Beijing - A leading Beijing newspaper has chosen actress Zhang Ziyi as the most beautiful person in China for 2008.
In a ranking of the 50 most beautiful people announced on Friday, the Beijing News picked Zhang - whose film credits include Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Rush Hour 2; and Memoirs Of A Geisha - for the top spot.
The actress took the No. 9 position last year in the annual list, which was started in 2005.
This year's list focused on famous Chinese personalities who 'turned their dreams into reality', said the newspaper.
It said Zhang's press conference during the Cannes Film Festival to raise money for the Sichuan earthquake garnered respect worldwide.
The earthquake killed 70,000 people in May this year.
'I don't pay a lot of attention to matters of appearance,' the actress, who has ventured to Hollywood, told the newspaper. 'Beautiful women are fundamentally independent and confident.'
Zhang, who is romantically linked to New York-based Israeli investor Vivi Nevo, now spends a substantial part of her time in the United States.
Her most recent projects include Forever Enthralled, Chinese director Chen Kaige's biopic about Peking opera master Mei Lanfang.
The film is vying for the top Golden Bear prize in the upcoming Berlin Film Festival.
Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Chiu-Wai took the No. 2 spot, while Chinese actress Zhou Xun came in third.
Chinese actor Zhang Hanyu, who was crowned best actor at the Golden Horse Film Awards this month, was ranked fourth. Olympic diving champion Guo Jingjing completed the top five list.
Other prominent personalities who made it to the list included Tang Wei of Lust, Caution fame and Li Yuchun, who made her name in singing contest Super Girl, the Chinese version of American Idol.
But actress Gong Li - who topped the chart in 2006 and was ranked No. 3 last year - surprisingly dropped out of the list.
Her conspicuous absence from the list has sparked speculation that she was excluded because of her newly acquired Singapore citizenship. Married to Singaporean tobacco businessman Ooi Hoe Seong, she was accused of being unpatriotic when she renounced her Chinese citizenship last month.
But action movie star Jet Li, who now holds American citizenship, made it to the list. He was in the No. 15 spot.
The annual ranking, which also considers personalities from other fields such as sports and the arts, was decided by a panel of judges who took into account readers' recommendations as well.
Chinese playwright and TV producer Han Yan was one of the judges.
