LIn Miaoke is the hottest child star in China

LIN MIAOKE, 9, the Chinese girl in the red dress who captured the world's hearts when she sang solo during the Olympic opening ceremony, is the hottest child star on the planet.



A 9-year-old girl who mimed a song during the Olympic opening ceremony because the real singer was not considered pretty enough has been offered a relatively big sum to appear in a movie, local media said.



Lin Miaoke, who lip synched the song "Sing for the Motherland" on the Aug 8 ceremony, will make 600,000 yuan (US$87,592) for a three-minute role in a Chinese movie called "Nu Li", meaning "striving," according to Shichang Daobao, a newspaper in east China's Zhejiang province.
She will play a flower girl in the film, according to the newspaper's website.
Lin's face has appeared not only all over Chinese media, but in overseas media, including on the front page of the New York Times.
Overseas media widely reported her not actually singing the song after a director for the program made the surprising revelation to a Chinese publication following the opening ceremony.

No credit was given to the actual singer Yang Peiyi, 7, even though her voice touched the audience that night. Her singing was recorded in advance.
The director said a member of China's Politburo - top Communist Party governing body - gave the order to put Lin on stage instead of Yang, to create a better effect on the audience.

UPDATE: APR 2009

"A Dream of Red Mansions"

Lin Miaoke, the girl who sang China's national anthem "Hymn to the Motherland" at the Olympic opening ceremony on August 8, 2008, plays the role of young Lin Daiyu in Li Shaohong's new adaptation of "Dream of the Red Chamber" (Hong Lou Meng).


Lin Miaoke, the girl who performed at the opening ceremony of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, plays a role in the new version of TV play "A Dream of Red Mansions" in Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, April 3, 2009. This is the first time for her to act in the play.


As one of the four master works of Chinese literature, "Dream of the Red Chamber" first appeared on television in 1987. Although two decades have passed, audiences still remember what they consider to be the perfect adaptation of the novel.

So far, some are casting doubts on the remake, which has given rise to much controversy after its casting, makeup and costume design were unveiled last year. Others have shown great interest in Li's new version and anticipate much from it.




The TV series started shooting late last May and is expected to wrap up this summer. The production team is now shooting the outdoor scenes in eastern China's gardens, lakes and water towns. The series will probably debut during next year's Spring Festival holiday.




The novel provides a detailed, episodic record of the two branches of the Jia family, the Rongguo and Ningguo houses, who reside in two large adjacent family compounds in the capital. It charts the family's wealth and influence as well as its downfall. The Jia family eventually falls into disfavor with the emperor, and its mansions are raided and confiscated.




A love triangle is at the core of the story. The main character, Jia Baoyu, is the adolescent heir of the family, a reincarnation of the divine attendant-in-waiting. Crimson Pearl Flower is reincarnated as Baoyu's sickly cousin, the emotional Lin Daiyu, who is in love with Baoyu. But Baoyu is predestined in this life to marry another cousin, Xue Baochai.