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| Liu Haocun’s Opera Transformation in 'The Lead' Sparks Praise Across Chinese Social Media. (Credits: Weibo/Liu Hao Cun Studio) |
Liu Haocun is not taking the easy route with her new drama The Lead (主角), and honestly, the latest behind-the-scenes footage makes that painfully obvious. The actress has been thrown deep into the demanding world of traditional Qinqiang Opera for her role as Yi Qin’e, a legendary opera performer whose life moves between artistic glory, emotional isolation and enough personal suffering to fuel at least three award speeches.
Fresh training clips released by Liu Haocun’s studio this week quickly spread across Chinese social media, largely because viewers were not expecting such an intense level of preparation.
Instead of relying on camera tricks and dramatic lighting to sell the role, Liu Haocun appears to be studying every detail properly, from posture and hand movements to eye expression and traditional stage rhythm.
In short, she is learning an entire performance language while most people struggle to remember one TikTok dance for longer than two days.
In The Lead, Yi Qin’e is portrayed as a famous Qinqiang Opera actress whose career reaches extraordinary heights while her personal life quietly collapses under loneliness and pressure.
The story follows her journey from a young girl taken into an opera troupe by her uncle Hu San Yuan, through years of artistic growth, sacrifice and emotional hardship.
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| The Lead Drops New Training Footage as Liu Haocun Throws Herself Into Qinqiang Opera World |
It is very much a classic “success does not automatically equal happiness” narrative, except this one arrives wrapped in embroidered opera robes and centuries of cultural history.
The newly released footage focuses heavily on Liu Haocun’s physical training. Every movement appears measured and deliberate, with instructors correcting the angle of her wrists, the positioning of her shoulders and even the pace of her breathing.
Opera performance, as many viewers online suddenly realised, is apparently less about casually waving sleeves around and more about achieving terrifying levels of precision.
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| The Lead Behind-The-Scenes Clips Show Liu Haocun’s Hardcore Opera Training |
Her transformation into Yi Qin’e has also become one of the drama’s biggest talking points. The character appears in four elaborate intangible cultural heritage-inspired opera costumes, each layered with intricate embroidery, dramatic headpieces and traditional makeup styles.
The visual styling does not simply look expensive; it feels historically grounded in a way many period dramas often promise before delivering costumes that suspiciously resemble luxury curtain fabric.
Fans especially praised how naturally Liu Haocun fits the traditional Chinese aesthetic. Her sharp yet delicate facial features, combined with expressive eyes and restrained body language, have made many viewers say she looks unusually convincing within the opera setting.
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| Liu Haocun’s Intense Qinqiang Opera Training for The Lead Has Viewers Completely Locked In |
Several netizens joked that some actors wear historical styling while Liu somehow looks like she accidentally walked out of an old opera painting.
The actress also gained attention during an offline promotional event for The Lead, where she demonstrated several signature Qinqiang Opera movements in front of audiences.
Videos from the event spread quickly online after viewers noticed how controlled and focused her expressions remained throughout the performance.
Even brief gestures carried enough dramatic intensity to make ordinary eye contact suddenly feel under-rehearsed by comparison.
Veteran actor Zhang Jiayi also attended the promotional event, adding further attention to the drama’s rollout in Xi’an.
Interactions between cast members created a relaxed atmosphere, though fans online quickly shifted focus back to Liu Haocun’s training clips, with many praising her willingness to fully immerse herself in a culturally demanding role instead of approaching it like another visually pretty costume drama.
Some viewers remain cautious, arguing that beautiful styling and intensive preparation do not automatically guarantee strong storytelling. Fams questioned whether younger audiences unfamiliar with Qinqiang Opera will fully connect with the slower and more traditional artistic elements.
Many fans also pointed out that traditional Chinese opera dramas have become increasingly rare in mainstream entertainment, making The Lead stand out immediately.
Some praised the production for introducing younger viewers to Qinqiang culture, while others admitted they initially clicked on the drama purely for Liu Haocun before unexpectedly becoming interested in opera itself. Cultural education through attractive casting might not be subtle, but clearly it works.