And no one made more of an impression on the red carpet than the film’s star, Liu Yifei, who sparkled in a resplendent gold gown from Elie Saab's fall/winter 2019 haute couture collection. 

"Today, she is the princess of China," Chinese netizens proudly declared on Weibo. 

In an interview, the 32-year-old actress expressed her worries about her grandmother who is from Wuhan aka ground zero of the COVID-19 outbreak.

“I'm sure everyone is very worried after the outbreak. My grandma is still in Wuhan, but thank you for your concern,” Yifei said. “I think that people are now very cautious, taking care of themselves and others around them, staying at home and being really careful. I’m very touched and I hope everything will get better as soon as possible.”

Also at the premiere were Yifei's co-stars Donnie Yen and Jet Li, who was accompanied by his daughters, Jane, 20, and Jada, 17.

"My daughters say it is my responsibility to promote Chinese culture,” said Jet, who plays the emperor in the movie. 

While the China premiere of Mulan has been delayed indefinitely, the movie will still open as planned in Singapore and the US on March 26 and March 27 respectively.