Li Bingbing paints elephants for a good cause

2 Sep – Chinese actress Li Bingbing recently joined several other international celebrities to create a sculpture for an art exhibition held to spread awareness about the plight of the elephants in Asia.

The actress, who is China's Goodwill Ambassador of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), took time off from shooting "Transformers 4" to participate in the Elephant Parade, whereby celebrities were asked to hand paint a life-size model of a baby elephant for display at several outdoor exhibitions.

The actress, who painted a tree with blooming flowers of colourful nature, revealed that the bloom represents vegetation and water, adding, "Food and water are the two elements that the elephants need to survive, and we should restore that for them."

Prior to this, the actress also campaigned for the reduction of the demand for ivory that has led to great killings of elephant herds in Africa and Asia.

In related news, the actress was recently named 'Asian Star of the Year' by Variety magazine, for her role as Goodwill Ambassador for UNEP.