Hoan Meirin / Hong Meirin / Hong Meiling

Hong Meiling (紅 美鈴, Hon Meirin) is a youkai character from the Touhou Project series. She serves as the gatekeeper and gardener of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, known for her mastery of Chinese martial arts and manipulation of qi. Although a youkai, Meiling doesn't possess particularly strong youkai powers; instead, she excels in balanced combat abilities and close-quarters fighting techniques. She has a rather laid-back personality and is known to sometimes nap on the job, but she is also loyal and takes her duties seriously when dealing with intruders. Meiling first appeared as the Stage 3 boss in Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, and later as a playable character in fighting games like Immaterial and Missing Power and Touhou Hisoutensoku. She is characterized by her long red hair, blue eyes, green Chinese-style outfit, and hat with a dragon symbol. In fan works, Meiling is often nicknamed "China" and is a source of many memes due to the various pronunciations and misreadings of her name. Her skills primarily revolve around qi manipulation and Chinese martial arts, including various hand-to-hand combat moves and qi-based projectile attacks. Despite her less prominent role in the original games, Meiling enjoys considerable popularity among fans due to her unique charm and distinctive appearance.