HONG KONG - Former film goddess Lin Ching-hsia has descended on Hainan to make a comeback with the Hunan TV reality show Up Idol, which is expected to feature past and present screen beauties from Rosamund Kwan to Yang Mi, said Ming Pao Daily News.

Rumours that Lin would appear in the Chinese broadcaster's top-secret summer project were confirmed when she showed up in Movie Town, a theme park in Mission Hills in Haikou city, Hainan province on Wednesday, when the show started shooting there, said the report.

Lin, 60, has not acted in a movie after 1994's Ashes Of Time. She is said to have chosen Up Idol as her comeback because her billionaire husband Michael Ying's foundation is starting a school in Hunan province with Hunan TV's foundation, reported Ming Pao.

Besides Lin and Kwan, actresses Athena Chu, Ada Choi and Ning Jing will also appear on the show, which premieres in China on July 25, said the report.

Hunan TV has an impressive track record in producing hit shows, from the singing contest Super Girl to the star-studded competition I Am A Singer.

Although Lin has retired from show business, she remains in the public eye as a socialite and writer. Just on Wednesday, Ming Pao Monthly published her article inspired by actor-director Derek Yee's new film about extras, I Am Somebody.

The comedy has gained support among stars such as Tony Leung Chiu Wai, whose essay on the movie was a hit on social media.

In her piece, Lin recalls how she once acted with Yee in Taiwan and had doubts about his ability when he said he wanted to direct films and had been writing screenplays, said Ming Pao Daily News.

But he proved her wrong, she writes.

She recalls how she was once a nobody too, before someone saw her in the streets and asked her to act in a movie.

She writes: "Who knows? Opportunities are everywhere."