Chinese actress Fan Bingbing is here in town for the Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF), which lasts till Dec. 10.

While it's not her first time here, it has been a while since she last visited.

Wants to visit the Singapore Flyer

The 42-year-old told Mothership that she feels "relaxed" every time she's here, and this time, she's visiting with her mum.

Part of reason why she enjoys her trips to the sunny island set in the sea is the food — particularly, Hainanese chicken rice, chilli crab and other hawker fare.

She also mentioned that she really enjoys the "strong festive atmosphere in Singapore" during the Christmas period, with the streets decked out for the year-end festivities.

She hopes to bring her mum to the Singapore Flyer, as she's heard that the landmark is a great spot to get a bird's eye view of the city at night.

Keeping herself in tip-top condition

Fan slept at around 4am after the SGIFF's opening night, and woke up at 10am to get ready for a day full of interviews.

Due to her tight schedule, she wasn't able to grab a proper meal before our interview at 3pm.

Instead, we spotted the thespian taking quick bites of Old Chang Kee fishballs in between interviews.

Despite the lack of proper sustenance, she remained very relaxed and professional throughout the interview with Mothership.

How does she keep up with such demanding schedules?

"I think it's genetic," she said matter-of-factly.

"I've inherited good genes from my mum, and I'm thankful for that. I'm also someone who doesn't like to nitpick, and I don't get angry easily."

She continued:

"There have been people who have known me for 10, or even 20 years, and they've never seen me lose my temper. I channel all my emotions into my acting, so I'm a very calm person off-camera. That's very important to me — maintaining a peaceful mentality."

While workdays can start at dawn and end way past midnight, on off days, Fan wakes up around noon, puts on a face mask, works out (she runs, and clocks in some stretching or yoga), watches a movie and hangs out with her friends.

"I'm just like everyone else," she quipped.

Fan only loves two things — acting is the "love of her life", while the other is beauty and skincare.

She admitted that she has spent "too much time and effort" on beauty and skincare.

She laughed, while saying: "Maybe it's because I'm a homebody!"

She admitted that she spends about 30 to 40 minutes on skincare, and yes, that includes putting on a sheet mask every single day.

Words of wisdom

Fan also shared a piece of advice for those who might be at a crossroads in their lives.

She mused:

"A lot of women worry about marriage, love, or other aspects in their lives. I've been through ups and downs both in my career and life, and I've [learned that] you are the only person who can save yourself, and give yourself that ray of hope.

You have to focus that ray of hope on yourself and focus on yourself, and centre your energy on yourself. Do that, and be ready for that light to shine once the opportunity presents itself."

Top photo via Singapore Flyer/Facebook and by Livia Soh