Fan Bingbing comeback is on after 2018 tax evasion scandal, with TV series Win the World reported to be airing soon on Youku

A period drama set in the Qin dynasty starring Fan and Gao Yunxiang, Win the World will reportedly air on video platform Youku soon

In China, it is not uncommon to see productions featuring disgraced stars shelved indefinitely – which is why the news has been met with some surprise

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Fan Bingbing and Gao Yunxiang in a scene from Win the World. Fan was exiled from the entertainment industry in 2018 when Chinese authorities ordered her to pay more than US$100 million in overdue taxes and fines. Now it appears China has forgiven her.

Published: 8:45am, 29 May 2020Updated: 8:45am, 29 May 2020

She’s back – after a two-year absence from Chinese showbiz world, Fan Bingbing is set to return to the small screen in a 500 million yuan (US$69.8 million) TV drama series that has been in limbo since a tax evasion scandal in 2018.

Win the World, a period drama based on a historical figure from the Qin dynasty (221BC-206BC), will air on video platform Youku, according to Chinese media reports. Its launch date has not been announced. Alibaba, which owns Youku, also owns the South China Morning Post.

Produced by Talent Television and Film and starring Fan, China’s leading actress, and actor Gao Yunxiang, the show is said to be the most expensive TV series ever made in China. Fan plays Qing, a widow and a prominent female entrepreneur who helps Qin Shi Huang (Gao), the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China, bankroll the construction of the Great Wall.

The series was to have aired in 2018 until off-set drama involving both leads halted production and it was shelved indefinitely.

Win the World, starring Gao Yunxiang and Fan Bingbing, will air on Youku.

Fan’s downfall has been widely publicised. When the Chinese government began cracking down on tax evasion among high-earning celebrities in 2018, it was discovered that Fan owed more than 255 million yuan in unpaid taxes, of which 200 million yuan was regarded as tax evasion.