China’s first ladies

Unlike her American counterpart, the spouse of a Chinese president often stays well in the background, clear of the spotlight. But China’s next first lady, Peng Liyuan, a popular singer, may break from that mold.

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Nov. 22, 2009

Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping. attends a news conference of an AIDS anti-discrimination documentary film in Beijing. Xi is expected to be become China’s president next week and Peng, China’s first lady.

/ ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images

Circa 1936

Mao Zedong's fourth wife was the former film star Lan Ping, seen here with her mother. She was later known as Jiang Qing. Her grab for power during the Cultural Revolution, purge from the party and death by suicide remains a cautionary tale taught in middle schools across China.

/ Hulton Archive via Getty Images

Dec. 29, 1980

After Mao’s death, Jiang and the other members of the "gang of four" were convicted as counterrevolutionaries by China’s Supreme Court.

/ AFP/Getty Images

April 19, 1992

Wang Yeping was a model Chinese political spouse to President Jiang Zemin: professional and anonymous. A graduate of the Shanghai Institute of Foreign Languages, Wang retired after a career that included a post as head of a Shanghai electrical engineering research institute.

/ Xinhua News Agency via AP

June 27, 1998

Wang greets then-President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton at a ceremony in Beijing's Tiananmen Square as Jiang looks on. As with U.S. first ladies, the spouse of Chinese leaders make appearances at some state functions, but the Chinese women rarely speak out.

Fan Rujun / Xinhua News Agency via AP

Nov. 29, 1998

Jiand and Wang scoop dirt onto a Japanese apricot tree with red blossoms during the memorial tree-planting ceremony at Sendai City Museum in northern Japan. Wang occasionally accompanied her husband on overseas trips.

Katsumi Kasahara / AP

March 25, 1999

Wang, waving after arriving with her husband in Geneva, helped reform the image of China’s first ladies.

/ AP

Sept. 8, 2012

Chinese President Hu Jintao and his wife, Liu Yongqing, arrive at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, Canada’s capital. Liu has kept so low a profile that few people in China know her name or could pick her out in a crowd.

Bill Grimshaw / AFP/Getty Images

Aug. 8, 2008

Then-President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush are greeted by Hu and Liu before a reception at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. As with her predecessor, Wang Yeping, the Chinese first lady has made appearances at state events but little else.

Mandel Ngan / AFP/Getty Images

Nov. 26, 2012

Hu and Liu pick up olives during their visit to an agricultural cooperative in the village of Peza on the island of Crete in southern Greece.

Stephanos Rapanis / AFP/Getty Images

Nov. 4, 2010

Liu, left, and France's then-first lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, right, are seen during arrival ceremonies at Orly Airport in Paris.

Charles Platiau / AFP/Getty Images

June 15, 2011

Hu and Liu disembark from their plane at an airport outside Moscow.

Alexander Nemenov / AFP/Getty Images

November 12, 2011

President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama pose with their Chinese counterparts in Honolulu during a welcoming ceremony at an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

Robyn Beck / AFP/Getty Images

Nov. 30, 2005

Peng Liyuan performs during a concert in Beijing. Peng, a popular folk singer, is well-known in China through her performances on state television. But as her husband, Xi Jinping, rose through the Communist Party ranks, she has lowered her profile. Xi, China’s vice president, is expected to be made president next week.

/ ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images

Feb. 27, 2006

Peng performs in the Chinese opera “Mulan Psalm“ in Zhengzhou, in China’s Henan province. The opera is based on the Chinese folk tale of Mulan, a woman who disguises herself as a man to replace her ailing father in the army and saved her country from foreign intruders.

/ ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images

July 30, 2007

Peng attends a news conference for her new album in Beijing. Peng is a civilian member of China’s People’s Liberation Army.

/ ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images

Sept. 29, 2012

Peng performs during a gala to celebrate China's 60th anniversary in Beijing.

/ ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images

Sept. 19, 2009

Peng performs during a rehearsal of the music and dance epic “Road to Revival” in Beijing.

/ ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images

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A man walks on sulphur and mineral salt formations near Dallol in the Danakil Depression, northern Ethiopia April 22, 2013. The Danakil Depression in Ethiopia is one of the hottest and harshest environments on earth, with an average annual temperature of 94 degrees Fahrenheit (34.4 Celsius). For centuries, merchants have travelled there with caravans of camels to collect salt from the surface of the vast desert basin. The mineral is extracted and shaped into slabs, then loaded onto the animals before being transported back across the desert so that it can be sold around the country. Picture taken April 22, 2013. REUTERS/Siegfried Modola (ETHIOPIA - Tags: BUSINESS SOCIETY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

ATTENTION EDITORS: PICTURE 2 OF 30 FOR PACKAGE 'ETHIOPIA'S ANCIENT SALT TRAIL'
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Ethiopia’s salt trail

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