The past two years were filled with dashed plans and sudden upsets for many, including Xiang Yun, who, like many other celebs, saw a drop in work engagements and projects.

But the 60-year-old decided to take things in her stride, setting in motion plans to achieve her longtime dream.

For Xiang Yun, who was the eldest child in the family, with three younger sisters and a younger brother, being able to receive further education was something of a pipe dream. After finishing her secondary school education, she entered the workforce at the age of 16 to support her family.

Three years later, at 19, she joined showbiz.

Now, after some 40 years, the pandemic has freed up her time so she can dedicate herself to learning.

Learning's a never-ending journey

In an interview with 8world, Xiang Yun revealed that she has since achieved diplomas in a number of subjects.

“I got diplomas in nutrition, flower essence therapy and [energy healing technique] Reiki, achieving something that I’ve always wanted to do for many years,” she said.

Xiang Yun also let on that she’s currently shooting the fourth season of Mediacorp drama You Can Be An Angel, and that she’ll continue on with her quest for knowledge in between filming breaks, so that she can better apply what she’s learnt.

Similarly, the rest of Xiang Yun’s family, former actor Edmund Chen, 60, as well as their two kids, Chen Xi, 30 and Chen Yixin, 21, have made very good use of their time in the past two years.



Edmund Chen [second from left] in-front of his bottle cap mural

Edmund let on in the interview that he’s won a number of awards for his work as an author and illustrator.

“Xiang Yun has made advancements in a different field, while I’ve made a breakthrough in my own field. I’m really happy to have gotten four awards this year [two Singapore Packaging Star Awards and two Asian Packaging Design Awards], and I'm very honoured to have worked with Singapore Science Centre too,” he said.

This year, Edmund collaborated with Singapore Science Centre for a 14-metre-long and two-metre-high mural made out of 18,000 recycled plastic bottle caps to illustrate Singapore’s founding efforts, and the country’s hopes for the future.



Gavin, Yixin, Edmund, Xiang Yun and Chen Xi

Just like fellow second-gen stars Tay Ying and Calvert Tay [aka the kids of Hong Huifang and Zheng Geping], for Chen Xi and Yixin, their happiest memory of the past year was being able to spend more time with their family.

For Chen Xi and Yixin, they had the opportunity to go for a staycation together at Sentosa.

Yixin went on to share that after she returned from filming overseas in Batam, Indonesia, she was able to take her boyfriend, Gavin Teo, 26, along to their family gatherings too.

“I feel that being able to be in the same space, chatting and sharing our thoughts… has become very rare,” Yixin said.

Chen Xi was also a fan of the family’s short getaway together: “During our staycation, we ate a lot, swam and went to the gym as well. Basically, whatever facilities the hotel had, we used it all, it was very fun. Of course, we took a lot of pictures and slept well too!”

Finally, the family-of-four also had two new additions this year — their two pet cats Miwa and Mugi, who now feature heavily on their Instagrams.



Aren't Miwa and Mugi simply adorable?

Photos: Xiang Yun/Instagram, Edmund Chen/Instagram, Chen Xi/Instagram, Chen Yixin/Instagram