Although the movie The Sun Also Rises (太阳照常升起) came home empty-handed from the Venice Film Festival last week, director Jiang Wen was the toast of the Chinese media in the weeks leading up to the festival. He's plastered on the cover of practically every lad magazine. Here's a selection

Jiang Wen wears glasses on the cover of September's Prestige. This cover story is a package feature - there's an interview with Jiang, but the magazine also talks to other leading actors in that movie, including Chen Chong, Jaycee Chan, and Kong Wei.

Prestige also features Super Girl Zhang Liangying in a photo spread, an interview with Olympic Committee Chairman Jacques Rogge, feature report about popular Taiwan cartoonist - Zhu Deyong, and the coming Autumn and Winter men's fashion in Milan.

Like many other magazines, Prestige keeps a blog on Sina. The Zhang Liangying photo shoot is here, and some of the Jiang Wen article is here.

Lady is a high end women's magazine; the Chinese title means "class" or "character."

Here, Jiang Wen shows his family side, asking: "Do you feel I'm maternal?" and "Can a father not be happy? When I saw my baby's birth, I felt so clearly that I was alive."

The cover has some teasers for other interviews in the magazine:

• Melinda Gates: "Is there anybody who still hopes to catch a guy with her breasts?"
• Yue Sai: "Unmarried and without a lover, what should a mother do?"
• He Jiong: "I play a supporting role at college" - He's a star on Hunan TV but also lectures in Arabic culture at Beijing Foreign Studies University. No, you can't audit his course.

Esquire's cover image of Jiang Wen goes for the same effect as Lady - rugged, rather than the intellectual filmmaker on Prestige.

Claiming to be the leader of Chinese men's trends, Esquire celebrates its 11th anniversary by coming packaged in a box (it's mostly empty space in there, however - no free gifts this month). Inside are two editions, with He Rundong on the cover of the fashion supplement.

In addition to the Jiang Wen feature, the hefty magazine contains spots on Halle Berry, China's military power, and a confusing top 100 list of the most influential people, things, and ideas. "Literary masterpieces" is on top, and the list doesn't really get much clearer as it goes on.

According to the Beijing Daily Messenger, Jiang's new movie will meet audiences in Beijing cinemas, in Guangzhou on September 13, and in Hong Kong on September 17.