Han Geng

Han Geng (born February 9, 1984) is a Chinese Mandopop singer and actor.

He attended Guang Hua Elementary School from 1990 to 1996.

At age 12, Han was accepted into the dance department at the Central University for Nationalities in Beijing, and left his family and his hometown in the Northeastern part of China to pursue studies in dance.

During his years at the university, he mastered all 56 types of traditional dances from China's 56 ethnic groups, received training in ballet and martial arts, and performed in many countries including the United States and Russia.

In 1999, as a representative of the Nanai ethnic group, Han participated in China's anniversary parade.

He started his career in 2001, when he was chosen by S.M. Entertainment to become a member of South Korean boy band Super Junior, which debuted in 2005.

In December 2001, Han signed up for the H.O.T. CHINA Audition Casting, a casting audition that was hosted by S.M. Entertainment.

After the audition, Han began to work briefly as a cameo actor in short low-budget Chinese films to earn a salary before entering college.

In late August 2002, Han was notified that he had been accepted into S.M. Entertainment.

After Han's graduation at the Central University for Nationalities, he was sent to Korea and received private lessons in singing, dancing, and acting, as well as learning the Korean language.

On February 6, 2005, Han was officially announced to be part of the all-boy rotational musical group Super Junior as a member of its first generation, Super Junior 05.

He later became the leader of its sub-group Super Junior-M in 2008.

For his various contributions to the spread of Chinese culture, Han was chosen as a torch bearer for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

On March 20, 2008, Han was announced to be one of the torch bearers for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

He also sung the Beijing Olympic theme song "Beijing Welcomes You".

On April 8, 2008, Super Junior's third subgroup Super Junior-M made its debut in China, with Han as the leader of the group.

The subgroup released their first Chinese-language studio album, Me, on May 2, 2008.

On December 21, 2009, Han filed a lawsuit against SME to terminate his contract.

He has since returned to China to pursue a solo career.

In 2009, Han starred in CCTV's 12-episode drama Stage of Youth.

This marks his acting debut.

On December 21, 2009, Han filed for contract termination from SM Entertainment and ceased activities with both Super Junior and Super Junior-M.

He later also became an ambassador for the 2010 Shanghai Expo and the 2010 Asian Games.

On July 27, 2010, Han launched his first album The Heart of Geng.

The album contained ten tracks, including the title song "My Logo", which was produced by American producer Craig Williams and Dutch producer Rene Van Verseveld.

Travis Payne and Stacey Walker, along with Michael Jackson's "This Is It" dancers participated in creating the choreography for the song.

The Heart of Geng topped various major music charts throughout Asia, and sold more than 350,000 copies within only 2 months after its release.

A special celebratory version of the album was released on October 1 with a limited number of 20,000 copies.

Han also held his first two solo concerts in Beijing on July 17 and 18.

Han made his debut on the big screen in the US-Chinese collaboration action film My Kingdom.

The film is directed by Gao Xiaosong, produced by Andre Morgan and features action directing by Sammo Hung.

Han also played Deng Xiaoping in the government-funded film The Founding of a Party and starred in the film The First President as Hu Han Min, the secretary of Sun Yat-Sen.

On September 27, 2011, Han's departure from SM Entertainment was made official as both parties came to a mutual agreement.

In late 2012, Han started to gain international attention and won the 2012 MTV Europe Music Awards' "Best Worldwide Act" and Nickelodeon's 2013 Kids' Choice Awards' "Favorite Asian Act".

Han is of ethnic Nanai descent from Northeast China, and was born in Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang, China.

On July 19, 2012, Han released his second album Hope in the Darkness which contained singles "Wild Cursive", "Clown Mask" and "Betrayal of the Soul".

Han also kicked off his "Hope in the Darkness World Tour" on July 28, 2012, at Beijing MasterCard Center.

On November 11, 2012, Han was announced as the winner of the MTV European Music Awards' Best Worldwide Act, earning him his first major international award.

On March 24, 2013, Han attended Nickelodeon's 2013 Kids' Choice Awards at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, where he won the Favorite Asian Act award.

Han was then cast in Zhao Wei’s directorial debut So Young.