You are here: Home > Arts > Music

Leslie Cheung's final message revealed

By Zhang Rui: 0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, April 1, 2013

Adjust font size:

However, the tribute concert entitled "Miss You Much Leslie" went smoothly after opening at the Hong Kong Coliseum, with performances from 22 megastars such as Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Kelly Chen, Jacky Cheung and Karen Mok.

"We haven't seen each other in ten years," Leslie's movie star friend Tony Leung said on stage at one point, "I feel everything is the same. I wonder, do you still remember us? "

Other memorial events marking the tenth anniversary of Cheung's death will take place in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and elsewhere.

An exhibition is now being held in Hong Kong in commemoration of Cheung. Tens of thousands of fans gathered there to pay tribute to him. A five-meter-high sculpture of Cheung is on display, together with some of his personal items and records. More than 1.9 million origami cranes folded by fans around the world are also on show inside a giant red cube. It has broken the Guinness World Record as "the largest display of origami cranes."

In Shanghai, the New Hengshan Cinema will host screenings of Cheung's key films, including "Inner Senses," the award-winning "Farewell My Concubine" (1992), the romantic "The Phantom Lover" (1995), and the critically acclaimed martial arts movie "Ashes of Time" (1994) directed by Wong Kar-wai.

"Cheung's movies and songs have greatly influenced the post-1970s and 1980s generations and have become a nostalgic part of our memory," says Tao Jin, an official with the cinema. "These classic films represent his different performing styles at different times."

A five-metre-high sculpture of late Hong Kong singer Leslie Cheung is seen displayed at an exhibition for paying tribute to Cheung in Hong Kong, south China, March 30, 2013. The exhibition is held to mark the 10th anniversary of the death of Leslie Cheung, who leapt to his death from a hotel in Hong Kong on April 1, 2003. A total of 1,900,119 origami cranes, folded by fans around the world, are displayed inside a giant red cube, which broke the Guinness World Record as "the largest display of origami cranes". [Photo: Xinhua/Chen Xiaowei]

A group of young musicians from the Central Conservatory of Music will present a concert at Century Theater in Beijing on April 1 in remembrance of the star.

Nearly 20 popular songs by Cheung, including his first hits -- "The Wind Blows On," "Monica," "Red," and "Silence Is Golden" -- will be performed by musicians such as clarinet player Wang Tao, cellist Zhu Mu, pianist Chen Xinruo and guzheng player Su Chang. Actor Yu Shaoqun will act as the concert's storyteller introducing the star's life story to the audience.

In addition, several movie screening events starring Cheung were held in Beijing, Nanjing and other cities.

Cheung is seen as one of the founding fathers of Cantopop, combining a hugely successful film and music career spanning more than 30 albums and nearly 60 movies, and was known for his roles in the iconic films such as "Farewell My Concubine." He committed suicide on April 1, 2003, by jumping off the 24th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong. He left a suicide note saying that he had been suffering from depression. He was 46 years old.