CURRENT PROJECT: Gong Li took a well-deserved break from filmmaking in 2007 after working on four films during the past few years: 'Curse of the Golden Flower', 'Hannibal Rising', 'Miami Vice' and 'Memoirs of a Geisha'. The announcement about her latest project, 'Shanghai', was made on November 21, 2007 by her spokesperson. Gong Li said more recently that she was first sent the script seven years ago, is pleased with the current version, and that it allows her a lot of room for character development. Director Mikael Håfström described the story: 'It takes place there during the war, just before the Japanese invasion of China. It's sort of an epic drama, a love story set with the war as a backdrop. It's a great piece of material.' Producer Mike Medavoy described the story several years ago: 'If you could imagine David Lean doing a thriller with a love story at its core, that's what this has the potential to be.' Gong Li's manager reportedly said in January: 'John Cusack plays an American journalist, Chow Yun-Fat plays Gong Li's gang leader husband, Ken Watanabe plays a Japanese military officer, they revolve around Gong Li.' 'Shanghai' began filming May 5 in England at Twickenham Film Studios. The Phoenix Pictures project will be distributed by The Weinstein Company; the U.S. release is set for December 25, 2008.

It was announced on April 10 that Gong Li has been invited by the United Nations to participate in their Environmental Program as a Global Environmental Ambassador. Posters promoting World Environment Day on June 5, 2008 will be on display and include the Ambassadors' personal messages. 

Gong Li is one of the winners of the 2007 Chinese World Influence Award

Gong Li (simplified Chinese: 巩俐; traditional Chinese: 鞏俐; pinyin: Gǒng Lì) (born December 31, 1965) is a two-time Golden Rooster, two-time Hundred Flowers Award, Berlinale Camera, Cannes Festival Trophy, National Board of Review, New York Film Critics Circle Award, and Volpi Cup winning Chinese film actress. She first came into international prominence through close collaboration with Chinese director Zhang Yimou and is credited with helping bring Chinese cinema to Europe and the United States.^[1CHINA WALK: Louis Vuitton is introducing its most affordable travel-themed product yet — airfare not included. The French luxury giant has created MP3 audio guides for three Chinese cities, with one-hour walking tours narrated by famous actresses: Gong Li for Beijing, Joan Chen for Shanghai and Shu Qi for Hong Kong.