Editing Gong Li (section)

==Early life==
Gong Li was born in [[Shenyang]], [[Liaoning]], [[China]], as the youngest of five children. Her father, Gong Lize, had been a professor of economics at [[Liaoning University]] until being transferred to [[Shandong University]] a few years before the [[Cultural Revolution]]. Her mother, Zhao Ying, originally a college teacher, followed her husband to Shandong and became an accountant at a state-run cotton mill.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.charlest.whipple.net/gongside.html | title = Gong Li Sidebar | access-date = 10 February 2007 | archive-date = 25 December 2001 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20011225082339/http://www.charlest.whipple.net/gongside.html | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=母亲披露：巩俐张艺谋分手真相（图） |url=https://www.cctv.com/entertainment/news/20011126/176.html |access-date=2024-09-28 |website=www.cctv.com}}</ref>

Gong grew up in [[Jinan]], the capital of [[Shandong]]. She studied in Jinan Sanhe Street Primary School (now Shandong Experimental Primary School). At school, she developed an interest in singing, dancing, and imitation. In Grade 2, she participated in her school’s performing arts troupe. Later, she and her classmates were invited to Shandong People’s Radio Station to sing children’s songs in praise of the oil workers in [[Daqing Oil Field|Daqing]].<ref name=":2" />

Gong spent six years at Jinan No.2 Middle School. In 1983, she took her first [[Gaokao]], applying to two art programs at [[Shandong Normal University]] and [[Qufu Normal University]], but failed to gain admission. The following year, she applied to Shandong Art Academy and the [[People's Liberation Army Academy of Art|People's Liberation Army Arts College]], but was unsuccessful again. Her parents discouraged her from pursuing it further, but Gong persisted by working part-time while taking acting lessons from director Yin Dawei in Jinan. In 1985, encouraged by Yin, she applied to the [[Central Academy of Drama]] in Beijing. Despite scoring 11 points at [[Gaokao]] below the requirement, the academy petitioned for her special admission, which was eventually granted by the Ministry of Culture, the superior department then in charge of the academy. Gong was admitted to the [[Central Academy of Drama in Beijing|Central Academy of Drama]] in 1985 and graduated in 1989.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://video.barnesandnoble.com/search/Biography.asp?ctr=620460 |title=Gong Li Biography – Barnes & Noble.com |access-date=7 December 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222100321/http://video.barnesandnoble.com/search/Biography.asp?ctr=620460 |archive-date=22 February 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=启蒙老师回忆当年:巩俐当年是怎样走出济南的?(图) |url=http://www.ce.cn/xwzx/ylxk/gdxw/200508/02/t20050802_4322060.shtml |access-date=2024-09-28 |website=www.ce.cn}}</ref>