Video: Six Years Old, 16-Hour Workdays – the Making of a Child Star in China

Ask 6-year-old Liu Yuxi why she’s working 16-hour days posing in front of a camera and her father will tell you that’s what it takes to become a child star in China’s hypercompetitive entertainment industry.

Yuxi, who goes by her screen name Lara, is one of the hundreds of children searching for stardom who flock to Beijing during summer breaks. A whole industry has sprung up — with talent scouts, acting gurus, promotion teams and directors who charge parents money to cast their children — to search for China’s Shirley Temple.