Yang Mi has been in the entertainment industry for more than three decades, and a new set of old photos is reminding people exactly how far back that story goes. A group of rare behind-the-scenes pictures from 1990 shows the actress at around three years old on the set of her very first drama, Tang Ming Huang. The images were shared online in September 2026 by a former child co-star and quickly spread across Chinese social media, with commenters describing the young Yang Mi as a doll-like child whose features have barely changed since.
The Photos Came From a Former Child Co-Star
The pictures were not official promotional stills. A netizen using the handle “爱运动的麦爸” (Ai Yundong de Mai Ba) posted them after mentioning his childhood acting experience in a comment thread about Yang Mi. He played another child role in Tang Ming Huang when he was seven years old, making him and the three-year-old Yang Mi the two youngest actors on set.
He told the Xiaoxiang Morning Herald that he kept the photos for more than 30 years and decided to share them after Yang Mi supporters asked to see them. He said he did not believe the photos would harm her and hoped they would not cause her any trouble. He also shared that he no longer works as an actor and now lives abroad, working in education.
“I hid them for over thirty years,” he replied when asked why he waited so long to post the pictures. When another commenter said Yang Mi herself might not have the photos, he answered, “After all, only I have this picture”.
What the Three Year Old Yang Mi Looked Like
The images show a small child with a round face, large bright eyes, and naturally curly hair. In one photo, she wears a blue padded jacket with yellow overalls, an outfit that stood out as stylish for the early 1990s. In another, she sits on a prop dragon throne in full costume, with her hair styled in small buns and floral pins. A third picture shows her standing next to Liu Wei, the actor who played the Tang emperor, along with the seven-year-old poster.
The photos also include a shot with director Chen Jialin, who cast Yang Mi in the role of young Princess Xianyi (幼年咸宜公主). The young actress appears calm and comfortable in the set photos, and the poster recalled that she was well-behaved and did not cry on set.
Her First Role in Tang Ming Huang
Tang Ming Huang was a large historical production directed by Chen Jialin. The drama was filmed in 1990 and aired in 1993, and it went on to win major Chinese television awards, including recognition at the Golden Eagle Awards and the Flying Apsaras Awards. Yang Mi’s part was small, with only a few scenes, but it marked the start of a career that would later include Palace, Chinese Paladin 3, and Eternal Love.
Her age at the time has been listed as both three and four in different records. The poster remembers her as three, while some biographies say she was four when she made her debut. Either way, the photos place her at the very beginning of a path that has now lasted 36 years.
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Fan Reactions and the Proportional Growth Comments
Comments under the viral posts focused on how closely the child in the photos resembles the adult Yang Mi. The phrase “等比例长大” (grown up proportionally) appeared repeatedly, along with descriptions of her as a “洋娃娃” (doll). Many users compared the old pictures with recent photos of the actress and pointed out that her eyes, nose, and face shape have stayed largely the same.
A smaller wave of comments brought up Yang Mi’s father, who once said in an interview that his daughter was so pretty as a child that he could not bring himself to spank her when she misbehaved. The joke resurfaced under the photos, with users correcting each other about whether it was her father or mother who said it.
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The Poster Behind the Photos
The man who shared the pictures has stayed out of the spotlight since they went viral. In his interview with the Xiaoxiang Morning Herald on September 21, 2026, he said he did not expect the level of attention the post received and did not want to disturb Yang Mi. He described the photos as a record of a brief childhood friendship on a film set and said he hoped people would continue to support her.
The photos were first posted in mid-September 2026 and remain online. Yang Mi has not publicly commented on the images, and no official statement has been released by her team.
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