HAINAN, January 28 — Chinese actress Zhao Lusi was recently spotted running an egg pancake stall at a night market in Hainan, China, an experience she later described as a personal break from her life in show business.
The 27-year-old was recognised by customers on January 20, with no production crew present — fuelling speculation that the appearance was not commercially driven, according to Singapore-based news outlet AsiaOne.
Videos shared online showed Zhao handling the stall on her own, from cooking and packaging the food to collecting payment, while also chatting with customers, posing for photos with fans and handing out tanghulu.
“I spoke about opening a noodle business in my livestream last summer, because at the time I had the feeling that I might leave showbiz,” Zhao said during a livestream on the social media platform Xiaohongshu last Friday.
“It’s my desire to fulfill my wish [to operate a small business], so I went ahead and did it.”
She added that the stall was set up quietly and that she was only recognised during the final two orders of the night, saying: “I felt blissful that day because the vendors around us took care of us very well and I am really happy. I am just experiencing life in the most beautiful and warm-hearted way. I think it’s a boost for myself.”
Following the livestream, netizens shared their encounters online, with several praising Zhao’s friendliness and the egg pancakes she made.
Zhao has largely stayed out of the public eye over the past year after revealing in January 2025 that she had suffered from depression since 2019, alongside physical health issues, and amid a public dispute with her former management agency, Galaxy Cool Entertainment, which she left in August 2024.
