Stars Rising From Hunan TV

Jul 15, 2025 CFM Daily, Industry, People, Spotlight 0

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BEIJING July 15, 2025 - Hunan Satellite Television’s talent shows, variety shows, along with self-produced TV series, have pioneered new models of entertainment that offer lots of people a chance at fame.

Starting with HAPPY CAMP, one of China’s hippest variety shows, to SUPER GIRL, an immensely popular talent competition, Hunan TV has emerged as the second-most-watched channel in China, only after CCTV-1 – a dominating TV channel run by the government, in the past decade.

An array of popular stars has made their way into the entertainment industry via Hunan TV’s shows. Here’s a look at those figures.

HAPPY CAMP

HAPPY CAMP is a popular variety show premiered in 1997. Over the years, it has reached tens of millions of viewers and has been dominating the ratings on Saturday nights. Each week’s show invites one or more A-list guests to participate in various activities such as performances, games, and interviews. It is currently hosted by the Happy Family: He Jiong, Li Weijia, Xie Na, Du Haitao, and Wu Xin.

HE Jiong

HAPPY CAMP has been on air for nearly 17 years, of which He hosted for 16 years. The 41-year-old TV host-actor-singer-director leads the Happy Family and has more than 66 million followers on Chinese social media site Weibo.

He once held a teaching post at the Arabic Language Department of Beijing Foreign Studies University and released five music albums between 2004 and 2010, with FOREVER YOUNG receiving great popularity.

This year he made his directing debut with FOREVER YOUNG, which was based on his song, and the film has taken in more than 322 million yuan as of July 14.

LI Xiang

Li was one of the original hosts of HAPPY CAMP. Before leaving the show in 2004, she was considered one of the top hostesses in China. Li also appeared in several TV series and TV commercials during her early time in Hunan TV.

She started her own entertainment company Happy Star in 2004. In 2009, Happy Star and Hunan Broadcasting System formed a joint venture named Mango Films, which has produced films including ALMOST PERFECT and PANDA EXPRESS, and TV series like一不小心爱上你 (Fall In Love Accidentally).

Her daughter Angela WANG Shiling became a child star as well via Hunan TV’s reality show DAD, WHERE ARE WE GOING?

XIE Na

Xie Na, also known as Nana, is another leading figure of the Happy Family. Xie started her career as an actress, starring in movies, TV series and stage productions. She made her name after co-hosting HAPPY CAMP from 2007 and boasts over 689 million followers on her Weibo account.

SUPER GIRL / BOY

Hunan TV launched SUPER GIRL, a talent show similar to AMERICAN IDOL, in 2004. It was one of the first shows that allowed audience to vote for their favorite singer through text messages. The show had five seasons altogether and was cancelled in 2012.

In its heyday, the whole country was talking about this competition. Even people who didn’t watch it knew the names of the candidates. The 2005 season finale drew massive 400 million viewers with an incredible 11.65 rating.

As a spin-off of SUPER GIRL, SUPER BOY premiered in 2007 and lasted three seasons.

Chris LI Yuchun

Li was crowned the SUPER GIRL winner in 2005. It was the show’s golden time; she became much more than a winner, a cultural phenomenon indeed. With her boyish appearance, she is often described as handsome rather than pretty. She made it to the cover of a special issue of TIME Asia Edition that year.

Li released six albums between 2006 and 2014 and won the 2013 MTV Europe Music Award for Best Worldwide Act. Furthermore, she made her film debut in BODYGUARDS AND ASSASSINS in 2009, which earned her two nominations for the 2010 Hong Kong Film Awards. Li is also a darling to fashion designers like Jean Paul Gaultier.

ZHOU Bichang

2005 SUPER GIRL first runner-up Zhou Bichang, also known as Bibi, released her first album WHO TOUCHED MY VIOLIN STRING in 2006, which sold more than one million copies.

She kicked off a concert tour SING ALONG THE TRAVEL in Guangzhou in 2010 with the most recent performance in Shanghai in 2011.

Zhou set up her own studio Begins Studio in 2012 and hasn’t got much exposure since then. But with her appearance in Hunan TV’s reality show I AM THE SINGER Season Two, Zhou regained her popularity.

Jane ZHANG Liangying

Zhang came to prominence after placing the second runner-up in the 2005 SUPER GIRL. She is particularly known for her whistle register, earning her a nickname, “Dolphin Princess”.

Zhang formed her own studio SHOW CITY TIMES in 2009 and entered a partnership with Universal Music Group. She signed with Sony Music Entertainment in 2013 and released her seventh album THE SEVENTH SENSE in 2014. Zhang also appeared on I AM THE SINGER Season Three.

Recently Zhang collaborated with American hip-hop artist Big Sean on the original song FIGHTING SHADOWS for sci-fi action film TERMINATOR GENISYS in 2015.

Zhang Jie

Zhang entered the entertainment industry after winning MY SHOW Season One and was signed to Shang Teng Universal. But later the record company’s management change put Zhang’s music career at stake.

Zhang took part in SUPER BOY in 2007 and became the third runner-up, which marked a new start of his career.

He married Xie Na in 2011 and since then, the couple has frequently appeared on various shows by Hunan TV.

Yu Haoming

Yu debuted in the 2007 SUPER BOY and received the sixth place. Later he appeared in several TV dramas produced by Hunan TV including METEOR SHOWER. He also became one of the hosts of Hunan TV’s popular talk show DAY DAY UP.

Unfortunately, Yu got injured in an explosive accident while filming I HAVE A DATE WITH SPRING in 2010. He returned to the screen in 2014 by staring in a TV drama.

Oho OU Hao

Ou competed in the 2013 SUPER BOY and was the first runner-up. He has recorded several songs for films, TV series and commercials.

Recently Ou has put his focus on acting and stared in Hong Kong comedy TEMPORARY FAMILY and young adult film THE LEFT EAR. He also participated in Hunan TV’s latest reality show TAKES A REAL MAN. He is now chased by a number of film productions due to his rising popularity.

METEOR SHOWER

Hunan TV aired two seasons of METEOR SHOWER, namely LET’S GO WATCH METEOR SHOWER and LET’S WATCH THE METEOR SHOWER TOGETHER AGAIN, between 2009 and 2010.

The series are based on the popular Japanese manga HANA YORI DANGO (Boys Over Flowers) and sparked immediate reviews after it aired.

ZHANG Han

With the popularity of METEOR SHOWER, leading actor Zhang Han became famous overnight. Zhang soon received lots of endorsement deals and invitations to reality shows and variety shows.

He has emerged as an A-list actor in the TV circle and stared in a bunch of popular TV dramas including THE QUEEN OF SOP, BOSS AND ME, A DIFFERENT KIND OF PRETTY BOY and THE FOUR. He also featured in DIVAS HIT THE ROAD Season One, a reality show by Hunan TV.

ZHENG Shuang

Leading actress Zheng Shuang also rose to prominence after her performance in METEOR SHOWER. She later starred in a slate of films and television series, including MURAL, SECRET HISTORY OF EMPRESS WU, NO LIMIT and ANCIENT SWORD, and recently appeared on DIVAS HIT THE ROAD Season Two.

As China is faced with a severe lack of quality actors and actresses, these above-mentioned stars will have more and more chances in the film industry, due to their talent and soaring popularity.

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