Richard Clayderman, dubbed the "piano prince" of France, collected donations worth more than 900,000 yuan (US$129,986) from a concert in the northwestern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region on Thursday.

Companies and individual audience members donated money, medicine and materials at the event here in the region's capital, said Li Ruigang, the concert organizer.

The donations will be given to the quake-battered Sichuan Province through the China Red Cross Foundation, Li said.

Meanwhile, every ticket sale will mean a donation of 2 yuan to the China Red Cross Foundation, said Li. More than 4,000 people attended the concert, including firefighters just finishing rescue work in Sichuan.

"I saw on TV those mothers and teachers who sacrificed themselves to protect the children. I was deeply moved. I hope my music could bring a smile back to the survivors," said Clayderman.

At his request, the commercial performance became a charitable one.

In a post-concert auction, 10 repertoire sheets and scores autographed by Clayderman were sold for 35,600 yuan, which will also be used in the relief effort in Sichuan.

Clayderman was scheduled to give 10 concerts in China from June 2 to July 2, including two in Sichuan. He decided to cancel the Sichuan events after the quake struck the province on May 12.

Urumqi, Xi'an, Nanning and other cities are also on his agenda.

Clayderman is very popular in China and has toured the country more than 10 times in recent years.

The 8.0-magnitude quake left more than 69,000 people dead, about 18,000 missing and millions homeless.

(Xinhua News Agency June 6, 2008)