Movie star Jackie Chan has topped this year’s Forbes Chinese celebrity list. Taiwan pop singer Jay Chou and Hong Kong movie star Andy Lau were second and third, respectively, behind Chan, who earned 206 million yuan in the entertainment industry last year, according to the Chinese version of Forbes magazine. Basketball superstar Yao Ming, who topped the list for the past six years, slipped to fourth, followed by Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi. The Forbes Chinese celebrity list is released in March or April every year and ranks 100 Chinese celebrities based on their personal income, public influence, estimated commercial value and the amount of media coverage and web traffic they generated during the previous year. “It’s the first time we’ve had Hong Kong and Taiwan celebrities on the list,” said Echo Yang, the producer of the list and features editor with the magazine. “We added them since most them make the majority of their income from the mainland market.” She said one-third of China’s commercial performance income was generated in Beijing last year, and predicted the capital will soon be the center of the country’s entertainment and cultural industries. Celebrities from Hong Kong and Taiwan are also now demanding much higher fees for working in the capital, said several industry insiders. “A company with a 10-million-yuan annual advertising budget can no longer sign these superstars,” said Tao Lei, president of Ogilvy China, an advertising company.Source: AsiaOne.com

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