In the cast of "Journey to the West" 1986, Vuong Ba Chieu is a special case. He took on Bach Long Ma when transforming into a human, appearing not much but receiving the highest remuneration in the film crew.
According to documents cited by Chinese media, at the time of being invited by director Yang Jie to participate in "Journey to the West", Wang Ba Zhao had already gained fame thanks to previous films.
Due to not being enthusiastic about a role with little screen time, the male actor offered a high salary with the thought that the film crew would give up the idea of inviting him. In the end, the production side still agreed.
Vuong Ba Chieu was paid a total of about 1,500 CNY for 3 episodes, equivalent to 500 CNY per episode. This number is particularly high when compared to the main cast.
Luc Tieu Linh Dong once revealed that he filmed "Journey to the West" for 6 years, completing 25 episodes, but the total amount received was less than 2,000 CNY. The remuneration for actors playing Sun Wukong is about 70-80 CNY per episode.
Although only appearing in some episodes, the image of White Dragon Horse in white, the scholarly appearance of Vuong Ba Chieu still leaves an impression on many generations of viewers.
After "Journey to the West", his career and life went through many changes. Wang Ba Zhao once went to the US to develop his career and participated in director Ang Lee's "Thôi thủ". After that, he returned to China and continued acting.
In recent years, Vuong Ba Chieu no longer plays many main roles but still appears regularly on screen. He appeared in "Dai giang dai ha 2", "Tho thi thi thien ha", "Tinh muc" and many other television projects.
Notably, entering 2026, Vuong Ba Chieu has not yet retired.
He participated in "Gia su phap dinh", a film broadcast on CCTV-1 and online platforms in March and April. The work then achieved an average viewership rating of 3.052%, and was nominated for the TV series category at the 33rd China Golden Eagle Awards.
In June, Vuong Ba Chieu continued to appear in "Mê tường", starring with Quach Kinh Phi, Nham To Tich. The film aired at CCTV-8 prime time from June 7 and was broadcast live on Tencent Video. Vuong Ba Chieu played the character Du Quoc Khanh.
Besides acting, Vuong Ba Chieu also spends a lot of time on calligraphy. He is a member of the Chinese Calligraphy Association.
In early 2026, the life of the actor suddenly attracted attention when Chinese social networks spread images of him appearing at a braised food stall. Some articles claimed that the "Journey to the West" actor is currently doing food business in Nanjing, even describing him as "selling braised meat to earn a living".
However, this information mainly comes from accounts and entertainment articles online. In fact, Wang Ba Chieu having a movie broadcast on CCTV in 2026 shows that he still maintains his acting career.
Born in 1957, Vuong Ba Chieu is currently 69 years old. Nearly four decades after "Journey to the West", "White Dragon Horse" of that year is no longer a prominent young actor on screen, but still maintains artistic activities and has a relatively private life.
