Looking at the illustration, run larger than normal to get the effect, you think it is Mao Zedong. It is not. It is not even male.

It is Chen Yan, 51, from Mianyang, in China’s southwestern province of Sichuan, who has been dressing up as Mao since she was discovered on a local TV show in 2005 Suited up in a grey, button-up waistcoat, Chen looks at the very least similar to Mao Zedong and is happy to pose for the cameras.

Chen Yen spends up to RMB800 on make-up and styling to create Mao’s famous receding hairline.

Chen Yen said, ‘I need to wear a pair of specially designed shoes to increase my height to 1.80 meters (5 ft 11 in) since I am only 1.55 meters. Then I dress up in Sun Yat-sen suits which Mao also likes, and hold a cigarette without the filter.’

So she would like, please, to make some money from this and, at the same time, ‘gain support and understanding from the public.’

Chen Yen said, ‘My family are against me doing this. They don’t think it’s a good thing for a woman to impersonate a man.’

Chen Yen thinks she can make a living from impersonating Mao and, to add a hint of mystery, refuses to reveal her earlier occupations. She said, ‘I’m not telling anyone anything until I become famous.’ Perhaps, for the time being, she should hang on to her day time job.
Source: Reuters