China Focus: Late singer Teresa Teng still loved, missed in China

A memorial hall for the Taiwanese singer Teresa Teng in her impoverished hometown village, where she had never visited, expects a rush visitors on Friday, the 20th anniversary of her death.

Deng Zitao, 45, the operator of the memorial hall in Dengtai village of Hebei's Daming county, wrote his phone number on the door of the hall, which is usually locked. Deng is spelled Teng in Taiwan.

"When visitors come and call me, I'll open the door and serve as a guide for them," Deng said.

Deng first heard the artist when his brother bought a recorder to help with his English Study. It was Tian Mi Mi (Sweet As Honey), one of the most popular songs by Teresa Teng, he recalls.

Teresa Teng was born in Taiwan. She once mentioned at a concert that her hometown was in Daming of Hebei. "Authorities asked the local government to investigate which village her father came from," Deng recalled.

At that time, Daming only had three villages with people surnamed Deng, but the investigators spent half a year to finally find the singer's hometown village.

"Nobody dared to admit they were connected with the Taiwanese singer during a period after the Cultural Revolution," said Deng.

According to some elders in the village, Teng Shu, the singer's father, was raised by his two aunts. The teenager worked at a coal mine in Tangshan City and was never heard of again after joining the army.

When Deng Zitao knew he had some connection with Teresa Teng, he began to focus on all news related to her.

As deputy head of cultural affairs bureau of Daming, Deng met Chang-fu Teng, the late singer's third elder brother, in Beijing, and agreed to build a memorial hall at hometown for her.

The hall, which cost more than 300,000 yuan (about 50,000 U.S. dollars), was located in the county's downtown area, 15 to 16 km away from Dengtai village. It opened in 2011 with many items being donated by fans.

Each year, around 10,000 fans visited from across the world, Deng said. His biggest wish is to build a cultural center for Teresa Teng for the purpose of attracting more investors and tourists.

"You'll never grow tired of listening to her songs. Twenty years have passed, but people continue to sing her songs and to imitate her in shows," Deng said.

ENDURING POPULARITY

In China, Teresa Teng was among the earliest singers people got to know after the reform and opening-up. Her sweet voice, fancy dresses and curly hair seemed novel to those who were used to seeing green and black coats and plaits.

Hao Xinsheng, 49, is a fan of Teng. He was in middle school when he first heard Teng' s songs in the 1980s.

"I was born during the Cultural Revolution," he said, "the songs we heard before were revolutionary and patriotic ones."

Her songs brought him a feeling of peace, he said.

Being from a family that could afford a radio, he listened to her songs ever night.

"I would turn on the radio after 11 p.m. behind my parent's back," he said, "it was from an overseas channel and the signal was not very good. So her voice went up and down."

One his favorites was Wine and Coffee, although at that time, he had no idea what coffee was.

It was a risk to listen to Teng' s songs then, Hao recalls. In 1982, a man selling tapes brought back from Guangdong Province illegally was caught by police. The case was reported by a local newspaper, which denounced Teng' s songs as decadent and pornographic.

In the following years, more and more singers from Taiwan and Hong Kong came to the Chinese mainland, and Hao longed for the day when he could meet Teng, only to be told of her death in 1995.

"It was astonishing," he said. "The report was not long, so I was unable to get more information. I felt really really sad."

In her heyday in the 1970s and 1980s, Teng was one of Asia's biggest singers. She was well-known for her folk songs and romantic ballads, which include The Moon Represents My Heart, I Only Care About You and Tian Mi Mi.

Two decades have passed since her death, but she remains as popular as ever.

Hao is planning for a visit to the Dengtai village on Friday. If not for Teng, he likely would not have heard of this village.

"We would like to know more about her," Hao said, "we would like to see her hometown, which she wanted to go back to but failed." Endi