Hong Kong - Famed mainland Chinese actress Liu Xiaoqing said she studied English and worked out during her more than yearlong detention over tax evasion, a news report said Sunday.

Liu was caught during a crackdown on high-profile tax cheats in 2002. Although not charged with any crime, she was detained for more than a year. State media heavily publicized her case to assure China's public that the government was fighting suspected abuses by society's elite.

In an interview with Ming Pao Weekly, Liu described the conditions of her detention as good.

"I never slept so much. I'd go to bed at 9 pm and wake up early. I only brought English books and a dictionary. I could learn English. I ran every day, running more than 8,000 steps daily. I took cold showers from the first day to the last day. My health was better than before," she was quoted as saying.

"The air was pretty good inside," Liu said.

Liu reportedly paid more than 16 million Chinese yuan (US$2 million) in back taxes to ensure her release.

Liu's manager was later sentenced to three years in prison for tax evasion.

Liu's film credits include "Hibiscus Town," "The Empress Dowager" and "The Burning of Yuan Ming Yuan."

Since her release, she has appeared in "The Last Night of Taipan Jin," a Chinese musical set in 1930s Shanghai.