Stage 3 mid-boss and boss of [[Touhou]]'s [[Embodiment of Scarlet Devil]], and later a recurring playable character.

A humanoid youkai (presumably resembling a Han Chinese). She works as the gatekeeper of the [[Scarlet Devil Mansion]] and specializes in Chinese martial arts. Unusually for a Touhou character, it is unclear what kind of youkai Meiling is, but many fans associate her with [[dragon]]s. This is in part due to the star on her [[beret]], which bears the Chinese character for "[[dragon]]" (龍, [i]Long[/i]). Hong is also the name of a specific dragon from Chinese mythology, implying Meiling has some relation (such as parent and child), or actually is Hong, leading to frequent depictions [[Hong Meiling (dragon)|as a dragon]]. There are also occasional images that depict her [[Hong Meiling (panda)|as a panda]].

Fandom also often depicts Meiling as being lazy and ineffective at her job, and often being berated and/or [[knifed|punished]] for this by [[Izayoi Sakuya]]. In canon, however, her relationship with Sakuya is actually something closer to amicable co-workers, if not outright friendship, and she is generally very good at her job of repelling intruders, with the notable exception of [[Kirisame Marisa]], who everyone else at the mansion admits is impossible to keep out when she wants access to [[Voile]].

Sometimes known by her nickname "China" (中国, [i]Chuugoku[/i]), which originated on [[2channel]] during a debate about the proper reading of her name's kanji (some believed it to be the Japanese reading "Kurenai Misuzu", and it wasn't until later that [[ZUN]] revealed that the Chinese reading "Hong Meiling" is correct). Fans came to an agreement that her defining characteristic is being Chinese, and thus called her "China".

h4. Typical Tags

[b]Person:[/b] [[long hair]], [[red hair]], [[twin braids]], [[green eyes]],  [[blue eyes]]
[b]Outfit:[/b] [[chinese clothes]], [[green headwear]], [[beret]], [[white shirt]], [[green vest]], [[green skirt]], [[green dress]], [[collared dress]], [[puffy short sleeves]], [[frilled sleeves]], [[black ribbon]], [[neck ribbon]], [[white pants]], [[black footwear]], [[shoes]]
[b]Accessories:[/b] [[star (symbol)]], [[black bow]], [[hair bow]]

h4. See also 

* [[Hong Meiling (dragon)]]
* [[Hong Meiling (panda)]]
* [[Hei Meiling]] 
* [[Lie Meiling]] 
* [[knifed]]

h4. External links

* "Touhou Wiki: Hong Meiling":http://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Hong_Meiling
ちちゅーごく 紅美鈴 红美铃 홍메이링 메이링 ゆっくりめーりん めーりん 美鈴