CHINESE actress Zhou Xun’s studio released a photo of the actress and U.S. actor Archie David Kao online at Wednesday midnight, creating substantial speculation on the Internet that the two may be in a relationship.

    The black-and-white image (see inset photo), showing the two standing close together, was posted on Zhou’s studio Weibo account. Not mentioning the romance, the post only said: “This is Archie. Please take care of us.” The post included a link to Kao’s profile in Chinese.

    According to domestic media citing show biz insiders, the two have reportedly dated for a year, but Zhou’s manager, Chen Huihong, did not confirm the relationship.

    Kao, 45, is best known for his role as Archie Johnson in the hit television series “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.” He also portrayed Kai Chen, the Blue Ranger, in “Power Rangers Lost Galaxy” and in “Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue.”

    Kao also appeared on TV shows such as “Desperate Housewives” (as Steve), “ER” (as Yuri), NBC’s “Heroes,” “Century City,” “Huff” (as Kane), “Power Rangers Wild Force” (as General Venjix), “Once and Again” (as Steven), “L.A. Firefighters” (as Peter), “Maybe This Time” (as Takeshi) and more.

    In 2013, Kao joined the cast of the NBC TV series “Chicago P.D.” (a spinoff from “Chicago Fire”) as a series regular in the role of Detective Sheldon Jin, head of surveillance at the Chicago Police Department Intelligence Unit.

    Kao was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Alexandria, Virginia. He was named one of People magazine’s “Hottest Bachelors” in 2006.

    Zhou, 40, gained international recognition for her roles in Lou Ye’s “Suzhou River” (2000) and Dai Sijie’s “Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress” (2002), winning the Best Actress Award for the former at the 15th Paris Film Festival.

    Zhou entered the Hong Kong film industry in 2005, starring in Peter Chan’s musical “Perhaps Love.” Her performances earned her the Best Actress Award at the Hong Kong Film Awards, Hong Kong Film Critic’s Society Awards, Golden Bauhinia Awards and Golden Horse Awards.

    In 2012, Zhou made her Hollywood debut in “Cloud Atlas.” She portrayed multiple characters in the film.

    (SD-Agencies)