Fans paid their last tribute to Xie Jin at Shanghai Longhua Funeral home on Sunday, October 26, 2008. A memorial meeting was held on Sunday afternoon for the director who died on October 18. [sina.com]

A funeral for Xie Jin, a legendary Chinese filmmaker whose movies have won popularity among generations, was held Sunday afternoon in Shanghai.

More than 10,000 people, including film stars and ordinary citizens from across the country, came to the Longhua Funeral Home to mourn for the filmmaker who died on Oct. 18 in Shangyu, eastern Zhejiang Province.

Chinese President Hu Jintao and other top Chinese leaders also expressed their mourning for Xie in different ways.

Xie, born in 1923, died of an illness in the early hours on Oct. 18 in his hotel room in Shangyu. He was there attending the 100th anniversary of his middle school.

Xie, who made his film directing debut in 1957 with the acclaimed "Woman Basketball Player No. 5," went on to create other popular features such as "The Red Detachment of Women," "The Herdsman," "Legend of Tianyun Mountain," "The Opium War" and "Hibiscus Town." He was active in directing until 2001 with his last film "Woman Soccer Player No. 9."

"The Herdsman", shown in 1982, registered a record 150 million spectators. Three times his films won the Golden Rooster, a top award in the Chinese film industry.

"Xie Jin is irreplaceable! The Chinese film industry dims with the departure of him," said Professor Zheng Dongtian of Beijing Film Academy.