Chen Duling (陈都灵)

Chen Duling, born in Xiamen, Fujian, is a Chinese actress. She is an undergraduate student of the School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering of Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and also a graduate of Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. In February 2013, she gained attention for winning the Facejoking "Goddess Ranking" champion. She won the 2018 Most Popular Icon by iFeng Fashion Choice Awards. She is best known for her role in the coming-of-age film The Left Ear directed by Alec Su, Love In Flames of War and Till The End Of The Moon. Chen Duling didn't follow the typical path. A top student majoring in aircraft manufacturing engineering at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, she became an overnight internet sensation in 2013 when she topped the nationwide "Facejoking Campus Belle" rankings. The following year, director Alec Su — after seeing her iconic campus photo — chose her, a complete non-professional, to star as the lead in his film The Left Ear. This marked the beginning of her decade-long transformation. Behind her ethereal, fragile looks lies a tenacious and clear-headed "engineering student's way of acting". Having been criticized for her "green acting," for being a "non-professional from a non-drama background," and even labeled a "vase", she never rested on her beautiful looks or fleeting online fame. Instead, she willingly gave up her obsession with lead roles and actively sought out supporting parts, treating acting with an engineering student's rigor. Her "Question Sea Strategy" — a prolific blend of passion and profession — has quietly transformed her into a formidable actress who works like an "eternal motor". Breakthrough Role Chen Duling's career breakthrough actually came in 2023 through two simultaneous roles. As the tragic and complex anti-heroine Ye Bingchang / Tian Huan in the epic fantasy drama Till The End of The Moon (《长月烬明》). Her character's unique look — a Buddhist goddess on the outside with a poisonous snake in her heart — quickly garnered attention. To bring this complex character to life, the actress wrote an astonishing 3,000-word character biography, meticulously detailing her psyche and motivations. The role proved she could play far more than just the "pure and innocent maiden", forcing audiences and critics to recognize her potential beyond her looks. With her transformation fully underway, Chen fully cemented her mainstream success when Blossoms in the Wind (《雁回时》) became a massive hit in 2025. Taking on her first major lead role in a hit costume drama, she received critical acclaim, becoming the first drama on Tencent Video to surpass the 30,000 mark in 2025. This widely praised performance led many to label her a "rising talent". Public Perception After a decade of transforming herself, Chen Duling is now widely recognized as one of the Chinese drama industry's hardest-working, most respectful, and quietly professional talents. She has gained a huge following for her "eternal motor" reputation — in the past three years alone, she has turned down 17 offers for "big traffic projects" while appearing in a staggering 45 works to build up her acting skills. In a 2025 interview, she famously said, "I don't want to glamorize the path not taken; I just need to live the right way in the here and now". Her incredible preparation for her latest starring role in the hit 2026 series Qiao Chu (《翘楚》) — which was released globally on Netflix and became the fastest drama on the Youku platform to surpass 200 million views — has become legendary. She wrote an extensive 30,000-word character journal outlining her role's psyche, studied how to bring the character to life with a bodybuilding coach to enhance her warrior physique, and once reshot a difficult crying scene eight times until her eyelashes nearly froze. As one industry observer aptly put it: "What today's actors lack isn't traffic — it's the courage and discipline of someone like Chen Duling".