Chinese mainland actress Zhou Xun has become a Hong Kong citizen.

Media reports say the actress received a Hong Kong citizenship certificate under the "Quality Migrant Admission Scheme" at the end of January.

In recent years, the mainland has seen a notable rise in the number of actors and other artists applying for Hong Kong citizenship. Piano prodigies Lang Lang and Li Yundi and actors Hu Jun, Zhang Ziyi and Tang Wei obtained Hong Kong citizenship under this program.

Zhou played down the media hype about her citizenship change, saying she became a Hong Kong citizen because it was more convenient for her work. She added that she would remain focused on the mainland film industry in the future, according to the reports.

Zhou plans to soon resume her work in the spy film "Feng Sheng," or "Sound of the Wind," produced by Huayi Brothers, the country's leading entertainment company. She said she had bittersweet feelings about her current role, in that she regretted having to stand straight in an army uniform in the film, but was delighted that she could fulfill her dream of also wearing a traditional Chinese "qipao."

Zhou will complete her work on the film by the end of April. In the meantime, she said she had a growing interst in recording more songs, according to the reports.

As an internationally acclaimed Chinese actress and singer, Zhou was once regarded as one of the "four young dan actresses" in China in the early part of the decade, along with Zhang Ziyi, Xu Jinglei and Zhao Wei.

She had reinforced her positive image in a slew of new movies released last year, including "The Equation of Love and Death," "Painted Skin" and "All About Women," all of which were well received by her fans.

(CRI February 9, 2009)