2017 Year in Review: Beijing's Top 5 Celebrity Sightings

Beijingers were left starstruck on more than one occasion this year thanks in large part to a number of blockbuster movies that rolled through the capital. Some received more red carpet than others – sad! But all seemed to enjoy their brief forays into China life. Below we've outlined our five favorites in chronological order.
 

Samuel Jackson's Food-stagram Spree
The second highest box office grossing movie star in Hollywood history, Samuel L. Jackson made his way to Beijing this past March as part of the promotional campaign for giant budgeted blockbuster Kong: Skull Island. Aside from stopping by tourist sites like the Forbidden City and local favorites like Plastered 8 to check out their T-shirt designs, Jackson also revealed his ravenous foodie tendencies. Indeed, everything from duck liver to Chinese-style Kobe beef was devoured by the film star, but not before he snapped them for his Instagram – a plate of "Kung Pao Chicken!!! POW!!!" anyone?
 

Ronaldo's Artsy Graffiti
Portuguese-born, Real Madrid star forward Cristiano Ronaldo delighted football fans at Beijing's 798 Art District this past July with an appearance that was part of physical education promotional campaign spearheaded by Nike. The event saw Ronaldo breaking out a spray can and coating a wall with his initials, before signing jerseys and posing for selfies with fans.
 

Supermodel Liu Wen Sees Double
Think all celebrity photo ops are boring? Then you missed Liu Wen striking a pose with her wax doppelgänger in August. Known for being the first model of East Asian descent to strut down the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show catwalk, Liu again made headlines when her wax likeness debuted at Beijing's Madame Tussauds wax museum. At the time, TBJ poked fun at her tendency to mug for the cameras at the ceremony, noticing that "for a person who works for a living standing in front of photographers, Liu appeared to be somewhat nervous at the unveiling."

Superheroes Find a Heavenly Backdrop
The stars of the DC superhero flick Justice League thankfully didn't stick to mere, boring-old red carpet walks during a promotional tour for the movie in Beijing in late October. They also mixed things up at a more distinctive setting: the Temple of Heaven. Jason Momoa, who portrays Aquaman man in the flick, held up a phone to take a selfie with his co-stars Gal Gidot (Wonder Woman), Ben Affleck (Batman), Henry Cavill (Superman), Ray Fisher (Cyborg), and Ezra Miller (who seemed far more subdued in the photo op than his bubbly, wide-eyed character Flash in the film).They seemed all the more heroic braving Beijing haze without masks, capes or cowls, though at least they didn't attempt to jog in that smog like real-life suck-up (and 2016 Beijing honorary guest of note) Mark Zuckerberg.

No "Covfefe" in the Chinese Capital
It was poised to be a state visit for the ages – when US President Donald Trump landed in Beijing with his entourage in November, the world wondered if The Donald would be on his best behavior, or instead let loose with anti-China vitriol a la his 2016 Presidential campaign. Worse still: would he make a gaffe along the lines of his much-derided Twitter-based "covfefe" incident a few months prior? To the relief of his administration, Trump played nice, with TBJ noting, "No traces of antagonism were on display during the visit," at least in terms of currency manipulation accusations and other such gripes, which were major staples of his campaign trail speeches. Instead, the most noteworthy part of the trip was The Don and the First Lady's dinner with Xi Jinping and Peng Liyuan at the Forbidden City, a first for a foreign leader since the founding of modern China.

Aside from these all star sightings, other 2017 paparazzi moments of note included Liam Gallagher (of Oasis fame) wielding a Chinese fan while singing a stripped down version of "Wonderwall," during his Beijing concert; a backstage selfie taken by teen idol Ariana Grande before her Wukesong Arena gig; top tennis stars Martin Klizan and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga griping about smog during the China Open; and recent photo-opp-riddled visits by current (and former) state leaders that have Trump beat in the charisma department like Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the 44th President of the United States Barack Obama.

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Email: kylemullin@truerun.com
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Photos: Instagram, courtesy of Lin "Harry" Pin, Xinhua, Weibo, Sina News,