Jackie Chan: China's Top Celebrity

Forbes - SHANGHAI -- Hong Kong movie star Jackie Chan  heads our new list of top Chinese celebrities.

Chan beat basketball star Yao Ming, who had dominated the list for six consecutive years, Forbes China magazine reported in its latest issue. Chan reached the apex in part because of the strength of his acting and his income from concerts. Last year he became the first entertainer to perform in the Beijing Olympic Stadium since Olympics finished in 2008.

For the first time the latest celebrity ranking from Forbes China, the licensed Chinese-language edition of Forbes, was expanded to include celebrities that hail from Hong Kong and Taiwan in addition to the mainland.

Yao, the Houston Rockets basketball player who is currently recovering from an injury, dropped all the way to No. 4 in the newest ranking. Taiwan music superstar Jay Chou came in second, and Andy Lau, the Hong Kong singer and actor, was third.

In a year when the global economy struggled, Chinese entertainers benefited from the country's brisk economic growth rate of more than 8%. "China's wealth is spreading beyond the entertainment industry's traditionally big markets in eastern cities like Beijing and Shanghai, and moving further out into second- and third-tier cities," says Echo Yang, who compiled the list for Forbes China. "That is providing a huge source of new business and income for Chinese celebrities."

The Forbes China Celebrity List surveys the popularity and income of leaders in movies, sports, media and music. Earnings were based on the 2009 calendar year. In this year's survey Yao actually outranked Chan in income generated; Chan did better in influence on the Web and television.