Long before marrying China's most powerful man, Peng Liyuan already knew what kind of husband she was after.
In a 1999 interview with a Hong Kong talk show, the famous folk singer said she wanted a man who was "successful, ambitious and bossy in relationship".
And when asked if her husband Xi Jinping — who was still far away from the pinnacle of China's leadership — met her requirement, Peng didn't hesitate.
"I've been married to him for over a decade, of course he's successful," she said.
Peng's faith in her husband's future turned out to be right.
After Xi was elected the Chinese Communist Party's leader in 2013 and appointed as China's president in the following year, Peng became the country's first lady.
Unlike her predecessor, Peng enjoyed the spotlight.
She accompanied Xi to international conferences and diplomatic visits, while making appearances and speeches at the United Nations and global charity events.
She was also a driving force that helped her husband secure support from 1.4 billion people, which now paves his way to seek a third term in power.
Xi's secret weapon to win over the people — and the army
Before Xi became president in 2012, Peng, one of the most beloved singers in China, was much more famous than her husband.
Born in 1962, Peng came from a family of artists in Shandong province.
Her mother was a famous Chinese classic opera actress.
In 1984, she joined the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Music Band, which has been the home of China's top musicians and artists due to its rich resources and performance opportunities.
She reportedly performed for the military force that violently oppressed the Tiananmen Square protests in June 1989.
Peng steadily rose through the ranks, becoming a major general in the military in 2009. By the time she became first lady, she was the dean of the PLA Academy of Arts.
Besides performing for the army and at important ceremonies, Peng also made frequent appearances on China's most watched televised new year's eve special.
She performed all over China, attracting huge crowds wherever she went.
She was also not afraid to get political, leading several campaigns to boost HIV/AIDS awareness among the Chinese public.
"Peng has mass domestic support from the public due to her personal charm and charisma," said Guilford College's Chinese politics professor George Guo.
He said Peng's popularity in the army had a great impact on Xi's career, especially when he first joined the army's central leadership in 2010.
"She has been viewed as one of the most important figures who lubricated a smooth relationship between Xi and the People's Liberation Army," said Professor Guo.
"Especially in recent years, [Peng] has increasingly played a role in helping the party chief establish an image as a benevolent leader with love, kindness and compassion for the populace."
A love story fit for propaganda
Xi's colleagues at the Party's propaganda department have used his relationship with Peng to soften his image since he became the most powerful man in China in 2013.
State media made much of their love story, a highly unusual move for the Party's leadership, which for decades hid their personal lives from the Chinese public.
In 1986, Peng, then 24, was set up by a friend to meet with Xi, a 33-year-old divorced deputy mayor of Xiamen city in Fujian Province.
Peng wore "loose army pants" to see if Xi was only interested in her for her appearance and fame.
But she said one question from Xi caused her to immediately fall in love.
"How many singing types are there?" asked Xi, which made Peng feel valued for her talent.
Xi later told Peng that he also fell for her during their first date.
"I already recognised you as my future wife the first 40 minutes we met," he declared.
The couple married in 1987 and welcomed their daughter, Xi Mingze, in 1992.
The couple has hidden their daughter from public view, but sometimes Peng would mention her little girl in public.
State media reported that just like other Chinese mothers, Peng was frustrated that her daughter often refused to practise piano one hour per day.
The couple reportedly sent their daughter to the United States, where she studied psychology at Harvard University until 2014 — a detail that has never been reported in China.
Softening 'unpopular' Xi's image abroad
Peng often accompanied her husband on diplomatic visits abroad, joining other leaders' spouses for international meetings and serving as a UNESCO Special Envoy for Girls' and Women's Education.
In the history of the People's Republic of China, there has never been a first lady like Peng.
In the 1950s, there was an unspoken rule about diplomatic visits: Government leaders were not allowed to bring their spouses with them if they visited socialist countries.
If the trip took them to a non-socialist state, the wife could come along.
It wasn't until 1961 that China saw the value in first lady diplomacy inspired by the glamour and soft power of the wives of American presidents.
In 1963, Wang Guangmei, the wife of then China's president Liu Shaoqi, joined her husband and other diplomats to visit Indonesia.
But Liu was later imprisoned by Mao Zedong during the Cultural Revolution and died in 1969.
Since then, while wives of Chinese presidents would join diplomatic visits abroad, none has quite grabbed international attention like Peng.
Professor Guo said over the years, Xi has become "one of the most unpopular world leaders in the West", and Peng was vital in softening his image.
"Peng has been leading cultural components of Xi's soft power ... it has provided a strong and positive contribution to China's foreign diplomacy," said Professor Guo.
The limits of a first lady's power
Peng has transformed the role of China's first lady to become increasingly like the one played by the spouses of US presidents.
In the early years of his husband's rule, Peng forged a close bond with US first lady Michelle Obama.
"I think Michelle Obama and Peng Liyuan actually have shown their stylish, efficient and refined manner to build relationships with other countries and participated in various programs through their visits," Joy Chin-Chung Chao, professor at the University of Nebraska Omaha and researcher of female leadership.
But while both women served as unpaid diplomats for their nations, Professor Chao said it's important to note that Peng's power would be more limited than her US counterpart.
She points to a time in 2013 when Michelle Obama declined to join her husband for a visit China.
"Michelle Obama actually refused to visit Peng Liyuan because it was her daughter's birthday," said Professor Chao.
She said for Peng, it was unlikely that she could make such a decision, as she would be expected to prioritise her role as the president's spouse.
Professor Chao said first ladies around the world are expected to stay within the bounds of traditional gender roles, demonstrating femininity, motherhood and loyalty to her husband.
In China, Peng has been addressed as "Mama Peng", while Xi was called "Xi Dada", which could mean either "Papa Xi" or "Uncle Xi".
"[And] that term demonstrates her role in the Chinese people's perspective," said Dr Ming Xie from West Texas A&M University.
"Peng is [seen as] the whole nation's mother."
In 2014, a music video, widely shared by Chinese state media, contained the lyrics "men should learn from Papa Xi, women should learn from Mama Peng".
"Families blossom so the country blossoms and the world will blossom," the video sang.
Why is it dangerous for China to have a high-profile first lady?
Experts say great care is taken to make sure she never overshadow her husband, even though she is more popular among people.
Jiang Qing shows the dangers for a first lady who grabs too much power in China.
Mao's fourth wife was a former actress who rose to power and became the leading figure of the "Gang of Four", a political faction that ruled the Chinese Communist Party during the Cultural Revolution.
"In the Cultural Revolution, Mao needed someone he trusted, and his confidant was basically Jiang Qing," said Professor Guo.
Jiang was arrested in 1976 after the death of her husband.
Deng Xiaoping, who then took over the party, decided to strengthen "the party norms against the so-called wives meddling the state affairs", said Professor Guo.
"The party rooms put constraints on the role that the spouse of a political party leader plays in the party politics.
"It's not just Xi, not just for the first top ranking of the CCP, but also the entire chain of command."
But with Xi now clinching an historic third term, Professor Guo expected Peng would continue to play a crucial role in promoting her husband over the next five years.
"It will be interesting to see whether the growing political influence of Peng Liyuan in the CCP could get her to be increasingly involved in the party politics," he said.
Dr Xie also believed Peng remains a huge asset to Xi.
"Because of her experience, she really knows how to play her role in front of the public," said Dr Xie.
"She still has a lot of positive effect on how the public view our top leader, and she's more approachable compared to Xi."
But both Professor Chao and Dr Xie say despite Peng's rise, Chinese politics is still not a welcoming place for women.
In the past five years, there has not been a single woman in the party's seven-member elite leader group.
Only only one woman was elected in the 25-member Politburo.
And China is in the midst of a heated debate about the treatment of women at home and on the streets.
In January, a video of a chained woman alleged to be a human trafficking victim went viral on Chinese social media, and dozens of dissidents signed an open letter to the UN calling for removing Peng's position as UNESCO Envoy for girls and women's rights.
"We are living in a gendered society,," said Professor Chao.
"We [have to] perform the gendered roles in order to meet the society's expectation, not to mention when it comes to the male dominating society in China and the Communist Party."
