He was fined $1.2 million for having 3 kids, which violated China's family-planning laws at the time. Two years later, the family planning law was repealed and people are no longer fined.
Chief director of opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Olympic
games in Beijing.
A former photographer
Jury president of 2007 Venice Film Festival.
Attended the Beijing Film Academy, Beijing, China
Member of the jury at the Berlin International Film Festival in
1993
Part of China's Fifth Generation of filmmakers, who began
making films after the Cultural Revolution. Others from this group
include Kaige Chen and Jinzhan Zhang.
Interviewed in "World Directors in Dialogue" by Bert Cardullo (Scarecrow Press, 2011).