President Xi Jinping and Peng Liyuan wave upon their arrival at an airport outside Moscow in March 2013. [Photo by Ding Lin / Xinhua]

Peng, who has been prepared for life under the media spotlight by a decades-long career as a singer, has also taken on the serious task of raising awareness of critical public health issues, including the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS.

She has actively taken part in a campaign to tackle the condition since 2006, when she paid a visit to children affected by HIV/AIDS in East China's Anhui province. There, she made three short films with the children, calling for better care and a guaranteed right to education.

"The filming was rather tough," recalled Zhang Ying, chairwoman of the Fuyang AIDS Orphan Salvation Association. "The videos were shot in rural areas, and some scenes took as long as a day to finish."