Yu Menglong

Yu Menglong (Chinese: 于朦胧; 15 June 1988 – 11 September 2025), also known as Alan Yu, was a Chinese actor and singer.

His death in September 2025 was ruled accidental by authorities, but the findings were faced with doubts and allegations that there was a cover-up.

Yu was born in Ürümqi, Xinjiang. His mother named him after one of her favorite author's, Chiung Yao, works, Hazy Moon And Hazy Bird [zh]. He studied at the affiliated high school of the Beijing Contemporary Music Academy before graduating from the Beijing Performing Arts Training College.

In 2007, Yu participated in SMG's My Show! My Style!. He emerged in the Top 16 for the Xi'an province. In 2010, Yu joined Hunan STV's Super Boy but was eliminated, and later became a trainee with the boy group Happy Boy Group 8090.^{[citation needed]} The same year, he directed singer Deanna Ding's music video for her single "61 Seconds". In 2011, he made his acting debut in the short film The Little Prince. In 2013, Yu competed in Super Boy again; this time entering and emerging as one of the Top 10 contestants in the final round, after which he signed with EE-Media.^{[citation needed]} The same year, he released his first single titled "Just Nice". In 2014, Yu starred in the short film The Rules, which received the Best Independent Film award at the 4th International Micro Film Festival for University.

In 2015, Yu achieved recognition with his role as 9th prince in the popular historical web drama Go Princess Go. The same year, he released his first album, Toy. In 2017, Yu gained increased popularity after starring in the hit fantasy-romance drama Eternal Love. He then starred in the fantasy-action drama Xuan-Yuan Sword: Han Cloud alongside Zhang Yunlong. In 2019, Yu starred in the television adaptation of the Chinese folktale legend Legend of the White Snake as Xu Xian. The same year, Yu starred in modern workplace drama Who's Not Rebellious Youth, and youth sports drama Unstoppable Youth. In 2020, Yu starred in the historical drama The Love Lasts Two Minds. Following the expiration of his contract with EE-Media, Yu left the company and established his own studio to independently manage his acting career and entertainment engagements.

On 11 September 2025, reports circulated on Chinese social media that a man suspected to be Yu had fallen to his death in a residential community in Chaoyang, Beijing earlier that morning. The community's property management later confirmed that a fatal fall had occurred. At 6:44 p.m. the same day, Yu's studio, which had been deregistered in July 2025, issued a statement confirming his death and noting that police had ruled out criminal involvement. Authorities ruled that the death was accidental due to intoxication.

Doubts and conspiracy theories regarding Yu's death spread online. On 16 September, the studio released a second statement in the name of Yu's mother, who was not present at the scene, stating that Yu "accidentally fell to his death after drinking." She added, "I hope everyone will view this incident rationally and stop speculating." On 21 September, the Chaoyang branch of the Beijing Public Security Bureau issued an official bulletin regarding an incident involving Yu. The investigation confirmed that Yu had accidentally fallen after consuming alcohol, ruling out the possibility of a criminal case. The authorities also emphasized that the online spread of rumors would be investigated in accordance with the law, noting that three principal rumor-mongers had already been placed under compulsory measures.

On 24 September, as part of a crackdown following Yu's death, Weibo announced that it had removed more than 100,000 pieces of prohibited content, suspended or closed over 1,000 accounts, and disabled the comment function for more than 15,000 accounts. Fan Shiqi, one of the artists who allegedly had attended the drinking party before Yu's death, faced backlash over the allegations. Promotional materials of an unreleased drama in which Fan played a minor role was removed and his concert in Chengdu reportedly only sold 15 tickets. Fan retained counsel to file lawsuit over the allegations.