Yao Chen often uses her social media presence to express her views on important topics. (Photo : YouTube)
Yao Chen, the first Chinese United Nations Refugee Agency Goodwill Ambassador, has become the first Chinese woman to ever grace the prestigious Pirelli calendar, according to a report by People's Daily.
Shot by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz, the 2016 Pirelli Calendar includes 13 women who were chosen, not for their looks, but for their achievements and voices.
Yao Chen is among the women chosen for their "outstanding professional, social, cultural, sporting and artistic accomplishment," becoming the very first Chinese image on the forward of the calendar.
Yao is a film and TV actress who has over 70 million social media followers in China, putting her in the top tier of global pop culture icons. She said she was honored to be one of the 13 women included in the calendar.
Yao's first postings appeared in 2009 through her Weibo, which she uses as a platform to express her ideas on important issues and topics.
Pirelli, an Italian tire company, has been releasing a yearly calendar exclusively to 20,000 VIPs, including celebrities, musicians and royalty, since 1964.
Previously, the calendars featured hyper-sexualized depictions of conventionally attractive women, often scantily clad.
More than 50 years since, a radical change has taken place, with Pirelli and Leibovitz selecting a group of diverse women, most of whom are fully dressed with some exceptions, presented in a powerful way in order to highlight their achievements rather than their bodies.
The women in the 2016 Pirelli calendar were photographed by Leibovitz in her New York studio in July.
