Star-studded Marriage Sees Ups and Downs

As all the young women who have appeared in films and in other performances such as the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games directed by Zhang Yimou are often conveniently referred to as Mou’s girls in the showbiz media， Dong Jie is also known as a Mou’s girl.

She was chosen in 2000 to star in Zhang Yimou’s “Happy Times”. The casting manager had cast a wide net all over the country spreading the word of the new film and trying to find an appropriate woman for the lead woman in the film. More than 70，000 young women responded. Dong Jie， a 20-year-old graduate from Beijing Dance Academy， was finally chosen. This launched her into showbiz and opened the door for her acting career as a starlet. She later appeared in “2046”， a film directed by Kar Wai Wong. She has also appeared in many other films and television series.

As a Mou’s girl， her romance with Pan Yueming， also a showbiz star， attracted media’s attention. Their wedding at Beijing International Club on September， 26， 2008 was a big media event. The newly weds issued their love communiqué at the ceremony: “We have decided to tie the knot today for a new turning point in our lives. We hope to enjoy this process and everything it brings， and appreciate all the blessing in this love. May the beautiful last for ever!”

Pan Yueming joined the cast of “Tian’anmen” the next day. In March， 2009， Dong Jie gave birth to a baby boy in Beijing. Pan Yueming’s ecstasy knew no bounds when he learned the birth of the son. The young couple celebrated the new life in their marriage happily and shared all the chores.

In late April， 2009， Pan Yueming got an offer to star in another movie. The shooting site was in Fujian， a coastal province in eastern China. The work progressed smoothly until May 13. That day， a jeep lost control and rolled over. Pan Yueming was in the jeep before it rolled over. He found himself flying in the sky before he crashed. The accident spot was tens of kilometers from the nearest hospital. While waiting for the arrival of an ambulance， Pan Yueming refused to call his wife， thinking he would make the call after he knew whether he was seriously hurt. He comforted himself by looking at his wife’s photos in his mobile phone. The wait lasted about an hour before the ambulance showed up.

He finally reached hospital. Doctors found his lung had a fracture. He had difficulty breathing. He was in such a critical condition that doctors thought for a moment he might be unable to make it. The hospital even issued a notification about his critical condition. An emergency surgery was performed to save Pan’s life. After the surgery， he called his wife. Dong Jie immediately decided to come to stay with her husband.

After the surgery， Pan Yueming was immediately transferred to the Fuzhou General Hospital of Nanjing Military Command， a hospital where better medical care was available. Around 2 o’clock on the morning of May 14， Dong Jie reached the hospital. They finally met in this hour of the day and this moment of their shared life. She went to him， reached for his hands， saying， “I am here now. You must live.” Hearing the words， Pan felt tears welling in his eyes. The two wept silently， holding hands and gazing at each other.

From then on， Dong Jie stayed with her husband in the Fuzhou hospital for about two months. During this time， she saw how doctors used a big needle to pierce into Pan’s chest and removed the air that had remained inside the chest through the fractured lung. She took care of her husband.

Pan was worried about her and their baby. Dong Jie said she was a tough girl. She entered the PLA Performing Arts Academy at ten and she learned how to take care of herself and other people. Her parents were taking care of the baby and she was in Fuzhou to take care of him.

She was tough and helped her husband survive. In early June， Pan was basically well. Though doctors said he should not travel and should stay in Fuzhou to recover for another couple of months， Pan decided to go back to Beijing.

Dong Jie said though she had starred in films and television dramas， this accident gave her an opportunity to take care of him and she regarded this period of time was their honeymoon.

100 days after the accident， Pan Yueming recovered. The husband wrote a long list of things Dong Jie had done for him: she stayed with him for 100 days and nights; she prepared more than 30 jars of soup for him; toweled him and help him take bath more than 200 times; she told countless jokes and made countless romantic remarks. He gave the list to Dong Jie， saying that he would pay back all the love as listed. Dong Jie replied， “You are silly. You owe me so much that no compensation will be enough.” □