. First Lady Xi Jinping became party chief of Shanghai in 2007 and Peng began to replace performing with charity work. He became President of China in March 2013 making Peng his First Lady, moving them into the Zhongnanhai, the central Beijing compound that houses China's top leaders. She is now an ambassador for the World Health Organisation spreading awareness of tuberculosis and HIV and AIDS. Global fame: She became first lady in 2013 (Photo: Getty) Peng has been hailed as a fashion icon in contrast to the previously less glamorous leaders' wives and has inspired many Chinese women to copy her look. She often chooses bold, bright designs and has cultivated a signature style of a mandarin-collared jacket and pearls. In 2015 Forbes listed her as the 68th most powerful woman in the world in a list which placed German Chancellor Angela Merkel first.

Read More Meet China's Carla Bruni Email a friend FOR the first time since Mao, China's next leader will have a wife who is famous in her own right: Xi Jinping will ascend to power with hugely popular singer Peng Liyuan at his side. The soprano, who holds the rank of general in the army, is renowned from Shanghai to Urumqi and starred for 25 years in CCTV state television's Lunar New Year gala, a broadcast watched by hundreds of millions of viewers. Her husband is widely expected to become China's president next year and is under the spotlight at the annual set-piece session of the country's parliament, which opened yesterday. Since the fall of Jiang Qing, Mao Zedong's last wife and the widely-loathed leading member of the Gang of Four blamed for the worst excesses of the Cultural Revolution, Chinese leaders' spouses have been expected to stay in the shadows. "After the Mao era, the wives of senior Chinese leaders stopped appearing in public," said Zhang Yaojie, a researcher at the National Academy of Arts. But Peng will be a deeply atypical first lady.

In videos seen on the Internet, the 49-year-old seizes the limelight with her high cheekbones, thick jet-black hair, and radiant smile. Her costumes range from military uniform to richly embroidered ethnic dress, and her repertoire includes syrupy melodies and folk songs whose lyrics have been altered to glorify the Communist Party. Apparently in perfect harmony with her husband, a Party "princeling" with strong military links, her version of one traditional Tibetan tune describes the People's Liberation Army (PLA) as "the saving star of the Communist Party". Peng, who comes from an area in the eastern province of Shandong known for its peonies and was nicknamed the "Peony Fairy" by her admirers, joined the army at the age of 18. A semi-official biography posted on Chinese web portals tells how she began as an ordinary soldier, but began performing at PLA shows to boost troop morale. In the 1980s she was one of the first people to take a master of arts in folk music in China. Her professor has spoken of her dedication to her studies.

Peng has performed in 50 countries and won many awards, but it was the Lunar New Year gala that propelled her to stardom. When she finally retired from the television show in 2008, some speculated that it was to avoid overshadowing her husband, who was then far less well-known than her but had just joined the Politburo Standing Committee, the party's highest-ranking body. "As an artist, she may suffer, in the way that Carla Bruni has a bit," said Michel Bonnin, director of the Franco-Chinese Centre at Tsinghua University, referring to the former model and singer who married French President Nicolas Sarkozy. But Peng can help Xi "to have a less dull image than Chinese politicians usually do," Bonnin added. In interviews with Chinese media, Peng heaps praise on the "ideal husband" she married 25 years ago, and with whom she has a daughter, now a student at Harvard.

"He is simple and honest, but very thoughtful," Peng told the China News Weekly, adding that he has told her: "In less than 40 minutes after I met you, I knew you would be my wife." But Peng's parents were not keen to see their daughter marry such a senior figure, fearing she would not be treated well because of her humble origins. "He treats me like a little sister. Jinping is always busy. He is concerned about thousands of households, without thinking of himself," she said on the government site China.org.cn. "When he is at home, I cook the dishes he likes to help him relax." Peng has been keen to convey a homespun image, telling the People's Daily's Huanqiu Renwu magazine she has simple tastes, enjoying "going to the market by bicycle and bargaining with vendors". She became a World Health Organization ambassador for the fight against AIDS and tuberculosis last year and Bonnin suggested she could "play a Western-style first lady role", rather than just following her husband on official visits. But Zhang was sceptical. "I do not think she will be very different from previous first ladies," he said. "She will not do anything exceptional.

In China, the first lady remains a mystery." Biography of Madame Peng Liyuan Madame Peng Liyuan, born on November 20, 1962, is a renowned Chinese contemporary folk singer and performing artist. She is the wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, and as such referred to as the "Chinese First Lady" by American and Chinese media. Madame Peng is the Dean of the People's Liberation Army Art Academy. She gained popularity as a soprano singer from her regular appearances on the annual CCTV New Year's Gala, a widely televised and viewed Mainland Chinese program during the Chinese New Year. She has won many honours in singing competitions nationwide. Her most famous singles include People from Our Village (父老乡亲), Zhumulangma (珠穆朗玛) and On the Plains of Hope (在希望的田野上). Madame Peng is a civilian member of China's People's Liberation Army and holds the civilian rank equivalent to Major General. She was the first in China to obtain a Master's degree in traditional ethnic music when the degree was established in the 1980s. Madame Peng Liyuan is a native of Yuncheng County, Shandong province.

She was admitted to the Shandong College of Arts at the age of 14years, specializing in national vocal music. She joined the People's Liberation Army in 1980 when she was 18years and began as an ordinary soldier, but with her vocal talent later performed during frontline tours to boost troop morale during the Sino-Vietnamese border conflicts. Madame Peng first performed nationally and came to fame during the earliest rendition of the CCTV New Year's Gala in 1982, when she performed On the Plains of Hope. On September 1, 1987, Madame Peng Liyuan married Mr. Xi Jinping in Xiamen, Fujian. They have a daughter named Xi Mingze born in 1992, nicknamed as Xiao Muzi. Four days later, Peng Liyuan returned to Beijing to appear in the national art festival and then immediately left for the United States and Canada to perform. Since then they have led largely separate lives, with Peng spending most of her time in Beijing and her husband in Fujian and later Zhejiang.

Madame Peng has visited and performed around the world, she has been to more than 50 countries to promote Chinese opera and Chinese National Vocal Music on the international stage. In September 2005, she was invited by the organizing committee of "the 60th anniversary of the United Nations," to perform Chinese opera "Mulan Psalm" at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York. It was a big success. She won the "Outstanding Artist" Lincoln Center Arts Council Award. Peng is actively involved in politics herself, and is a member of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. She is also a World Health Organization (WHO) Goodwill Ambassador for Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS since 2011. Singer Peng Liyuan, communist leader Xi Jinping's wife, poised to be China's first lady | Daily Mail Online Her husband Xi Jinping was sixth leading officer of communist party One of China's top folk singers could soon become even more famous - as the nation's first lady. Peng Liyuan, 47, is the glamorous wife of Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, who was promoted to a key post in the Communist Party's military committee on Monday.

And the move has set him on a path to be the country's leader within three years. Xi (pronounced 'she') is known as one of the 'princelings' in the party, the sons and daughters of communist elders whose connections and university degrees have won them entry into the country's elite. Her husband may be the country's next president, but it's Peng Liyuan, a famous singer and a major general, who is the household name in China His father Xi Zhongxun was a revolutionary hero and he himself holds degrees in engineering and law. Despite that, Xi, 57, is not as famous as Peng, who is also a major general. Xi's appointment to the party's Central Military Commission offered a chance for the party's factions to put on a show of unity. The appointment was approved on the fourth and final day of the annual meeting of the party's governing Central Committee. He is the party's sixth-ranking leader and is viewed as the anointed successor to President Hu Jintao, who is expected to step down as party chief in 2012 and as president the next year.

Communist party princeling Xi Jinping is seen as Hu Jintao's heir apparent Xi's long-expected appointment to the commission that oversees the 2.3million-member People's Liberation Army, as well as an identical body on the government side, has been viewed as a necessary step in preparing him for the top office. 'Barring anything unexpected, Xi will be taking over as party leader,' said Ni Lexiong, a professor at Shanghai's University of Political Science and Law. Xi, described as a 'portly technocrat' in the Daily Telegraph, has largely kept silent in the reform debate, not wanting to be labelled politically before he and his allies are safely ensconced in the top jobs. He stands to gain important experience dealing with the armed forces as one of three vice chairmen of the expanded 12-member military commission chaired by Hu. The president had been its only civilian member for the past five years. Xi will likely be forced to share influence with Bo Xilai, another princeling who has leveraged his position as party boss of the sprawling western city of Chongqing to gain national influence.

Xi built his career working in the wealthy eastern provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang, and served briefly as party chief of Shanghai before being elevated to the all-powerful nine-man Politburo Standing Committee in 2007. He was also responsible for organising the Beijing Olympics. Along with promoting Xi, the 200-plus Central Committee members and more than 150 alternates discussed and approved parts of an economic blueprint for the next five years that aims to narrow the yawning gap between rich and poor. The plan, covering the 2011-2015 period, includes a greater focus on public services, promoting employment, strengthening the social security system, and better access to public health care, state media said. China's economy has boomed over the past three decades, but unevenly so. Hundreds of millionaires have emerged while the urban poor struggle and development in the vast countryside lags. Besides the wealth gap, leaders of the 78 million-member party also have to deal with a public dissatisfied with rising inflation, high housing prices, employment woes among college graduates and endemic corruption. Adding to domestic policy challenges, Tibetan and Muslim regions of western China are held in check by a smothering security presence.

Abroad, China is facing criticism from the U.S. for its currency and trade practices and its support for North Korea and ties with Iran. Peng Liyuan - Bio, Facts, Family | Famous Birthdays Peng Liyuan Scorpio Political Wife#6 About Wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who took office in 2013. She is also a folk singer with a soprano opera voice that could crack glass. Before Fame For over two decades she was lavishly costumed on the country's traditional New Year's variety show, singing in praise of the People's Liberation Army. Trivia Understanding her influence as the country's folk and political hero, she deliberately chose to wear Chinese-made clothes over Western brands. China's first lady Peng Liyuan: a perfectly scripted life - Telegraph China's first lady Peng Liyuan: a perfectly scripted life China's new first lady has dazzled the world, but who is the real Peng Liyuan? Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan arrive in Moscow, Russia Photo: AP Comments After decades of stiff and inscrutable leaders, whose wives have been obediently invisible, China's Communist party has finally revealed a softer side: the gracious and elegant Peng Liyuan.

But while the new first lady was almost unknown in the West until she emerged on Xi Jinping's first presidential tour, in her homeland she has been a superstar for three decades. Well before she met Mr Xi, Mrs Peng was arguably the most famous singer in China. Even today, an old joke still does the rounds in Beijing: "Who is Xi Jinping? He is Peng Liyuan's husband." Peng Liyun performing during National Day celebrations in Beijing "It is a mission impossible to find someone more appropriate to represent the image of Chinese women than Peng Liyuan," gushed the Southern People Weekly magazine in 2005. Related Articles The 'Kate Middleton effect' of China's first lady 24 Mar 2013 "She has a face like a full moon, shining eyes and white teeth, and she is upright and straightforward, frank and friendly". Her dazzling appearance in Moscow last month, in a well-tailored coat and sky-blue scarf, was merely the latest act in a drama that has been meticulously scripted by the Party since she was just 15-years-old. "I felt very excited when I saw her get off the plane. I think she deserved it after all these years of hard work.

I even cried a little bit," said Wen Sui, a singer who shared a dorm with Mrs Peng for five years at the China Conservatory of Music. China remains a country where loose talk about the president's wife can land you in serious trouble, so the handful of people who were willing to talk about Mrs Peng were effusive in their praise. Nor is there a biography of Mrs Peng. The Communist party firmly believes that the less the public knows about its leaders, the better, and has spent years carefully deleting information about Mrs Peng and crafting a narrative so exemplary it is, at times, hard to believe. China's President Xi and First Lady Peng arriving in Tanzania (Reuters) Born in Peng village in 1962, in the eastern province of Shandong, Mrs Peng comes from a poor family and the very opposite end of the Communist party to her princeling husband, whose father was a vice-premier of China. Mrs Peng's father was a lowly official, a schoolmaster who was put in charge of the county Culture bureau. He earned 40 yuan (£4) a month.

Her mother, who has been nearly entirely erased from the record, was 25 when she was born and a member of a small touring opera company. "She spent most of her childhood on the ox cart of the county's playhouse," remembered Wei Zhongping, her father's deputy at the culture bureau. "I was a born singer," said Mrs Peng on a visit to Singapore in the 1990s. By the age of five, she said, she could sing a complete folk song. "As a singer, I have won the highest honours in China. Actually I am like the panda: we are both national treasures," she added. What she shares with Mr Xi, however, are memories of the evils of the Cultural Revolution. When she was four, Red guards arrived at her house to denounce her family. Her mother was called a spy for having relatives in Taiwan. Her father was made to clean public lavatories for promoting culture that was suddenly considered "feudal", a vestige of old China. Both Mrs Peng and Mr Xi saw their fathers imprisoned. Both of them were sent into exile in the countryside. Mrs Peng was denied an education. But she had a golden gift to fall back on: her voice.

She quickly learned to sing patriotic songs and, as a skinny 15-year-old teenager, she beat competition from 10,000 other applicants to land a place at her provincial art school. From there, her career has progressed upwards in one straight line. First she was picked for the elite performance troupe of the local People's Liberation Army. Then she attended the Conservatory of Music in Beijing. According to the state media, she was a "three points and one line" student. In other words, the daily arc of her life only had three points on it – the music room, the canteen and the dorm. "She was very tough on herself. I used to ask her why she studied so hard," said Wen Sui, her dorm mate and fellow singer. "She would also help out her poorer classmates, buying them food coupons. Her father, who I met, taught her a lot. He used to tell her: 'I do not care how famous you are, or how much money you have, you have to be a good person above all'.

"I said to him he did not need to keep ramming it in because she was already a good person, but he said when you get high and comfortable in life, you can forget these lessons." Each month in Beijing she received 52 yuan from the army and sent 40 yuan of it home to help her parents and younger brother and sister. When she graduated, she was headhunted by the most prestigious arts company of all, the General Political Department of the PLA, which essentially laid the path for her to become China's top propaganda singer. "Even there," said Mrs Wen, "She put herself in charge of organising the housing for the workers there. She is a perfect leader". Indeed, her career is utterly blemish-free. She had no boyfriends until she met Mr Xi. She never took money for sponsorship or advertisements. The only deception on record is that she wears five-inch platform shoes underneath her costumes on stage to seem taller. The only critic who has ever given her a negative review, Jiang Li, said she had sought him out after he wrote that the constant and effusive stream of floral tributes to her on stage as she sang was a distraction. "She was a little angry when she spoke to me at first.

She asked what was wrong with people applauding her and giving her flowers. So then she arranged for me to come and meet her. Her brother picked me up and drove me to her teacher's house, where she was cooking dinner," he remembered. "We became friends. She is an outstanding singer. The difference between her and others is that she does not have any pretension to her singing, or artificiality or techniques. And she does not compromise for the audience or the market." "I used to see her walking on the street sometimes, even after she got married to her husband. He could easily have arranged a car for her, but she always took the bus and carried her own shopping," he added. Peng Liyuan (Rex Features) Her place at the top table of the Chinese establishment was cemented in 1985 when she spent 20 days on the front line entertaining troops as they fought a border conflict with Vietnam. The following year she was accepted into the Communist party and made her first appearance on the flagship Spring Festival gala show. But in 1989 her loyalty was tested again. She was asked to sing to the troops on PLA Day, just a month after the bloodshed in Tiananmen Square.

She applauded as 20 soldiers were honoured for leading the charge against the students. Peng Liyuan sings to martial law troops following in 1989 (AP) A photograph of the moment, published at the time in a Hong Kong magazine, has recently resurfaced, prompting a ripple of criticism from Chinese liberals. Her Prince and the Showgirl relationship with Mr Xi was also carefully scripted, the work of a meticulous, but unknown, matchmaker. The marriage of a famous army singer was of course a highly political matter. They were introduced in Beijing in the winter of 1986. It was bitterly cold and Mrs Peng wore her green army uniform. She later told the state media that she had dismissed Mr Xi as a "xiang ba lao", a coarse country bumpkin. Peng Liyuan with her husband Xi Jinping in 1989 (Reuters) Mr Xi was rising fast in the Party, and had an impeccable background, but was scandalously a divorcee. He had married the daughter of China's ambassador to the UK but the couple broke up when his wife wanted to return to England to study. In the end, the courtship was brief.

On September 1, 1987, a few colleagues were invited to the Red Lady French restaurant in the five-star Yeohwa hotel in Xiamen, where Mr Xi was the deputy mayor. The dinner was a wedding banquet. For years, their union was a secret from all but a handful of top Party officials. But Mrs Peng later revealed she had eaten so many snails that night she had made herself ill. Four days later, she went on a singing tour with the PLA, and the couple lived largely separate lives for two decades. Mr Xi was in the south of China and Mrs Peng was in Beijing or on the road, singing as many as 350 shows a year. It is not uncommon in China for husbands and wives to live apart, and Mr Xi and Mrs Peng pragmatically pursued their own careers. "I have never done anything for her work and life, and I am not able to do anything. Therefore how could I demand her to do this or that? If everything is fine with her, I am happy," said a surprisingly tolerant Mr Xi, in 2007, to the Youth Express newspaper.

Mrs Peng battled through severe morning sickness and dehydration to perform on the Chinese Spring Festival Gala, perhaps the most watched television show on earth. "In a way, she was Kate Middleton before Kate Middleton was Kate Middleton," wrote Martin Macmillan in his biography of the couple Together They Hold Up the Sky. Mr Xi, meanwhile, missed the birth of their daughter, Mingze, because he was busy fighting floods. For some, the script was too perfect. A cable from the US Consulate in Shanghai from 2007, noted that High Court judges from Zhejiang province, where Mr Xi had been based "reported rumours that Xi was preparing to divorce his wife". There were enough rumours that Mr Xi was having an affair that the Chinese media issued articles stressing the couple's enduring love and that their "feelings for each other stabilised" after Mingze's birth. Those articles, of course, raised more questions than they answered. For her part, Mrs Peng described her husband as a "safe harbour" that she longed to return to, and told folksy tales about carrying a special quilt for him all around China while she was on tour.

When asked about her hobbies, she said she liked being at home, sitting on the sofa, watching television with her husband and cooking. Mr Xi likes watching football and playing the Chinese game Go. China's first family is just like any other, according to the state media. "She can relate to people, but what is unique here in China for a first lady is the people can connect to her. She has been well known for 30 plus years. An entire generation has grown up with her." said James Chau, one of the few journalists who has interviewed Mrs Peng. "She is a tangible face they can hang their hopes and dreams on". In 2007, as Mr Xi was anointed as China's next leader, she began cutting back her singing appearances and instead took on more charity work. Ruby Yang, a film director who shot a series of public service advertisements with Mrs Peng remembered how, stranded in tiny Aids-ridden village in Henan province, Mrs Peng had met a young boy, infected with HIV, who had been forced to live in a pigsty. "She was obviously deeply affected," she said. "As a Chinese American, I had no idea she was such a star.

I made her do her make-up by the side of the road. But she was professional about it". But while Mrs Peng's emergence on the world stage has been greeted with delight in China, there are already signs that the Party is uncomfortable at the enormous buzz around her. While the Chinese media has been giddily comparing Mrs Peng to Jackie Kennedy, Michelle Obama and Carla Bruni this week, the censors have been wiping her name from the internet. Copies of her clothes that were selling on Taobao, an online marketplace, have been removed. While her glamour may counterbalance her husband's often gruff appearance, and lend him plenty of popular support, there is a fear that a curious public may question why her official biography is so neat and tidy. "After this trip, the Party will analyse how best to use her going forward, and how to make sure she does not outshine her husband," said Cheng Xiaohe, a professor of International Relations at Renmin university. "She is probably more influential than Michelle Obama since she will be around for ten years and was famous before her husband came into office," he added. It remains to be seen, however, whether the Communist party is ready to allow her to shine.

It is not clear whether her appearance this week is her opening, or final act.

Question: Who is the famous husband of the also famous Chinese singer Peng Liyuan?
Answer: Xi Jinping