Jiang started learning
Beijing Opera at the age of 10 and entered the
Beijing Film Academy in 1994 after attaining first place in the entrance examination. In the second year of Jiang's study at the Beijing Film Academy, she was cast by director Yang Jie in the title role of
Xishi in the television series of the same name. She then starred in
Tears in Heaven, an adaptation of a novel by
Chiung Yao, and rose to fame in China. Following that, she played a number of notable roles, including Gu Manlu in
Affair of Half a Lifetime (2003) and
Mu Nianci in
The Legend of the Condor Heroes (2003). Jiang's performance in the historical drama ''
Qiao's Grand Courtyard'' won her both Favorite TV Actress and the Audience's Favorite Actress Awards at the Golden Eagle TV Art Festival. Jiang has also starred in several films, notably ''My Sister's Dictionary
and Seven Nights'', for which she was awarded at the
Golden Phoenix Awards. ==Personal life==