The mainland variety show “Navigating Through Thorns 2025” recently premiered, and mainland Chinese actor Zhang Jin, a former martial arts athlete, revealed on the show that in April this year, he and his wife Cecilia Cheung were traveling abroad with their three children when he suddenly suffered a heart attack. He had a stent placed in his heart and was unable to speak at the time. Reflecting on the situation, Zhang Jin expressed his relief that he “almost died.”
In the episode aired on August 9th, Zhang Jin disclosed that he had a near-death experience due to a heart attack while traveling abroad with his family earlier this year. He recounted, “On April 17th during the trip, I suddenly had a heart attack. My heart had a stent put in, and I felt pain, difficulty breathing, and was covered in cold sweat.”
Describing the moment, Zhang Jin recounted, “My wife was queuing up to board the duck amphibious vehicle for the tour, approximately ten meters away from me. I couldn’t speak at the time because I felt like there was an abyss, and I was falling into it with no one to turn to.” He worried about leaving his wife and three children behind, saying, “I couldn’t die there because I was abroad, and if I were gone suddenly, what would she (Cecilia Cheung) do with our three children?”
“I can’t describe that feeling. I just felt like if I closed my eyes, it would be all over. So I kept holding on, couldn’t collapse here. Later when I returned to Hong Kong for a check-up, the doctor said, ‘You might have died there.'”
Zhang Jin admitted, “It was my first time experiencing a feeling so close to death. When facing death, one feels fear because I thought if I closed my eyes, I would leave the four people standing there, who are the four people I cherish the most in this world.”
This experience has led Zhang Jin to reevaluate his life’s priorities, cherishing every day spent with his family. Brushing shoulders with death wakes you up to what truly matters in your life.
Zhang Jin’s revelations shocked many. Some netizens reflected on his appearance in the recent episode, noting the visible signs of fatigue and aging, particularly in the past two years.
Last April, Zhang Jin shared two hospital pictures on Weibo. In the photos, he lay in bed with a nasal feeding tube, his left leg in a cast, and his right foot wrapped in layers. Despite the seemingly severe injuries, he smiled to the camera and said, “In action films, accidents are unavoidable.”
According to Hong Kong’s “Oriental Daily,” Zhang Jin suffered an accident while filming an action scene in mainland China, sustaining multiple injuries, especially severe damage to both legs. His wife, Cecilia Cheung, in Hong Kong, received the news of her husband’s injuries with great anxiety but was unable to rush to his side due to the need to care for their three children. Therefore, the production team arranged for Zhang Jin to return to Hong Kong for surgery, making it easier for Cecilia to personally attend to him.
Zhang Jin started learning martial arts at the age of 9, initially working as a martial arts instructor and stunt double in the film industry, gradually becoming a leading martial arts actor. Now 51 years old, he is beginning to show signs of aging and some lingering effects of his past injuries, both in appearance and physical condition, not quite matching many of his peers.
At the age of 51, Zhang Jin has been married to Hong Kong actress Cecilia Cheung for 17 years, raising their 12-year-old daughter, Cheung Cho-yee, and 10-year-old daughter, Cheung Shun-yee. In 2000, at the age of 46, Cecilia Cheung gave birth to their third child, son Cheung Lok-yee. Cecilia, a former Miss Hong Kong, gained early fame with TVB, while Zhang Jin transitioned from behind-the-scenes work to the spotlight in 2000, starring in numerous film and television projects and serving as a martial arts instructor. He won the Best Supporting Actor award at the Hong Kong Film Awards for his role as “Ma San” in the movie “The Grandmaster.”
Cecilia Cheung gained recognition in mainland China for her role in “Empresses in the Palace,” and a few years ago, the family relocated to Shanghai. However, due to a severe outbreak of the Shanghai Covid-19 virus, resulting in a strict lockdown and various chaos like food shortages, Zhang Jin and Cecilia Cheung moved back to Hong Kong as of 2022.