13th Aunt, played by Rosamund Kwan

Female roles continued to stand-out in Tsui's 1990's films. In Once Upon a Time in China, Tsui produced a fictional character,the 13th Aunt, played by Rosamund Kwan, alongside Jet Li. Kwan has a knack for making fun and gives a light touch to the patriotic theme. The film includes a memorable sequence where Kung Fu teaching and dancing are presented as martial arts.

Brigitte Lin was again Tsui Hark's muse in the film The Swordsman. She repeats her role as a cross-dresser, this time as an undefeatable Kung Fu master, and the film was a roaring success. Lin's role encouraged more females to take on cross dressing roles.

Charlie Yeung headlined the same cast in the film Butterfly Lovers and Love in the Time of Twilight in 1995. As another female character seen through the lens of Tsui Hark, Yeung's performance in the sad romance between Zhu Yingtai and Liang Shanbo brought her instant stardom.