It Had To Be Chunyu

- Jonathan Fam

Chunyu Shanshan is one of the most memorable Ch 8 stars from the ’90s because, well, how many guys do you know are called Chunyu Shanshan? The Chinese actor hasn’t been seen on our TV screens for almost two decades (17 years to be exact) but mention his name to anyone who grew up watching Ch 8 in the ’90s and a wave of familiarity will wash over their faces. The only other Ch 8 star we can think of whose name alone can bring about such a uniquely Singaporean reaction is Mongolian actress Talin Tuoya (remember her?) but that’s another story for another day.

The actor, who moved with his family to Melbourne in 2014 but still spends most of his time working in China, knows that he has left an indelible mark on an entire generation of Singaporeans. “I’m very touched,” he says. “Whenever I come back here, there will always be people who come up to ask me, “Are you Chunyu Shanshan? It makes me feel that the time I spent here was not wasted.”

We’re at Passion Hair Salon where we’re meeting the 51-year-old actor who had flown in specially from Melbourne the day before for this interview and shoot. Living in Australia clearly has rubbed off on Shanshan, who now peppers his conversation with English words, like ‘resume’, ‘overcome’ and ‘relax’. Accompanying him at the shoot is his daughter, Emma, who has been in Singapore the past month attending music classes at Lee Wei Song School of Music. The sweet 20-years-old, who is the oldest of Shanshan’s four kids, all of whom are Singaporean like his wife, is currently on her winter break from Swinburne University where she majors in marketing. Both father and daughter are also headed to the airport after our chat. Emma is flying home to Melbourne and Shanshan, for Hangzhou, where he will be filming a movie for two months.