On display in India, China's new soft power tool: Its first 'First Lady'
Remarkably, Peng Liyuan, for many years, was far more famous than her powerful husband in China. For decades, she had a glittering career as a folk singer. In pics: Modi plays host to Xi Jinping | Xi Jinping, Modi stroll on Sabarmati riverfront
When Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, by his side will be his glamorous folk singer celebrity wife, Peng Liyuan.
For the Xis, this will be a first visit to India together. For an Indian audience, this will be a first experience of a new - and, some would say, softer - side to China's diplomacy.
Peng (51) has come to be known in China as the nation's "first first lady" - assuming a role that the wives of Chinese leaders have eschewed in the past.
Remarkably, Peng, for many years, was far more famous than her powerful husband in China. For decades, she had a glittering career as a folk singer.
Donning a People's Liberation Army (PLA) uniform, Peng would belt out nationalistic songs, and would appear regularly on State broadcaster China Central Television's annual new year galas - the most watched programme in China. In pics: Modi plays host to Xi Jinping and Peng Liyuan in Ahmedabad
Since her husband took over as the head of the ruling Communist Party in November 2012, Peng has all but given up her singing career.
Yet she has far from given up the spotlight: she has taken on, with some gusto, the role of an American-style "First Lady" - an idea that was shunned by previous Communist Party leaders, seen as personalising too much what was deemed to be a collective leadership.
Peng's public role has, at least, been a hit at home: her appearances have become the source of much public debate in China. Among younger people, the move to humanise the leadership has been widely welcomed -a departure from an almost paranoid earlier secrecy about the lives of leaders.
Peng's "First Lady" debut was during Xi's first overseas visit to Russia and South Africa for a BRICS Summit.
For the commercial Chinese media, Peng's daily routines - including her choice of dress - received more coverage than the President's official programme on his first overseas visit, reflecting the hunger in China for news about the closely-guarded private lives of the country's leaders.
Peng is the first wife of a Chinese leader to have her own public schedule and retinue on official trips - a role that Liu Yongqing, the wife of Xi's predecessor Hu Jintao, was reportedly uncomfortable with. Xi Jinping, Modi stroll on Sabarmati riverfront
The glamorous Peng has fitted seamlessly into her new role. On overseas visits, she has visited schools and musical institutions, as she did in Russia and earlier this week in Tajikistan, where she played the Chinese stringed instrument the "guzheng" before donating it to a local school.
Chinese officials told India Today that Peng was especially looking forward to visiting India. According to some reports, she has, like many Chinese, professed deep interest in Buddhism.
"Madame Peng Liyuan will be very much interested in learning the history, cultural aspects of your country," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said. "I think her programme will be an important part of this visit".
According to reports, Peng will visit a school in New Delhi and take part in a cultural programme, and teach children calligraphy.
The only other wife of a Chinese leader to have had a prominent public role was a marked contrast to Peng - the wife of Mao Zedong, Jiang Qing, who was once an actress but later become an influential political figure. She was later purged as a member of the "Gang of Four" and blamed for the excesses of the Cultural Revolution. Her televised trial left her reviled by many in China.
For Peng, the public reception has been, so far, positive, in part because of her earlier successful career.
In interviews, she has also sought to humanise her relationship with Xi. She noted once how she was impressed by a "rustic" Xi when they first met when he was serving in the provinces. She also joked during a recent visit to South Korea that a young Xi bore somewhat of a resemblance to a popular Korean soap opera star.
More importantly, she has also been sensitive to public sentiments in crafting a public profile. When once photographed carrying an Apple iPhone, many Chinese bloggers criticised her for using an American phone. On her next public outing, Peng was seen carrying a smartphone made by Chinese telecom firm ZTE.