Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily (Reporter: Wang Jingjing) news: Ayikon Kamenjiang, is 28 years old, and is a dreamer. Born in Tekes County, Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, he majored in administrative management at Beihang University, and became an actor after graduation. “Life is rather a wilderness than a track. Stepping off an accepted track and heading off to my dream is cool.”

Photo shows Ayikon Kamenjiang. Ayikon Kamenjiang is 28 years old, and his stage name is Jiang Yihao. He comes from Tekes County, Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and has had a dream of acting since he was a child. (Photo courtesy of Ayikon Kamenjiang)

On October 9, 2023, during the break of filming far away from home, Ayikon was interviewed and showed his logical thinking and positive energy.

“Just now, a friend who was filming with me asked me why I am always full of energy, even though the work is so tiring,” he said. In his free time, Ayikon will compare himself with the person he was a month ago, or six months ago, or even a year ago, and as long as he makes progress, he will have more power to push himself to be better. “Such a life can make one full of vitality.”

Ayikon’s stage name is Jiang Yihao, of which “Jiang” and “yi” come from his original name “Ayikon Kamenjiang”, and he adds another word “hao”, forming the name “Jiang Yihao”, which implies the meaning of “become a leading actor one day” in Chinese.

Born in Tekes County, Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Ayikon would organize concerts in the classroom every Friday after class since from the second grade. “I would sing local folk songs, or pop songs of Jay Chou, and I like the feeling of standing on the stage to perform.”

Photo shows Ayikon Kamenjiang. Ayikon Kamenjiang is 28 years old, and his stage name is Jiang Yihao. He has had a dream of acting since he was a child. (Photo courtesy of Ayikon Kamenjiang)

Believing that most of the stars he saw on TV were from other parts of China, he decided to go to these places, and he went to Wuhan City, central China's Hubei Province, for high school (To provide better education for Xinjiang students, developed inland cities in China have opened high school classes for students from Xinjiang since 2000). “During my high school years, I was busy studying, and although I showed less affection than when I was a child, the dream of becoming a star has never faded. Majoring in art is expensive, and I didn’t want to add burdens to my parents by making them pay for my dream.” He chose Beihang University, and the reason was that the Beijing Film Academy is near it.

After entering the university, he was keen on a variety of art clubs, and he even helped students of the Beijing Film Academy shoot micromovies, to step close to his dream. Because he was busy with extracurricular activities, he failed a class in his freshman year, and the head teacher talked to him and asked him to find his life goals when he was in college.

When he told the teacher his dream of being an actor, the teacher was stunned. “My tracher was stunned that I, as a student of Beihang University, which is strong in engineering, wanted to be an actor , but what moved me was that the teacher encouraged me that this dream was also great.” His teacher advised him to make a plan as soon as possible, and learn more about acting in addition to his undergraduate curriculum.

Besides helping students at the Beijing Movie Academy shoot movies, he also paid close attention to opportunities that may arise around him, and attended some variety shows. During these processes, he met many friends from acting or associate majors, but also realized that being a qualified actor required systematic learning of acting.

Therefore, Ayikon finished all the credits in the second semester of his junior year and took acting classes at the Beijing Film Academy during his senior year. “Living on campus in my senior year enables me to face less pressure of life. In addition to learning acting, I had to make efforts to sign with an agency company, so that I could have basic security after graduation.”

One step at a time. Ayikon successfully signed with an agency company after graduation, officially entered the industry, and shot his first drama "Beautiful Reborn Flower".

Photo shows Ayikon Kamenjiang, and his stage name is Jiang Yihao. He is an outgoing and handsome boy full of positive energy. (Photo courtesy of Ayikon Kamenjiang)

The character he played in his first drama was a hooligan named Pete. As a green hand who just learned acting for one year, he couldn’t play the character well at the beginning. Once, he played opposite He Rundong, a famous Chinese actor, in a scene with a lot of lines that required him to show his tough attitude. With his own understanding, he overacted the scene with exaggerated facial and body motions. He took the initiative to seek advice from He Rundong, and as a senior, He Rundong told him that “express your motions with your eyes”, which is still useful to him.

Ayikon Kamenjiang is 28 years old, and his stage name is Jiang Yihao. He is from Tekes County, Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and has had a dream of acting since he was a child. (Photo courtesy of Ayikon Kamenjiang)

Later, he played an enemy soldier going to war in the drama “Monarch Industry”. It was a scene in which he had to express the emotion deep in the character’s heart, including the soft side of the character when he faced the girl he loved and her departure, despite the fact that he was a villain. Eyes can express more than words. He finally realized what his senior had told him.

Then, he played the second billing named Jarken in the movie “Wings of Songs”, themed on Xinjiang songs and dances. “There's a little bit of me in him, because we are both young men who come from grassland and chase dreams in big cities. We both have some persistence and courage.”

In May, 2023, the movie “Wings of Songs” was nominated for the 19th Huabiao Film Award (one of China's most prestigious honors for cinema) for outstanding ethnic minority film, and Ayikon attended the award ceremony. Under the stage, when he saw shining stars on the stage, he was full of emotional thoughts, “The physical distance between me and those stars on the stage was only fifty meters, but I felt much more than that in my mind, that I am still far away from being a leading actor.”

At the moment, he had a clearer goal: “No matter where I go, the memory of the grassland in my hometown and the scene of singing on the stage in the primary school are the sources of strength that supports me to persue my dream.”

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