Government officials, artists and people from all walks of life gathered in Beijing Sunday to pay their last respects to Yuan Shihai, a renowned Peking opera actor.
Yuan, a former deputy director of the China Peking Opera Theater, died of illness on December 11 at the age of 87.
Yuan was known for developing his unique style of performance for Peking opera, called Yuan Style, and played a number of well-known male characters.
He was once a deputy to the fourth National People's Congress and a member of the National Committee of the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
Top Chinese leaders, including President Jiang Zemin and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Hu Jintao, expressed their condolences and sympathy to Yuan's family in various ways.
Li Ruihuan, chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, attended Sunday's funeral.
(Xinhua News Agency December 23, 2002)
