Fortune Magazine China recently released its rankings for the top-earning celebrities in China from 2017 to 2020.

Topping the list is Mandopop King Jay Chou, who raked in an impressive 2.15bil yuan (S$450.6mil). Coming in a not-so-close second is Zhou Xun, who made 1.66bil yuan (S$348.9mil) in the same amount of time.

Other familiar names on the list were Wallace Huo in 12th place (S$264.8mil), Louis Koo came in 29th (S$216.2mil) and Zhang Ziyi at the 36th spot (S$155.7mil).

The undisputed champion is Jay Chou, whose concert tours undoubtedly contributed greatly to his earnings. Chinese media noted that a lot of fans who started listening to his music in the early noughties are working adults now, and thus have spending power to support the singer.

Jay performed in 42 concerts in China from 2016 to 2018 alone, all in huge arenas and to sold-out audiences.

Zhou Xun was rumoured to have made 95mil yuan (S$19.9mil) for starring in 2018's Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace. The hit drama has been viewed more than 18.9 billion times on streaming platforms and made Zhou Xun an even more sought-after celebrity for advertisers.

Sun Li, who is also known as the Queen of TV, consistently pulls in high ratings for her dramas. Her earnings have gone up considerably in the past couple of years and she was rumoured to have been paid 1mil yuan (S$209K) per episode for 2017 period drama Nothing Gold Can Stay. With 74 episodes in the series, that would have translated to a cool S$15.46mil.

Her husband, Deng Chao, came in 18th on the same list with an estimated income of S$241mil.

Wu Jing aka China's Iron Man, is one of the most popular action stars in the mainland. He hit the big time after starring in 2015's box office triumph Wolf Warrior, and more recently became a member of the exclusive ’10 billion club’. Along with Chinese actors Huang Bo and Shen Teng, the three men are the only stars whose films have made at least 10bil yuan (S$2.09bil) at the box office.

Rounding out our top five is Yang Mi, who reportedly commands 100mil yuan (S$20.9mil) for every movie.

Not only is she the highest-paid actress in China; Yang Mi is also an advertisers' darling. Among the brands she’s worked with in recent years are Michael Kors, Estée Lauder and Victoria’s Secret.