# Jing Tian (景甜)
**Jing Tian** (景甜, born 1988 in Xi'an, Shaanxi) is a Chinese mainland actress and former singer who entered entertainment as a vocalist in 2006 and rose to prominence through big-budget Chinese action films and three Hollywood blockbusters before winning acting recognition in television dramas such as *The Glory of Tang Dynasty* (2017) and *Si Teng* (2021).[1](https://www.iq.com/actor-info/%E6%99%AF%E7%94%9C-jing-tian-215112005?lang=zh_cn)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1988 in Xi'an, Shaanxi, China[1](https://www.iq.com/actor-info/%E6%99%AF%E7%94%9C-jing-tian-215112005?lang=zh_cn) |
| Training | Beijing Dance Academy affiliated secondary school (Chinese folk dance); Beijing Film Academy, acting department[2](https://www.iq.com/actor-info/jing-tian-215112005?lang=en_us) |
| Debut | 2006 music EP *Who Are You* (《你是谁》), produced by Zhang Yadong with an MV by Ning Hao[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1320897/) |
| Breakout films | *The Warring States* (2011); *Special ID* and *Police Story 2013* (2013); *From Vegas to Macau* (2014)[1](https://www.iq.com/actor-info/%E6%99%AF%E7%94%9C-jing-tian-215112005?lang=zh_cn) |
| Hollywood roles | Commander Lin Mae in *The Great Wall* (2016); San in *Kong: Skull Island* (2017); Liwen Shao in *Pacific Rim Uprising* (2018)[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1320897/) |
| TV recognition | Shen Zhenzhu in *The Glory of Tang Dynasty* (2017); the title role in *Si Teng* (2021)[4](https://www.xinhuanet.com/culturepro/2021-04/01/c_1127281103.htm) |
| Box office | Her three 2013–early 2014 films grossed over 1 billion yuan combined in mainland China[2](https://www.iq.com/actor-info/jing-tian-215112005?lang=en_us) |
## Training and debut
Jing Tian began dancing as a child and at age 12 left home alone to study Chinese folk dance at the affiliated secondary school of the Beijing Dance Academy.[5](https://culture.people.com.cn/n1/2017/0302/c87423-29117701.html) After a brief period in the Beijing Dance Academy musical-theater program she withdrew, and the following year was admitted to the acting department of the Beijing Film Academy.[5](https://culture.people.com.cn/n1/2017/0302/c87423-29117701.html)
Her professional start was as a singer: in 2006, at 17 or 18, she released the EP *Who Are You* with production by the well-known producer Zhang Yadong and a music video directed by Ning Hao.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1320897/) • [15](https://weibo.com/2/detail/5338320416279220) The music route did not develop into a long career, and she moved into screen acting with the low-budget horror film *Anaconda Frightened* (2008), followed by a role in the television drama *An Epic of a Woman* (2009).[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/tian_jing) Widespread photos on what was then the campus social network Renren made her known online as the "Beijing Film Academy campus beauty"; commentators distinguish this internet fame from her actual professional debut as a singer.[6](https://k.sina.cn/article_7879923119_1d5ae15af06801wg8q.html?from=ent)
## Film career, 2010–2016
The romantic comedy *My Belle Boss* (2010) brought her first wide audience attention, and the historical film *The Warring States* (2011) marked what iQIYI's profile calls the first peak of her entertainment career.[2](https://www.iq.com/actor-info/jing-tian-215112005?lang=en_us) From 2013 to early 2014 she starred in three action and crime films alongside established stars: *Special ID* with [Donnie Yen](https://www.edgepedia.org/donnie-yen), *Police Story 2013* with [Jackie Chan](https://www.edgepedia.org/jackie-chan), and *From Vegas to Macau* with [Chow Yun-fat](https://www.edgepedia.org/chow-yun-fat), which together grossed more than 1 billion yuan in mainland China.[2](https://www.iq.com/actor-info/jing-tian-215112005?lang=en_us) A 2014 People's Daily-affiliated report noted that her 2013 films placed her in the top ten of domestic actresses by annual box office.[8](https://media.people.com.cn/n/2014/0117/c40606-24145347.html)
This rapid rise came with sustained public skepticism. Because she was repeatedly cast as the female lead opposite first-tier stars in expensive productions, audiences questioned whether her opportunities matched her accomplishments, and the phrase "resource actress" (资源咖) became attached to her.[9](https://360onetravel.com/archives/71125) An internet saying grouped her with three other actresses of mysterious backing: "Bing Xue, Wei Tian, they have plenty of money" (冰雪薇甜，非常有钱), referring to Bai Bing, Han Xue, Gan Wei, and Jing Tian; the speculation about her backers was never confirmed by anyone involved.[10](https://www.nownews.com/amp/news/6869992) Jing Tian herself said in 2014 that rumors of buying roles had followed her since her debut, and that she responded with work rather than explanation.[8](https://media.people.com.cn/n/2014/0117/c40606-24145347.html)
## Hollywood years
Her English-language feature debut came in 2016 with [Zhang Yimou](https://www.edgepedia.org/zhang-yimou)'s fantasy epic *The Great Wall*, opposite [Matt Damon](https://www.edgepedia.org/matt-damon); she accepted the role of Commander Lin Mae, leader of the Crane Troop, because she wanted to work with Zhang Yimou.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1320897/) As part of the preparation she lived in the United States for a year to learn English and underwent extensive martial-arts training.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1320897/) An academic study of her transnational stardom notes that the role was an exception among parts given to Chinese actresses in Hollywood productions: it was one of the film's most significant characters, with roughly a third of the screen time, as the female lead opposite an A-list Hollywood star.[11](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/19392397.2024.2389040) The same study concludes that despite this investment she did not establish star status in Hollywood.[11](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/19392397.2024.2389040)
She followed with supporting roles in *Kong: Skull Island* (2017) and *Pacific Rim: Uprising* (2018), both major American studio releases.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1320897/) On review aggregation she was at times honored and at times panned: she received the Hollywood International Award at the 18th Hollywood Film Awards in 2014,[12](https://www.valeorine.com/reference/jing-tian) but the Golden Broom Awards, a Chinese counterpart to the [Golden Raspberry Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/golden-raspberry-awards), named her Most Disappointing Actress in 2013 for *Shadows of Love* and *Tears in Heaven*, in 2014 for *Special ID* and *Police Story 2013*, and in 2017 for *The Great Wall*.[12](https://www.valeorine.com/reference/jing-tian)
## Television and the Si Teng turning point
Her first major acting recognition came with the 2017 palace drama *The Glory of Tang Dynasty*, in which she played the Tang-era consort Shen Zhenzhu; Chinese media reported that the role won her acknowledgment as an actress rather than merely a star of big productions.[4](https://www.xinhuanet.com/culturepro/2021-04/01/c_1127281103.htm) In a 2021 interview with Xinhua she said her characterizations had been insufficiently layered years earlier, and that growth in life experience had deepened her acting.[4](https://www.xinhuanet.com/culturepro/2021-04/01/c_1127281103.htm)
Between finishing *A Journey to Meet Love* in July 2018 and 2020 she acted in almost nothing, a roughly year-and-a-half semi-hiatus she described as the most willful decision of her recent years, taken after setbacks in her personal life.[4](https://www.xinhuanet.com/culturepro/2021-04/01/c_1127281103.htm) She nearly turned down the script of *Si Teng* (2021), fearing she could not satisfy fans of the source novel by [Wei Yu](https://www.edgepedia.org/wei-yu), before director Li Muge helped her find the character.[4](https://www.xinhuanet.com/culturepro/2021-04/01/c_1127281103.htm) The fantasy drama, in which she played a revived supernatural woman in Republican-era qipao dress, became a breakout hit: it opened to a Douban score around 7.8 and high platform heat, and press coverage credited it with finally giving her the label of a capable actress after years of the "resource actress" tag.[4](https://www.xinhuanet.com/culturepro/2021-04/01/c_1127281103.htm) • [13](https://www.jiemian.com/article/5789013.html)
## Later work
After *Si Teng* she worked steadily in period drama: *[The Legend of Zhuohua](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-legend-of-zhuohua)* (2023), *Wonderland of Love* (2023), *Love's Rebellion* (2024), and *Si Jin* (2025), with further projects in production.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1320897/) • [1](https://www.iq.com/actor-info/%E6%99%AF%E7%94%9C-jing-tian-215112005?lang=zh_cn) In 2023 she received a Weibo Visual Conference Annual Charm Actor award.[1](https://www.iq.com/actor-info/%E6%99%AF%E7%94%9C-jing-tian-215112005?lang=zh_cn) A 2024 Liverpool PhD thesis frames her 2011–2021 trajectory in three stages, the "Huallywood years" (2011–2014), the "Hollywood years" (2015–2017), and the "return home years" (2018–2021), using her as a case study of transnational Chinese female stardom during the decade of changing Sino-Hollywood relations.[14](https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/3182336/1/201404647_Mar2024_edited_version.pdf)
## References
1. [景甜 (Jing Tian) profile, iQIYI (Chinese)](https://www.iq.com/actor-info/%E6%99%AF%E7%94%9C-jing-tian-215112005?lang=zh_cn)
2. [Jing Tian profile, iQIYI (English)](https://www.iq.com/actor-info/jing-tian-215112005?lang=en_us)
3. [Tian Jing, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1320897/)
4. [景甜：人生短暂 不如随心而为不留遗憾 (Xinhua/新京报, 2021)](https://www.xinhuanet.com/culturepro/2021-04/01/c_1127281103.htm)
5. [对话景甜：向往“三好”生活 (People's Daily Online culture channel, 2017)](https://culture.people.com.cn/n1/2017/0302/c87423-29117701.html)
6. [景甜真实出道起点：不是人人网，而是歌手 (Sina Entertainment)](https://k.sina.cn/article_7879923119_1d5ae15af06801wg8q.html?from=ent) and [景甜歌手出道经历 (Weibo aggregation)](https://weibo.com/2/detail/5338320416279220)
7. [Jing Tian filmography and biography, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/tian_jing)
8. [景甜：现在才觉得自己像演员 (People's Daily Online media channel, 2014)](https://media.people.com.cn/n/2014/0117/c40606-24145347.html)
9. [从资源优势到事业波动：景甜演艺发展轨迹背后的行业观察 (360onetravel)](https://360onetravel.com/archives/71125)
10. [景甜是誰？「捧不紅」反而成名 (NOWnews)](https://www.nownews.com/amp/news/6869992)
11. [Caught between China and Hollywood: the transnational journey of Jing Tian in The Great Wall (2016), Celebrity Studies (2024)](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/19392397.2024.2389040)
12. [Jing Tian (born 1988) — actress, VALÉORINE reference](https://www.valeorine.com/reference/jing-tian)
13. [《司藤》首播好评度极高，原来“悬疑”才是大景甜的正确打开方式？ (Jiemian, 2021)](https://www.jiemian.com/article/5789013.html)
14. [Chapter 6: Caught between East and West: Jing Tian's transnational stardom, University of Liverpool thesis (2024)](https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/3182336/1/201404647_Mar2024_edited_version.pdf)
15. [Weibo page](https://weibo.com/2/detail/5338320416279220)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of East and Southeast Asia › Chinese actors, 2000s onward › Surnames A to L*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license