Ma Lan (born 23 April 1962) is a Chinese performing artist of Huangmei opera[1] who usually plays dan (female) roles.
Before her abrupt (and unannounced) departure from the stage in 2000, Ma Lan was considered the most popular Huangmei opera performer in the country.
She is often compared to the 1950s/1960s superstar Yan Fengying,[3] whom she movingly portrayed in a hit 1988 TV series.
In a 2006 blog post, Yu Qiuyu blamed toxic workplace politics and corruption in Anhui Huangmei Opera Company for his wife's involuntary retirement at age 38.
Succeeding in her debut in 1980, she later created some vivid portrayals of famous characters, such as the artist Zhang Yuliang, Jia Baoyu in Dream of the Red Chamber, Zhu Yingtai in the Butterfly Lovers, Princess Yunhua in the Daughter of the Dragon King, Yan Fengying in Yan Fengying, and Cui Yingying in Romance of the Western Chamber.