Chung writes new role in Beijing

Actress Christy Chung is happily settling into her new life on the mainland with her husband and daughter, after leaving Hong Kong last year.

'I'd been in Hong Kong for 10 years,' said Chung, from her home in Beijing. 'I felt like I'd been there, done that. Every role given to me was just the same. I wanted to have something new and fresh.'

The Canadian-born actress launched her showbiz career in Hong Kong in 1993, the year she won the Miss Chinese International pageant, and was voted the sexiest woman in Asia by FHM magazine in 2000.

Chung said it has taken her a couple of months to fit into her new environment. Appearing in the mainland TV drama series, The Beauty of the World, helped her learn Putonghua quickly.

'For two months, I spoke [Putonghua] every day - no one spoke English,' said the 34-year-old, who plays a businesswoman in the period piece set in the Ming dynasty. 'When I first came to Hong Kong, I couldn't speak Cantonese. It's pretty much the same. It's a new page, starting all over again in China.'

Next Saturday, Chung will help launch a Montblanc fountain pen celebrating the 100th birthday of the late star Greta Garbo, along with five other Asian actresses - Taiwan's Charlie Yeung, the mainland's Li Bingbing, Singapore's Fann Woon Fong, South Korea's Kim So-yeon and Malaysia's Tiara Jaquelina.