By Nancy T. Lu
Teresa Teng is a name which fans memory of many popular Chinese love ballads. “The Moon Represents My Heart” can be cited as a classic example. Her rendition of this song in a sweet and caressing voice touches listeners and puts all in a romantic mood long after her passing.
The memory of this song legend whose 58th birth anniversary fell on January 29 this year makes a visit of the Celebrity’s House at the ongoing Taipei International Flora Exposition (Taipei Flora Expo) worthwhile. Nostalgia overwhelms a visitor as song after song plays inside in Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese and English. Pictures and video presentations capture highlights from her lifetime with fond remembrance.
Red roses said to be Teresa Teng’s favorite flower greet those privileged to enter Celebrity’s House. Floral artist Lin Hui-lee was responsible for introducing preserved roses and transforming an area into a rose-covered setting.
Only a limited number of visitors are accommodated each day at Celebrity’s House. Special entrance tickets are distributed outside early every morning.
Roses on an interactive, multi-touch screen give way to an emerging Teresa Teng near the entrance. Teng’s life story is then told in phases complete with representative pictures.
The displayed memorabilia of the enduring song artist includes her clothes, her Louis Vuitton luggage, trophies, record albums over the years, personal jottings, letters and her signatures in Chinese, English and Japanese.
A pop-up image of Teng dominates a stage with a microphone. Tourists are able to have souvenir pictures taken here.
Nearby, people queue to have their pictures taken as featured Celebrity's House cover personalities and to have even just briefly a taste of instant fame. Visitors can later go online and download files showing them as publication cover subjects.
The final moments of a visit are generally spent viewing a documentary of Teresa Teng mainly in concert. Long after every screening, the spectators linger – in fact, craving for more of Teresa Teng and her sweet and gentle but sad singing.
The Taipei International Flora Exposition at the Yuanshan Park Area, Fine Arts Park Area, Xinsheng Park Area and Dajia Riverside Park Area opened on November 6, 2010, and will run until April 25, 2011. The Celebrity’s House is at the Yuanshan Park Area.
I am a fan of Teresa Teng, first heard her songs during the late 70s when I was a little kid.
ReplyDeleteBoth my wife and I, though in Malaysia and non-Mandarin speakers, are fans of Teresa too...We had the privilege of residing in Taipei for a couple of years. My wife took pains to memorize one of her biggest hits and ever-green, "The Moon...." Normally during the Chinese New Year holidays, she would try that number, in one of her (irregular) karaoke sessions.
ReplyDeleteHow about someone organize something similar in Kuala Lumpur or somewhere in Malaysia. Am sure Teresa have many local die-hard fans...
Suraiya & Amin
Shah Alam, Selangor