Liu Yifei and Dilireba are considered two of the most influential female stars in the Chinese entertainment industry.
Although there are no direct competing film projects or public conflicts, both suddenly became the focus of discussion when fans continuously put them on the scale in the early days of August 2026.
According to Chinese media, the wave of controversy originated from the time when the two actresses almost simultaneously appeared on the covers of prestigious fashion magazines.
The fact that publications are released close to each other has inadvertently created competition for coverage, influence and sales between the two fandoms (fan communities).
In fact, this is not the first time fans of Liu Yifei and Dilireba have had arguments. From last year's fashion magazine season, the two sides have repeatedly compared magazine sales achievements, cover popularity and media attraction. However, the debates at that time only took place in a small scope and quickly subsided.
On July 28, Dilireba officially announced the cover photo set of VOGUE China August 2026 issue. This is a notable milestone in the actress's fashion career, quickly attracting great public attention.
Just a few days later, Liu Yifei also released a cover photo set on W China - The Movie Issue, directed by famous director Quan Cam Bang (Stanley Kwan). She is the first Chinese star of the 8X generation, after seniors such as Gong Li, Shu Qi, Zhang Ziyi and Yang Ziquing, to appear on the cover of this magazine.
The fact that the two stars appeared together in famous fashion publications at almost the same time has caused the underground competition between the two fandoms to explode.
Not only stopping at fashion, fans from both sides also expanded the debate to many other fields such as box office achievements, international influence, fashion resources, commercial value and famous titles on social networks.
One of the most controversial topics is who deserves nicknames like "Beauty of the Times" or "Female Star". Liu Yifei's fans believe that these titles have been associated with the actress for many years thanks to her beauty and sustainable career.
Meanwhile, Dilireba's fans said that their idol is possessing strong influence at the present time and completely deserves the above titles.
Besides, career achievements have also become a topic for comparison. Dilireba's fans emphasized that her recent successes in the fields of fashion and cinema, along with high-grossing projects such as the movie "The Kungfu Girl" starring her, have surpassed the revenue milestone of 2.115 billion RMB (about 8,200 billion VND) after 22 days of screening.
Conversely, Liu Yifei's fans believe that the actress possesses a more solid career foundation with many classic roles, especially the international mark from the movie "Mulan", and also has a long-term influence in the Chinese entertainment industry.
Notably, the controversy completely originated from the fan community. Liu Yifei and Dilireba themselves did not make any statements or actions to compare or compete with each other.
However, the "verbal war" between the two fandoms still continuously creates topics that attract millions of discussions on social networks, showing the attraction and leading position of both stars in the Chinese entertainment industry.
