Gallery: Chinese Mao Impersonators Are Devoid of Irony, Satire

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    *Zheng Jiang is a 56-year-old businessman. In 2005, during a visit with colleagues to the red base of Yan'an, Zheng Jiang was surrounded by tourists for one hour. They all wanted to be portrayed with the "President­." Recently, Zheng Jiang decided to play Mao'­s role full time in the TV fiction "Xiangli Xiangqin." © Tommaso Bonaventura*
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    *Yang Hui Ming worked for many years as a "functionary." In 2007, he joined the Acting Academy of Xi'an to specialize in Mao'­s role. Yang Hui Ming is from Changde, Hunan, so his biggest difficulty has been learning Mao'­s manner of speaking. Yang Hui Ming spent time in Mao'­s hometown, studying the local pronunciation and has many speeches from Mao recorded on his cellphone. As he says, "Every day, President Mao'­s voice resounds in my ears." © Tommaso Bonaventura*
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    *Mao double Yi Xiaojian, age 50, is from the Hengyang county in Hunan. In 2004, a journalist from a local magazine mentioned Yi Xiaojian's resemblance to Mao. Since then, Yi Xiaojian has performed in numerous events, including a TV gala to celebrate Spring Day. In 2007, he gave up his role as vice-leader in a provincial administrative office to devote himself full-time to his job as a Mao lookalike. © Tommaso Bonaventura*
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    *Young Mao double, Li Sai. © Tommaso Bonaventura*
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    *Young Mao double, Jiang Yu Wang. © Tommaso Bonaventura*
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    *Mao double Peng Tian, from Zhangjiajie, a town in the Hunan province, is 47-years-old. He has been on the stage at a national level, taking part in the movie* Mao Zedong'­s Intrigues*. Peng Tian has studied Mao'­s local dialect and his handwriting. © Tommaso Bonaventura*
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    *Mao double, Yang Hui Ming. © Tommaso Bonaventura*
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    *Unlike other Mao doubles, Du Tianqing is not from Hunan. He was born in 1948 in Henan but lived in Beijing for many years. Du Tianqing has appeared in fictional accounts such as* Mao Zedong at Qingdao *and* The General Zhang Xueliang*. Du Tianqing is an award-winning painter and calligrapher. © Tommaso Bonaventura*
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    *Mao double, Yi Xiaojian. © Tommaso Bonaventura*
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    *Mao doubles Yang Hui Ming and Zheng Jiang, actors in soap operas and patriotic movies. © Tommaso Bonaventura*
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