The 25-year-old Liu Youying (刘宥灵), a photographer, model, and cosplayer from Xinjiang, has drowned during a work-related visit to Saipan Island.
Liu, who was better known by her nickname ‘Jovie’, had over 155.870 fans on her Weibo account, and was particularly popular in Hangzhou, where she worked as a freelancer.
Photo by Liu, as posted on her Weibo account.
Jovie was a relatively well-known ‘coser’ or ‘cosplayer’ (‘cos’ coming from ‘costume’), meaning she often wore costumes and fashion accessories – sometimes self-made – to represent a specific character or historical figure.
Cosplay has been steadily gaining popularity in China over the past couple of years.
Liu Youling ‘Jovie’
Liu, who was born in Shixenze in Xinjiang in 1992, was a graduate of the Sichuan Media College and lived in Hangzhou after her graduation.
Besides photographing, Jovie did a lot of cosplay modeling herself.
Sina News reports that Liu first became interested in dressing up and photographing at the age of 15. Since a few years ago, she shared her work on social media through Weibo and her own blog.
Liu reportedly drowned on September 25 while doing an underwater photography shoot in the pool of her Saipan hotel with two other women. Although the three women entered the shallow water at the Sea Fun Villa, they got into trouble when they drifted off to the deep side.
“They did not know how to swim in the deepwater area,” two of Liu’s friends told Sina News: “The other two women also went down, but they were found earlier and could be rescued.”
For Liu, rescue came too late. She was pulled up from the water by hotel staff after 3 minutes and initially was taken to the hospital in a state of coma. She passed away on September 27.
“Just 25 years, far too young,” many netizens wrote on Weibo, one person saying: “Since she loved ancient costumes, I hope that she can now choose the dynasty she wants to go to.”
“Every day I check your Weibo in the hopes to see an update on your blog,” another netizen wrote: “I hope it is all just one big joke.”
By Manya Koetse
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