Houston Community News >> The Chinese Man for Western Women

12/3/2007-- Want to know what kind of Chinese man Western women want to marry?

Take a close look at Hong Kong actor Andy Lau.

The movie star came out tops in a survey of 108 Western women living in Shanghai, where respondents were asked to rank Chinese male professionals they would want to marry.

Kungfu star Jet Li came in second in the poll.

"Though Li is less famous than Jackie Chan, he looks more attractive to Western women," said Zhang Jiehai, a professor with the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, who led the survey team with 11 members from China, France, United States, United Kingdom and Ireland.

The team showed interviewees headshots of 18 Chinese men including Jet Li, Jackie Chan and movie director Wong Kar-wai, and asked them to pick out the ideal husband.

The interviewees were also asked to choose lovers and work partners, and to rank the most and least handsome.

Actor Takeshi Kaneshiro, who is half-Japanese, was ranked first in terms of looks and being the best lover.

Tony Leung, the actor in Ang Lee's latest movie "Lust, Caution", was ranked fifth in the looks department.

Popular TV actor Li Yapeng was viewed as the least handsome for his long hair - said to be out of fashion.

Wong Kar-wai, who directed the movie "2046", was picked as the second least handsome for always sporting sunglasses and having a cigarette in his hand.

"For many Chinese, Wong is considered cool but Western women don't like that," Zhang said. "He seems to want to hide himself with the glasses."

Zhang said that they conducted the survey in order to find out the images Chinese movies are bringing to the world.

"Movies are the most influential way to build up images of people from different countries," he said.

Questions:

1. Which Chinese male do most expat foreign women living in Shanghai find most attractive?

2. How many Western women living in Shanghai were surveyed?

3.Who was ranked first in terms of looks and being the best lover?

4. Who was viewed as the least handsome ?

Answers:

1.Hong Kong actor Andy Lau.

2.108.

3.Actor Takeshi Kaneshiro.

4.Popular TV actor Li Yapeng.

(Contributed by China Daily)