Chinese actor-director Wu Jing is one of the most well-loved actors in China, so much so that the 47-year-old is often dubbed a “national hero”.

Now people are calling him the "Most Romantic Man in China", thanks to a recent talk show appearance with his wife, actress Xie Nan, 38.

During the interview, Xie Nan shared a romantic moment between her and Wu Jing from when they weren't even officially dating yet.

“I was hosting a [New Year] countdown event," she said. "Wu Jing went to the venue without telling me in advance. He said, ‘I wanted to know how you host.’”

Wu Jing & Xie Nan

She continued, “It was a very large-scale event and I had no time to spend with him. We hadn’t even established that we were in a relationship then so I felt very awkward. He asked me to ignore him and just give him a ticket, so I gave him a floor seat. What I didn’t realise was that those sections are usually filled with fans. When he arrived at his seat, he didn’t want to ask the fan who was sitting there to move away, so he stood at the emergency exit for four hours to watch the show.”

When it came to the countdown portion, Wu Jing said he counted down silently to himself while Xie Nan led the crowd in ushering the new year on the stage. After the show, he told her, “Since we counted down together, let’s take it that we spent the new year together.”

This isn't the first time Wu Jing and Xie Nan have talked about their sweet relationship.

Wu Jing once revealed that Xie Nan had mortgaged her house to raise funds so he could shoot Wolf Warrior.

At that time, Wu Jing told her to rethink her decision because he might end up “bankrupt” if the movie was a flop.

Xie Nan told him, “Even if we live in a huge house, we would regret it if you didn't follow your dreams. You can count on me to pay the bills, if I lose the house and you [go bankrupt]”

His worries turned out to be for naught as Wolf Warrior became a massive box office hit, grossing over 567mil yuan (S$120mil) in China alone. It's sequel, Wolf Warrior 2, even became China's highest-grossing film of all time.

Photos: PBE Media