Zhou Ying is China-bound

SINGAPORE — MediaCorp artiste Zhou Ying will be packing her bags and moving home to Shanghai next Friday. According to her manager, her contract with MediaCorp will end in March.

Zhou said she made the decision to go home in October last year. “I just felt that after being away from my family all these years, I should go home and spend time with them. Even though I spent some time thinking it over, it wasn’t a difficult decision to make.”

The Star Search 2007 alumnus, who appeared in several dramas, including Soup Of Life, The Quarters and It’s A Wonderful Life, plans to take a short break from work. But she isn’t just going to be relaxing at home with her family. “I will do a course in psychology at a university — but not a professional one that takes years,” said the 25-year-old. “I just want to have some time to myself because I am used to Singapore and I now have to re-adjust to the environment in Shanghai, and during that time, I need to keep myself occupied. So, I will do some studying. After three to five months, I will make plans.”

Those plans will still involve acting. “At a young age, I decided I wanted to act. I never thought about becoming famous or earning big bucks — I just wanted to act,” she said. “I chose to come (to Singapore) because I wanted to act. I learnt a lot over the past few years. Going home doesn’t mean my career isn’t doing well. Wherever I am, I will continue to pursue acting.”

And, yes, Zhou is open to doing projects with MediaCorp in the future. “There haven’t been any official talks, but I don’t rule out that possibility,” she said. “I will move my centre back to Shanghai because after five years, my time here has ended. I feel I will have a new beginning in Shanghai.”

But if there’s one thing that Zhou is looking forward to when she gets back, it’s her mother’s cooking. “She has already told me that she is planning to cook all my favourite dishes, like Shanghainese salted chicken and deep fried prawns.”

Catch Zhou Ying in Style: Check-In on Thursdays at 9pm on MediaCorp TV Channel U and in Soup Of Life starting Feb 5 at 9pm on MediaCorp TV Channel 8.