In the news from Epoch Times on July 22, 2025, Mainland Chinese actress Song Zuer, who was banned for two years due to tax scandals, made a comeback this year with the broadcast of the costume dramas “Bend” and “Worry-Free Crossing,” gaining high popularity. Recently, the release of photos from her starring role in “Cousin Wanfu” showed her sunken cheeks, protruding veins, pencil-thin legs, and sparked discussions about her extremely skinny appearance.
Song Zuer, 27 years old this year, successfully shed the shadow of tax evasion scandals with her performances in “Worry-Free Crossing” alongside Ren Jialun and in “Bend” with Liu Yuning. Recently, she started filming the new drama “Cousin Wanfu” with Chen Xinhai. In the latest leaked photos, she was seen in casual short-sleeved shorts, displaying a shockingly thin figure. Apart from prominent collarbones, her legs were as thin as pencils, quite a contrast to her more plump appearance during the promotion of “Worry-Free Crossing” in April.
Reports suggest that in order to portray the reborn noblewoman Zhen Jiafu in “Cousin Wanfu,” Song Zuer put in a lot of effort, restricting herself to only two eggs and half a cucumber per day, resulting in a mandatory weight loss of 20 kilograms. Standing at 165 cm tall, she dropped from her already slender 46 kilograms to 38 kilograms, leading to sunken cheeks, protruding veins, and a transformation that had netizens exclaiming: “Her head is bigger than her body! Looks like a paper-thin cartoon character!”
There have been rumors that Song Zuer resorted to extreme fasting for three days to lose 15 kilograms rapidly for her role in “Cousin Wanfu,” where she had to layer multiple Ming dynasty costumes to avoid looking fat on screen. The shocking sight of her extreme weight loss has alarmed netizens and raised concerns about her health.
Song Zuer previously disclosed the aftermath of her weight loss in “Dining in the Light” program: “Now, after eating hotpot, my face swells up like a bun the next day, but if I starve for a day, I can easily shed two kilograms, like deflating a balloon!” Such a terrifying metabolism has left people both amused and worried about her health, with fans commenting, “Previously criticizing her for being bloated, now criticizing her for being too thin, let’s not be too harsh on female stars.”
In fact, extreme weight loss is not uncommon in the entertainment industry, as actresses go to great lengths to look good on camera. A veteran cameraman revealed: “Costume dramas with wide sleeves can make actors appear fat; actresses need to weigh less than 80 kilograms to look normal on screen.” The devilish formula that adds 20 kilograms on camera has made life unbearable for actresses.
Interestingly, the body-double industry in Mainland China seems to be booming now. An insider from Hengdian Group revealed, “The daily wage for female martial arts body doubles over 170 cm has increased to 2,000 yuan, because lead actors are so thin they can’t even wield a sword!” This awkward situation has left many people amused.
Song Zuer, 27 years old this year, started her career as a child star at the age of 6, and gained recognition with dramas like “Precious Lotus Lantern” and “Qiao Family’s Children,” being voted as one of the “Four Small Flowers Born in the 1990s.” In August 2023, Song Zuer was suddenly reported for evading 45 million RMB in taxes by former company employees, causing a stir. Interestingly, the official Weibo account of the Chaoyang District Committee of Beijing also reposted news related to Song Zuer’s tax evasion on that day.
As the scandal escalated, some netizens discovered that the official Weibo accounts of five satellite TV stations in China had deleted related content; searching “Song Zuer” yielded “Sorry, no relevant results found.” At that time, a search on “Tianyancha” showed that among the four companies associated with Song Zuer’s legal name, Sun Fanqing, only Shanghai Hongquan Film and Television Culture Company remains, while her involvement in the upcoming dramas “Bend,” “Difficult Productions,” “Reading Class,” and “Worry-Free Crossing” had been completely banned.
It was only on April 21 this year that Song Zuer made a sudden appearance, promoting the new drama “Worry-Free Crossing” with actor Ren Jialun, leading netizens to question the influence behind Song Zuer. Simultaneously, some netizens were curious to inquire whether male stars like Deng Lun, female stars like Yuan Bingyan, or even Fan Bingbing, who had also been banned due to tax-related issues, would have the opportunity to make a comeback in acting in Mainland China.