In the early hours of July 27, a young lady crashed her Rolls-Royce worth AUD 1.5 million (US$ 1 million) into a Mercedes in an upscale eastern Sydney neighborhood. The Mercedes driver was seriously injured and hospitalized, while the lady was unharmed but arrested for drunk driving. Her lawyer later secured her release on bail.
It was said that the bail amount was AUD 70 million, or 323 million yuan. That huge amount caught Chinese netizens’ attention and the news was quickly wide-spreading among the Chinese community. New South Wales authorities later clarified that no monetary conditions were set for her bail, debunking the exaggerated claims circulating online.
The 23-year-old Chinese woman is named Yang Lanlan. She lives in a luxury ocean-view apartment in Sydney and is usually accompanied by a driver, assistant, and bodyguard. She owns multiple high-end cars, including an unregistered Rolls-Royce containing limited-edition Labubu dolls, and frequently wears designer brands. Despite media efforts, little personal information about her could be found, making her seem disconnected from ordinary society.
People believe she is a second-generation or third-generation of high-ranking Chinese officials. A bodyguard serving the local Chinese community noted that wealthy second-generation Chinese inherit family fortunes but live extremely low-profile lives. They hold private gatherings in their own homes, shop by appointment, and are always accompanied by security, making contact with outsiders nearly impossible.
Since there is no official information about who Yang Lanlan is, there has been much speculation about her.
One theory is that she has very high status. Someone said her bodyguard is Xu Zhengyang, a former Beijing Armed Police officer, who was one of the best trained bodyguards in China with job duty to serve the top officials in Zhongnanhai.
Another theory says that Yang, with 1.35 trillion RMB (US$ 190 billion) in deposits in Australia, is the daughter of Xi Jinping’s brother Xi Yuanping.
Another claims she is an illegitimate daughter of Xi Jinping.
A recent posting on X had that she flew to Hong Kong from Sydney on March 8, 2025 and was taken by 3 cars to Shenzhen to meet Qi Xin, Xi Jinping’s mother. This indicated that she is closely related to Xi’s family.
Another suggestion is that her great-grandparents might include General Yang Chengwu from Fujian province, a key PLA figure in the 1960s and 1970s who served as acting Chief of Staff and Deputy Secretary-General of the Central Military Commission, and Qin Jiwei, a former Minister of Defense. Her grandfather, Yang Dongming, was a former Air Force deputy commander, and her grandmother, Qin Wanjiang, runs businesses. Allegedly, Yang Chengwu provided key assistance to Xi Jinping during his time in Fujian, and Xi is said to have looked after the Yang and Qin families.
Although the accident took place on July 27, it only became widely known in China on August 9. Some people feel this news was created and timed to make Xi Jinping look bad.
Sources:
1. Net Ease, August 9, 2025
https://www.163.com/dy/article/K6H42K740552MY16.html
2. Epoch Times, August 13, 2025
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/25/8/12/n14572291.htm
3. USOCCTN, August 12, 2025
https://usocctn.wordpress.com/2025/08/12/快递：杨兰兰是习远平前妻的女儿随母姓-灾民有家/
4. Secret China, August 14, 2025
https://www.secretchina.com/news/gb/2025/08/14/1086684.html
5. X, Shen Xue
https://x.com/ShengXue_ca/status/1957492509333926044