A still shot from Fan Bingbing's latest television series The Empress of China. [Photo/Xinhua]

Actresses Zhou Xun, Zhao Wei and Fan Bingbing all charged 30 million yuan ($4.84 million) as a whole for their participation in TV series.

Zhou's performance in her latest TV series, Red Sorghum, based on the novel of the same title by Chinese Nobel Laureate Mo Yan, was highly praised by the author himself for her immaculate grasp of the character's inner turmoil. Fan Bingbing's latest TV series, The Empress of China, based on the life of China's first and only female emperor Wu Zetian, won her both a fat paycheck and some unwanted cuts, as scenes showing female stars' cleavage were removed by China’s state media watchdog.

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