In 1928, Hu Die declined to renew her contract with Tianyi, and signed with the rival Mingxing (Star) Film Company, led by the businessman and director Zhang Shichuan, and the writer Zheng Zhengqiu.
She had a salary of $1,000 a month, a large sum at the time.
Her first film with Mingxing was Tower in the White Clouds (1928).
She befriended her co-star Ruan Lingyu; the two women would become China's biggest film stars of the 1930s.
Her role as Red Girl in the film The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple (1928) propelled her to stardom.
The film was such a success that the studio made 17 sequels of the same name between 1928 and 1931.
It started a craze for martial arts films, but also attracted criticism from intellectuals when children neglected their schoolwork to study martial arts or devote themselves to martial arts fiction.

In 1931, Hu Die starred in Sing-Song Girl Red Peony (dir.
Zhang Shichuan), the first Chinese sound film (although it was sound-on-disc, not sound-on-film).
Compared with other silent-era film stars, who were mostly southerners with poor Mandarin, Hu Die made the transition to sound with ease.
She appeared in more sound films and was able to sing in The Flower of Freedom, a real sound film of much higher quality.

Hu Die starred in Twin Sisters (Zimei Hua, dir.
Zheng Zhengqiu) in 1934, in which she skilfully played the double role of twin sisters with very different personalities.
The film was not only extremely popular but also won critical acclaim.
It is generally considered her best film.
In 1928, Hu Die declined to renew her contract with Tianyi, and signed with the rival Mingxing (Star) Film Company, led by the businessman and director Zhang Shichuan, and the writer Zheng Zhengqiu. She had a salary of $1,000 a month, a large sum at the time. Her first film with Mingxing was Tower in the White Clouds (1928). She befriended her co-star Ruan Lingyu; the two women would become China's biggest film stars of the 1930s. Her role as Red Girl in the film The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple (1928) propelled her to stardom. The film was such a success that the studio made 17 sequels of the same name between 1928 and 1931. It started a craze for martial arts films, but also attracted criticism from intellectuals when children neglected their schoolwork to study martial arts or devote themselves to martial arts fiction.
In 1931, Hu Die starred in Sing-Song Girl Red Peony (dir. Zhang Shichuan), the first Chinese sound film (although it was sound-on-disc, not sound-on-film). Compared with other silent-era film stars, who were mostly southerners with poor Mandarin, Hu Die made the transition to sound with ease. She appeared in more sound films and was able to sing in The Flower of Freedom, a real sound film of much higher quality.
Hu Die starred in Twin Sisters (Zimei Hua, dir. Zheng Zhengqiu) in 1934, in which she skilfully played the double role of twin sisters with very different personalities. The film was not only extremely popular but also won critical acclaim. It is generally considered her best film.
Hu Die