Chinese actress Tong Liya performs in Pyongyang during a visit starting November 2. Photo: Mang Jiuchen

Crowds of North Koreans welcomed TV actress Tong Liya when she visited Pyongyang with a Chinese delegation this weekend.

Tong is known north of the border as Dr He Jing, star of the Shandong Television show Obstetrician that also airs on North Korean TV.

Tong, from Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, was one of the members of the Chinese delegation of artists led by Culture and Tourism Minister Luo Shugang, on a four-day visit to the country.

Chinese actress Tong Liya played the protagonist in television drama Obstetrician as an obstetrician named He Jing. Photo: Douban

Wherever Tong went, applause followed. Some people shouted "Doctor He!" and asked for an autograph.

In the 1990s, the Chinese TV series Ke Wang, or Aspiration - set during the Cultural Revolution (1966-76) - was also a hit in North Korea.

In 2010, the series Qian Fu,  or Lurk, based on Long Yi's spy novel of the same name, was also loved by the North Korean people.

The TV series Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Mao Anying have also been shown in North Korea.

The Chinese delegation delivered a joint performance with their North Korean counterparts in Pyongyang in front of an audience including North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Chinese actor and director Zhang Guoli also joined the delegation.