HAINAN, Jan. 27 -- Chinese actress Zhao Lusi was recently spotted running an egg pancake stall at a night market in Hainan, China, an experience she later described as a personal break from her life in show business.

The 27-year-old was recognised by customers on January 20, with no production crew present - fuelling speculation that the appearance was not commercially driven, according to Singapore-based news outlet AsiaOne.

Videos shared online showed Zhao handling the stall on her own, from cooking and packaging the food to collecting payment, while also chatting with customers, posing for photos with fans and handing out tanghulu.

"I spoke about opening a noodle business in my livestream last summer, because at the time I had the f...