Jerry Yan says he wants to be known as a professional actor, not an idol. [Photo: Zou Hong / China Daily]

Taiwan star Jerry Yan returns to the limelight with biography.

The conference room is closed, but that does not deter news reporters and TV cameramen from trying to enter.

Nearby in the hallway of the five-star hotel in Beijing, fans jockey to catch a glimpse of the star attraction, a pop singer who has not appeared on Chinese mainland in five years.

The camera-and banner-toting fans, some of them speaking Japanese, scream in delight, despite the entreaties of hotel staff to stay quiet.

They are all waiting for Jerry Yan, a model, singer and actor from Taiwan who was an overnight sensation across Asia nine years ago.

Yan, now 33, has "grown up to be a mature man and artist", he wrote in a new book.

As a step to retool his career on Chinese mainland market, Yan launched the book/CD package, Jerry Yan - 9314 Man and Boy, which details his dreams and reveals secrets of growing up. More than 200 pictures of Yan, shot in Adelaide, Australia, are included.

The book, produced in a limited edition of 2,000, sold out in three minutes during a recent online presales launch. A regular edition is sold in bookstores.

The number 9314 in the title refers to the distance between Taipei and Adelaide.

"It symbolizes the distance to my dream, which takes a long time to cover," he said.

That dream, he said, is to live in the bucolic surroundings of Adelaide, where he would be surrounded by family and barnyard animals on a farm.

But in Beijing, the spotlight was on his life as an entertainer.

"After five years, I am happy to meet many old friends and fans here," he said with his trademark shy smile of dimples and gleaming white teeth.

"If (the press conference) was held earlier, I would have been very nervous in front of so many media friends," he said.

"Eight years ago, when I shot my first photo album, Amphibian, I said offensively to my costume artist that he knew nothing about my dressing style," Yan added, noting his petulance as a young artist.

Despite that, the team, including the costume artist, reassembled for a second album.

"I was forthright," Yan said. "In order to do things better, I always required a lot. But I didn't know how to put myself in others' shoes."