In the PRC, chick flicks are a recent cultural phenomenon. The concept of chick flick has not yet taken off in mainland China, neither the media nor the academia has given Chinese chick flick sustained critical attention. This study specifically studies female protagonists in chick flicks produced and screened in Mainland China of the last ten years or so (2001-2010). There are eleven such productions and fifteen female protagonists according to the tests. This study tries to generate the frames of portraying contemporary female protagonists (heroines) in Chinese chick flicks, based on the rudimental concepts of semiotics. It also adapts the concept of sign for a framing exploration. Three main questions will be analyzed and tested: the model(s), usage of signs, and empowerment of heroines, respectively. Additionally, when observing female protagonists on screen, there are three main indices of their images and identities: femininity, romance, and sexuality. There are three main arguments in this thesis: 1. The Cinderella and Pandora models are widely used or mixed, but they are both adapted in patriarchal way; 2. Most female protagonists are framed in certain ways via signs, such as they are framed as childish, less ambitious, or feminine; 3. It is too early to deduce that women are empowered through these films because of the hypocrisy in the process of constructing these so-called “modern” women.