Chinese actress and trendsetter Dilraba Dilmurat more than lives up to her name—Dilraba means "beloved beauty." When it was announced early in November that the 33-year-old has been listed among the 2025 Asia-Pacific Most Influential Young Women during the Asia-Pacific Young Entrepreneurs Forum, accolades began to come from different parts of the world.

"So beautiful!" exclaimed Nuha Ahmed from Jordan. "Gorgeous," sighed Nguyễn Ngọc Long from Viet Nam. And Maria Del Socorro from Mexico held up the heart emoji in wordless admiration.

A press release said the tribute was in recognition of Dilraba's role as "a defining trendsetter of youth culture in the Asia-Pacific region, straddling the worlds of films, TV and fashion as well as cultural advocacy." She also made it to the Asia-Pacific Leaders under 35 in 2025, which, unveiled at the forum in November, recognized 141 outstanding youth in the region.

Rigorous training 

Dilraba comes from a family with cultural roots in Urumqi. Her father was a soloist in the Xinjiang Song and Dance Troupe, one of the region's leading art troupes, and her mother was a dancer. She grew up listening to the melody of the dombra, a plucked string instrument associated with the Central Asian ethnic groups, and the rhythm of Uygur dances.

When she was nine, her father said he was taking her to a "fun" class. "I happily went along with candies," she recalled in an interview. It was a professional dance school and the happy adventure led to six years of rigorous training in ethnic dances and ballet.

She followed a tough regime. Every morning she would head out to the academy with her dance clothes before dawn. In winter, she had to trudge through snow in temperatures as low as minus 10 degrees Celsius. There was no heating in the practice room and when she stretched her legs, her knees pressed against the stingingly cold floor. She shivered but never thought of giving up.

Over the six years, Dilraba mastered both ethnic dances and ballet, which helped her develop a unique artistic skill and infused her with resilience. Later, following in her father's footsteps, she joined the Xinjiang Song and Dance Troupe as a professional dancer, performing across the country.

However, she found the performance routine repetitive. Seeking to expand her horizons, she enrolled in a pre-college program at the Ethnic College of Northeast Normal University in Jilin Province, northeast China. There, she participated in Jilin's first song competition for minority ethnic groups and her performance, featuring Uygur elements, earned her the third prize.

This gave her new stimulus. Then her piano teacher told her: "You have a flair for performance in front of the camera—it would be a pity if you don't try acting."

That remark changed the course of Dilraba's life and gave direction to her vague aspirations. She realized that compared to dancing, she was more interested in telling stories through performance. So she shifted her goal to acting, and went to Shanghai to study acting at the Shanghai Theatre Academy.

Dilraba plays the role of Deng Yan, an anti-trafficking police officer, in the television series Sword Rose (SCREENSHOT)

Going beyond ethnic roles 

While studying there, she landed the lead role in the TV drama Anarhan due to a stroke of luck. Director Yan Qingxiu was searching all over Xinjiang to find the right face to play Anarhan, a young woman in Kashi (Kashgar), who resists being sold by the landlord and pursues freedom. Yan was dissatisfied with the candidates she had seen so far and then by chance, saw Dilraba's photo on a mobile phone.

The real Dilraba was then located and asked to come for an audition. This is how Yan described it in an interview: "Her voice was sweet and soft, her emotions were pure and genuine, her figure was graceful and moving, like a flower bud about to bloom... The image of Anarhan in my mind began to become clearer and more vivid. 'It's her!' I cried from the bottom of my heart."

The filming took place in Turpan, where summer temperatures soared beyond 40 degrees Celsius. Clad in heavy ethnic costumes, Dilraba suffered heatstroke while running and acting in the desert. In one scene where Anarhan is whipped, the director asked if Dilraba wanted to use a double, but she insisted on doing it herself. When the whip struck her, she trembled but still completed the scene. At that moment, she was not Dilraba, but Anarhan, determined and resilient.

On being aired, Anarhan topped the ratings and received a nomination for the Feitian Award, also known as Flying Apsaras Awards, a top prize given by the government to Chinese TV dramas. Dilraba became a well-known face. However, some critics remained skeptic, claiming she could play only ethnic minority roles. They also said her looks carried her but she lacked talent. Facing such comments, Dilraba treated every role as an opportunity to prove herself.

In an interview, she said she didn't want to stay in her comfort zone, she wanted to play roles that were truly powerful. In 2025, she took on the role of Deng Yan, an anti-trafficking police officer in the television series Sword Rose. To play the challenging role of a professional woman in a realistic TV drama, Dilraba spent three months researching the daily lives of police officers, how they staked out suspects and conducted investigations. She also learned martial arts and tactical sign language.

The police officers she met told her that the most crucial aspect of anti-trafficking work is persistence—sometimes, it takes years or even decades to find a missing child. These real-life experiences gave her a deeper understanding of her character.

Sword Rose saw soaring ratings and received widespread attention. Many viewers, inspired by the series, joined the public

welfare campaign to help find missing children. As People's Daily commented, Dilraba did not rely on scandals or trending topics; it was her acting that made audiences remember Deng Yan.

A larger stage 

Today, despite her fame and fortune, Dilraba hasn't forgotten her roots. When attending international events, she always introduces herself saying, "I am Dilraba from Urumqi, Xinjiang." As a young role model from Xinjiang, she has been a bridge for cultural exchanges.

On the Chinese variety show Keep Running, she played Xinjiang folk songs on the dutar, a traditional Uygur musical instrument, showcasing the charm of the Xinjiang instrument to a national audience. In her interviews, she often shares the distinctive cuisine and culture of Xinjiang, inspiring more people to delve into the region.

Her growth is a microcosm of Xinjiang youth pursuing their dreams. From the practice rooms of Urumqi to Shanghai, she has turned from supporting roles to the protagonist in TV series, proving that passion and perseverance can overcome obstacles.

When filming, she does the fight scenes herself, never complaining about the bruises she sustains. Retaining simplicity in her daily life, she often goes around in sweatshirts and jeans, without any makeup. Nor does she have the airs of a celebrity.

She grew up in Xinjiang, and the culture of her hometown remains her most precious treasure. "I hope through my work more people can come to appreciate the beauty of Xinjiang," she said.

(Print Edition Title: Pulling at Heartstrings)

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