Super Girl is Time magazine hero
"Super Girl" winner Li Yuchun, with her tomboy-style hair and a shy smile, appears on the cover of the latest edition of Time Asia Magazine, issued on Monday, as one of the 25 Asia Heroes of 2005.
Six people from China were on the Asia Hero list, including actress Zhang Jingchu who played the heroine in the Silver Bear Award winning movie "Peacock" at this year's Berlin Film Festival and Taiwan dance artist Lin Hwai-min who founded the Cloud Gate Dance Theater.
The other Asia Heroes are from Japan, India, Thailand, Malaysia and South Korea, including volunteers who helped search for missing people in last year's havoc caused by tsunami.
Time said the 21-year-old Li, a pop singing major at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music, has become a new pop icon for her boyish charm and unconventional personality.
Li polled more than 3.5 million votes via cell phone text messages at the finals of "Super Girl," the Chinese version of "American Idol."
The gala finale attracted about 400 million viewers, nearly one-third of China's population.
According to the magazine, the influence brought by the "Li Yuchun phenomenon" goes far beyond her voice in China. Her "attitude, originality and a proud androgyny " are challenging the country's traditional customs.
Time said actress Zhang, "with her taste for traditionally inspired dress and her reverence for ancient Chinese aphorisms," may be a perfect ambassador for China.
Described by Time as "Asia's synthesizing dance genius," dancer Lin's outdoor performance in Taipei could attract an audience of more than 60,000.
It is the fourth consecutive year the magazine has elected Asia Heroes.
The listed heroes are considered brave, courageous, persistent and can encourage locals.
Last year, Athens Olympics champion Liu Xiang and prima ballerina Tan Yuanyuan from China were on the list.

超女登上时代周刊的封面
最新一期美国《时代周刊》(亚洲版)10月3日出版， 超女冠军李宇春赫然出现在周刊封面上。据悉，李宇春是作为该周刊评选的今年25位年度亚洲英雄人物而登上《时代周刊》的。除了李宇春，中国还有6人曾经登上亚洲版的封面，包括凭借在电影《孔雀》中饰演的女英雄而获得银熊奖的电影女演员张静初，以及台湾舞蹈艺术家林怀民，也就是云门舞的创办人。其他的亚洲封面人物来自日本、印度、泰国、马来西亚，包括在去年的海啸中帮助寻找失踪人员的志愿者。
据《时代周刊》解释，这个名叫李宇春的21 岁四川音乐学院的女生之所以成为中国最受欢迎的流行偶像，与其男孩般魅力以及非传统的个性相关。
李宇春在湖南卫视那档类似“美国偶像”的歌唱比赛中盛出，赢得了近3.5亿的观众通过手机短信的投票。
在总决选中，约4亿人收看了电视直播，这几乎是三分之一的中国人的数量。
据《时代周刊》评说，在中国“李宇春现象”所带来的影响将比她的声音更加长远。她的那种独特的中性态度，对这个国家的传统是一个挑战。
《时代周刊》曾经说过中国女演员张曼玉，“她穿旗袍的味道使人不由自主地对中国的传统产生敬意。”或许可以作为中国的杰出代表。
《时代周刊》描述，“亚洲人有着舞蹈的天赋，”舞蹈家林怀民在台北的户外演出，吸引了超过6万人的观众。
这是《时代周刊》第四次连续用亚洲人作为封面。
能登上封面的人需要具有勇敢、慷慨、坚持不懈和带动地区发展的能力。
去年，来自中国的奥运田径冠军刘翔和芭蕾舞女演员谭元元曾经登上了《时代周刊》的封面。