Considered a "brilliant linguist" by New York Times, Teng has been named one of the world's seven greatest female singers by "Time" magazine in 1986. In 2009, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, a government web portal conducted an online poll to choose "The Most Influential Cultural icon in China since 1949". Over 24 million people voted and Teng came out as a winner with 8.5 million votes. In 2010, CNN included her among the 20 most influential music artists of the past 50 years alongside Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley and The Beatles.