China's celebrated transgender artist Jin Xing remarries German spouse after 18 years
Jin Xing, a celebrated TV talkshow host and dancer and China's first transgender, announced her remarriage to her German husband Heinz-Gerd Oidtmann on social media on Thursday.
"In 2006, we divorced because we needed to register our child's household. Eighteen years later, we re-registered and married again, witnessing our love and responsibility along the way. Today is also Heinz's birthday, so we're having a double celebration! I wish that all destined loves would come together! Everything life throws at you is designed to be experienced!"
Jin Xing and her husband Heinz pose for pictures at the marriage registration in Shanghai.
The duo divorced in 2006 to resolve the issue of their children's household registration and avoid disrupting their elder son Dudu's school schedule. Heinz, as a foreigner, needed to wait for a year to obtain international adoption qualification.
They continued to co-parent their three adopted children.
Jin Xing and her three adopted children.
Netizens showered Jin with blessings. "True love transcends everything!" "Together through thick and thin for twenty years." Some netizens noticed that Jin's announcement time, 13:14, is phonetically similar to "a lifetime" in Chinese.
Jin and Heinz met on a flight from Paris to Shanghai in February 2004.
Jin is China's first publicly known transgender individual.
Jin Xing poses for a Hollywoodreporter.com feature in 2016.
Jin is known for her sharp wit, fearless comments, and sarcasm, propelling her show, "The Jin Xing Show," to instant success. Aside from her work as a talk show host, her outstanding dancing has greatly contributed to her celebrity status.
"Call me brother, sister, or even 'guy,' if that makes you feel better. My name will always be Jin Xing. I was a male, and now I'm a woman, living my life."
The show's success propelled her to national prominence, with more than 1 million viewers each weekend. It was regarded as a family show for mainstream audiences.
Jin was born in 1967 in Liaoning Province.
A chance encounter with a dance performance on television piqued his interest in dancing, prompting him to join the Shenyang Song and Dance Ensemble at the age of nine. Later, at the age of 17, he attempted the male toe-dancing, ascending to the ensemble's star status.
Jin Xing (right) in army uniform, aged nine.
His dedication and successes won him an opportunity to study in the United States, where he honed his skills further.
Jin Xing in New York in the early 1990s.
Jin married an American classmate at 23, masking his femininity. Their marriage ended after a few years.
Jin chose gender reassignment surgery at 28 after years of inner conflict.
Unfortunately, a nursing mistake during her 16-hour surgery resulted in nerve damage in her left leg, preventing her from dancing again.
"I wanted to jump to my death at that moment," she once said of the traumatic experience.
"Dance is my life. How can I live without it?"
Jin persevered through difficult rehabilitation and eventually returned to the stage as a woman.
Jin later founded the Shanghai Jin Xing Dance Theater.
"Dancing is my life. How can I live without it?"
Jin Xing before and after the surgery. On the first photo as a woman, she wrote "My female looks are complex yet mystical."
The couple in Italy.
In 2000, a documentary on Jin's gender reassignment surgery was released.
"Miss Jin Xing," which depicts her transition, was screened in Gwangju, South Korea and was later released to widespread acclaim.
Jin Xing discusses whether one should tell one's parents about their true sexual orientation on the talk show "I Can I Bibi" in 2018.
