The heroine of "Hawthorn Tree Love" is Zhou Dongyu.

Zhou Dongyu, born on January 31, 1992 in Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, is an actress from Mainland China. Currently studying in the 2011 undergraduate class of the Performance Department of Beijing Film Academy.

In 2010, Zhou Dongyu won wide recognition from the industry and the public for her role as the heroine Jing Qiu in the film "The Hawthorn Tree" directed by Zhang Yimou. For her performance in the film, she won the 56th Spanish Film Festival Best Actress Award at the Valladolid International Film Festival, Outstanding New Actress Award at the 14th China Film Huabiao Awards and Best Newcomer Award at the 20th Shanghai Film Critics Awards. "Love at the Hawthorn Tree" was not only shortlisted for the Berlin International Film Festival's Crystal Bear Award and the Academy Award for Best Asian Film, but also won the Huabiao Award for Outstanding Feature Film. It also set a new box office record for domestic literary and artistic films, with a box office of 160 million yuan. .