Li Qian (or Qian Li in English) is as ambitious as they come. She’s currently studying engineering management in China, and recently dropped by Australia to further pursue her modelling career, signing on with IMG. Big news. HUGE!
Aside from her 10/10 good looks, the smart-as-a-whip angel’s trip to Sydney, and towards her goals, can be attributed to hard work and perseverance, especially in the face of obstacles (more on that below). It also doesn’t hurt that she knows how to work an angle, as evidenced by that time we dressed her up in a Molly Goddard checked dress and cowboy boots, which incidentally happens to be the greatest outfit for a) exploring a new city, and b) going on a picnic in.
But hey, you don’t have to take our word for it! You can see for yourself in the gallery above, before you get to know her better, either in English or in Chinese, below.
What is your name?
In Chinese, my name is Li Qian. In English, it’s Qian Li. But, I always get called Kwen Li. I love this country, I love “Qian”, but people always call me “Kwen”!
用中文来说，我的名字是李倩。用你们的方式说，就是倩·李。你们经常叫我昆·李。我爱这片土地，我爱“倩”,但人们总是叫我昆李。
What's your star sign?
I’m a Virgo. Virgo’s characteristics are mainly that they’re hygienic and strict with themselves. Virgo’s feel very sad when they don’t do things well, and want to do the best and be the best they can be. Sometimes Virgos feel uncomfortable, and are a little OCD, and sometimes they feel sad when they can’t do things. But this star sign has positives, which is that they progress and move forward. I think that is pretty cool.
我是处女座。处女座是一个对自己很严格的星座，会很讲卫生，对自己要求很严格。做很多事情的时候，就可能会因为没有做好，心里很难受，心里想做好，做到自己最好。有时候会很难受，有一点点强迫症，有时候就是会做不到的时候会心里很难过。但是这种星座也有个好处，就是一直可以让自己进步，我觉得挺好的。
Where are you from?
I’m from China. My agency is in Shanghai, but I’m a college student now, and my college is in Hangzhou. But I was born in Hunan, another province in China.
我来自中国。我的经纪公司在上海，但我现在是一名大学生，我的大学在杭州。不过我出生在湖南，中国的另一个城市*。
Can you tell us about all your favourite things?
My favourite thing is eating! I love food, especially spicy food. After coming here, I felt rather unaccustomed to the food because it’s so mild. Outside of food, I also like: watching movies—especially horror and suspense-filled films—and sports. When I was in middle school, my school wanted me to be a professional track-and-field athlete, because I ran very quickly. My parents did not want that for me because I did so well academically, but I’ve always been good at sports nonetheless. In college I was chosen by the university's Taekwondo team, and learned Taekwondo for a year or two and competed for my college. There, I majored in engineering management, which was hard, because we had to study maths and physics.
好的。我最喜欢的事情可能是吃，我特别喜欢吃东西，尤其是吃辣的食物。来这边之后我非常不习惯，因为这边的食物很清淡。我很不习惯，我喜欢吃辣的食物。我还喜欢看电影，尤其是恐怖电影。我觉得看爱情片不是很有趣，可能喜欢看一些悬疑片。剧情类的电影或者是恐怖类的，可能会刺激一点，我这个人有一点点找虐。我还喜欢运动，我之前其实在初中的时候，因为跑得很快，学校有让我去当田径运动员，当专业的运动员。但是因为我成绩很好，我爸妈就不太同意让我去当运动员，但是我一直体育方面很好。在大学的时候，还被学校的跆拳道队选中了，学了一两年的跆拳道，为学校比赛。我现在大学学的是工程管理类专业，这对女孩子来说非常难，因为我们要学数学、物理。不过我还是可以掌握得很好。
Have you always wanted to be a model?
Becoming a model has always been a dream for me—I longed for it from a very young age. My agency thinks highly of my skills, and so have the photographers since I started out modelling. We did some pretty good shots for my portfolio, and I was able to come to Australia. My childhood dream was to be a famous person or someone brilliant, but along the way I encountered great obstacles. My height and appearance was not favourable in China, so I met with a lot of difficulties and wasn’t taken seriously. But I kept doing what I liked, kept filming, and kept in contact with my agency. After coming here, I was taken seriously. I feel happy when there is work to do, and feel like I’m a step closer to my dream. I wish I could go to Europe and New York to participate in the fashion weeks. I want to be an amazing model like Liu Wen, that is my dream.
做模特一直以来都是我的梦想，从小我就很向往这个职业。在微博上。在一些中国的软件上，我都特别地关心一些拍片之类的。所以虽然我做模特只有半年多，但是我对拍片方面还有当模特方面都有很多的了解。平时我们公司也很重用我，从做模特开始，摄影师也都挺看好我的，所以拍了一些不错的片子，所以做模特没有多久就能来到澳大利亚这个国家。我从小的梦想就想成为一个万众瞩目的人，很想成为一个优秀的人。当我有模特这个梦想之后，应该说是吃了很多苦的。因为身高没有很高，刚开始不被人看好，而且我的长相在中国是不被人看好的。所以刚开始也是吃了很多苦，也没有收到重用，但是我还是在坚持自己喜欢做的事情，每次都会坚持去拍片，跟我们公司保持联系。来到这边之后，受到了重用。经常有工作就非常开心，感觉离我的梦想更近了一步。我希望我可以去到欧洲和纽约以后走时装周。想成为像刘雯这样的非常好的超模，这是我的梦想。
What are you most proud of this year?
This year in school I took part in a math competition and got really good grades, I was very happy about that. Also, at universities in China, the end of the third year of college is the hardest and also when the courses end, so it was really difficult for me to model while studying. But, I worked hard and studied, finally getting good grades, and ending on the perfect note for my college life. After finishing study, I came to Sydney to work. My biggest progress in modeling this year was signing to a foreign agency, which is hard for a new model. IMG chose me when they came to Shanghai, and that made me so happy. My other goal this year is participating in fashion week—this is really my biggest dream and I have worked so hard and prepared so much for it!
今年在学校的时候我有参加一个数学奥赛竞赛，然后成绩非常好，很开心。在学校我们这学期，因为在中国大学来说，可能大学四年第三年结束的时候是最难的时候，也是课程结束的时候，对我来说一边做模特一边完成我的学业非常困难。但是我很努力地工作也很努力地学习，得到了一个非常好的成绩，也算是为我的大学学业画上一个比较完美的句号。我完成了我的学业之后我就来了悉尼工作，今年模特方面对我来说最大的进步就是签了国外的公司。对一个做模特不久的人来说，签一个外国模特公司是非常难得的。ING来上海的时候选中了我，我非常开心。来这边工作也非常开心，因为我每天都在工作，我感到非常的充实。这是我今年最开心的事情。我今年还有一个目标，就是希望我能走上时装周，这真的是我最大的梦想，我也为这个梦想努力了很久，铺垫了很久。希望今年的我能够事业更进一步，走上国际时装周。
What do you love about Sydney?
My favourite food is Xi’an Cuisine in Chinatown. I go there probably every other day, because it’s near the train station, which is convenient for me. Everytime I finish an interview or work, I go there to eat. Also my agency IMG is my favourite, they treat me so nicely. Although I get assigned a lot of work, I still love them! And I have a good friend, a western model living with me called Emma. She is super nice—I love being with her. The best thing in Sydney has been meeting my super nice agent and friends at IMG, and eating super tasty food in Chinatown.
我最喜欢吃的食物是唐人街的西安名吃。我差不多可能两天去一次，因为那边离地铁站非常近，对我来说非常方便。每次面试完或者工作完，我就会去那边吃饭。在悉尼最喜欢的就是我的ING公司，他们对我真的很好。我的经纪人非常好，虽然给我安排了很多工作，但是我真的很爱他们。他们对我非常非常好。还有我一个很好的朋友，跟我住在一起的外模，Emma，她非常非常好，我很喜欢跟她待在一起。在悉尼最开心的事情就是遇到了ING这群超级好的经纪人和朋友，还有在唐人街吃到非常好吃的食物。
Words: Maddy Woon Images: Chris Loutfy Fashion: Chloe Hill
Qian is represented by IMG
Shot on location in Bondi, Sydney
