Explosive photos expose Chinese heiress LanLan Yang’s extravagant life – as we reveal her status as a ‘Very Very Important Person’ and her English name

Booking one of the 10 sets at Yoshii’s Omakase restaurant at Crown Sydney can take more than two years and the Japanese dining experience will set you back a minimum $380.

That’s no problem for Chinese heiress LanLan Yang, whose Instagram account once featured a visit to the restaurant where she indulged in a $1,000 bottle of Dom Pérignon.

In the week before Christmas last year, Chanel hosted a private performance of The Nutcracker at the Sydney Opera House and dinner at Bennelong restaurant for big-spending clients and other guests.

Among the ‘Very Very Important Persons’ to receive an invitation that summer evening was 23-year-old Yang, as well as Liam Hemsworth, his partner Gabriella Brooks, and actors Leila George and Phoebe Tonkin.

Yang is the mysterious mega-wealthy student who allegedly ploughed her $1.5million Tiffany blue Rolls-Royce Cullinan into a Mercedes van driven by Kyle Sandilands’s chauffeur in Sydney’s east.

The crash, which took place about 3.20am on July 26 at Rose Bay, left George Plassaras with devastating injuries and Yang facing serious criminal charges which could land her in prison.

It also catapulted Yang into an almost instant celebrity-like status, particularly among Chinese Australians who have been intrigued and mystified by her obvious wealth. 

Daily Mail has previously revealed Yang lives in a multimillion-dollar penthouse at Watsons Bay where she keeps a second Rolls-Royce – this one a white Ghost convertible worth up to $800,000 – in her garage.

Neighbours have said Yang decorated the dashboard of her Rolls-Royce Cullinan, which is believed to have cost $1.5million after all options were fitted, with scarce Labubu collectible plush toys.   

We can now publish further details of the petite young woman’s luxurious lifestyle in Sydney with insights from another Chinese Australian student who is part of the same affluent group of friends.

Yang called herself Cynthia on Instagram and was known to her peers as Yang Lanlan, with her family name written first.

Since the head-on collision, which police allege occurred when Yang crossed double yellow lines, she has deleted her local social media accounts. 

Yang’s barrister John Korn disclosed some of his client’s background when her case was mentioned for the second time in Downing Centre Local Court on October 26.

Mr Korn said Yang’s parents had sent her to Australia to attend school when she was 14, she had rarely returned to China, and was now a permanent resident. He also said Yang ‘hardly leaves her home’ and had ‘considerable’ mental health issues. 

One of Yang’s contemporaries told Daily Mail she was only aware of Yang having been in Australia since 2021. She said Yang was enrolled in a business course at the University of Sydney but ‘she never actually goes to school herself’.

‘We move in the same friend circle and have many mutual friends,’ the acquaintance said. ‘She only socialises within the Chinese community because her English is poor.’ 

The acquaintance said Yang’s Instagram had been filled with images of her ‘shopping crazy’ and visiting some of the best restaurants in Sydney but she was obsessive about obscuring her face in posts.

‘She eats fine dining every single day,’ the acquaintance said of Yang’s life before the collision.

‘She also frequently shops at Chanel and Louis Vuitton, sometimes renting out the entire store for herself.’

Yang’s Instagram account promoted Italian restaurant LuMi Dining at Pyrmont, Korean eatery Allta in the city as well as Yoshii’s Omakase – all of which have two hats in the 2025 Good Food Guide.

Whenever Yang has been seen in public over the past two months she has been dressed head to toe in designer clothing – particularly Chanel, Hermès and Louis Vuitton. 

Her acquaintance said Yang had been invited to Chanel’s performance of The Nutcracker due to the amount of money she spent with the French fashion house. 

‘Chanel hosted a private dinner in Sydney exclusively for their VVIP clients, and she was among the invited guests,’ she said.

‘Chanel VVIP clients are typically those who spend over one million Australian dollars a year with the brand.’

Chanel has been contacted for comment. 

Yang wears a face mask when she expects to be the subject of attention. The only time she has been photographed without one is when Daily Mail snapped her with a friend dining at the Museum of Contemporary Art last month. 

Yang met a female companion at the gallery shortly before midday on September 3 and the pair made their way to the fourth-floor Canvas eatery, where they chose a table next to a window looking out over the harbour.

She arrived without wearing a mask, but wore both a white one and a black one during her time at the restaurant – the second with a slit across the mouth, allowing her to eat.

On that occasion, Yang wore a $4,326 Louis Vuitton jacket, $3,000 Louis Vuitton cargo pants, $2,600 Hermès ankle boots and $1,220 Louis Vuitton Iconic cap.

The only time Yang has been seen without a hat was on Wednesday when she donned a $16,000 purple Chanel vest to report to Rose Bay police station as part of her bail conditions. 

During another visit to the same cop shop six weeks ago Yang wore a vintage Chanel jacket worth more than $18,000, matching $3,000 cap, $1,500 Chanel Camelia pumps and $750 Mui Mui sunglasses.   

Yang’s devotion to high-end labels extends to pet accessories. Her Shiba Inu – named Wangzai – wears a $990 Celine collar and has its own Louis Vuitton pillow and Hermès blanket.

Wangzai is a Chinese brand of bite-size milk buns coloured like a Shiba Inu, the Japanese hunting dog which generally sells in Australia for $5,000-$6,500 as a pup. 

‘That dog probably owns more designer stuff than I do,’ the acquaintance said. ‘And it’s literally living better than [any chauffeur].’

The crash reportedly left Mr Plassaras with injuries including a broken spine, two broken hips, two broken femurs, a ruptured spleen and torn-open abdomen. 

The most serious charge Yang faces is dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm – an offence which carries a maximum penalty of seven years in jail.

A back-up charge of negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm was recently added. She is also accused of failing to submit to a breath test and not giving her particulars to police.

Yang has not made any comment about the crash and has not appeared in person either time her case has been mentioned in court. 

When Yang’s matter was first listed on August 15 scores of Chinese Australians lined up outside the John Madison Tower court complex to catch a glimpse of the camera-shy moneybags. 

On that day, Yang disappointed her huge new fan base by appearing only briefly on screen from her lawyer’s office.

One onlooker told the Daily Mail: ‘It’s very rare to see, or have the opportunity to see, someone in person who is ultra wealthy and has power.’

‘You don’t see 23-year-olds who can drive two Rolls-Royces.’

When Mr Korn appeared on Yang’s behalf on September 26 more than 20 spectators turned up to see the object of their curiosity but she had been excused.  

Speculation about Yang has surged in China, where wildly inaccurate claims have circulated on platforms such as Douyin and Weibo, as well as in mainstream media.

Friends of Mr Plassaras have said he might never work again and would certainly not be able to resume his previous employment.

Some Chinese Australians have expressed dismay that Yang’s alleged actions might impact upon how their community was perceived.

‘I just hope she doesn’t tarnish the image of us permanent residents in Australia,’ one Chinese-born student told the Daily Mail.

‘I simply feel compassion for the [alleged] victim of the incident.’ 

Yang was required to surrender her passport as part of her bail. She must stay at her Watsons Bay residence, report to police once a week and not occupy the driver’s seat of any vehicle.  

Yang is due back in court on October 17, when she will be required to enter pleas to all charges.