Has Zhang Linghe Overtaken Yang Yang As China’s Most Handsome Actor?

Chinese social media seems to be currently obsessed with one very important (and very thirsty) question: Has Pursuit of Jade star Zhang Linghe overtaken Yang Yang as China’s most handsome actor?

For years, Yang Yang, 34, has been widely regarded as the gold standard of male visuals in China’s ultra-competitive entertainment scene.

With his sharp features, polished image and, what many plastic surgeons have described as near-perfect symmetry, he essentially set the benchmark for C-dramas like Love O2O (2016) and You Are My Glory (2021).

Then came Linghe, 28, and let’s just say he didn’t arrive quietly.

He was already gaining traction as a leading male actor in dramas such as The Princess Royal (2024), and Our Generation (2025). But it is the massive success of Pursuit of Jade, that has made him one of the most talked-about faces.

Literally.

And like Yang Yang, aesthetic doctors are also harping on how Linghe has that lauded symmetrical face.

And yes, we saw and are still tickled by those “Foundational General” memes.

Still, the numbers speak for themselves. The drama has clocked an impressive seven million views on Netflix since its March 6 debut, officially becoming the platform’s top-performing Chinese drama to date.

So, has he actually overtaken Yang Yang?

A growing number of fans think so, pointing to his current popularity and sheer online visibility as proof that he is now leading the pack.

But not everyone is ready to write Yang Yang off just yet.

According to some netizens, the debate reflects a broader shift in what audiences find attractive today.

“Yang Yang represents a very specific type of beauty that is refined, elegant, almost textbook-perfect. Zhang Linghe, on the other hand, brings a different energy. Less polished, more intense,” read one poetic comment.

Guess the netizen is a fan of both?

Another was more blunt, and wrote: “It is not a replacement. After all, he defined an era of what a leading male actor looks like in China.”

Photos: Star Dreamchaser/Facebook, yang0099/IG, zhanglinghe_1230 Netflix