Hong Kong is remembering Leslie Cheung with a large exhibition in Time Square. Thousands of fans have showed their love for Leslie by making origami cranes.
At the exhibition, there were a number of Leslie Cheung’s costumes, vinyl albums, and trophies collected over the years. But one of the highlights of the exhibition was the 5-meter-high statue of Leslie, with a giant red paper crane sitting on his palm. Red was Leslie’s favorite color. Behind him, there were nearly 2 million paper cranes sitting in the archway, all made by his fans over the past several days.
It’s my very first trip to HK, and I came here only for Leslie, not for travel. The minute I got here yesterday, I started to make the paper cranes. I don’t feel tired, because I am doing it to show my love!
Leslie began his career in 1977 at the age of 21, and is considered “one of the founding fathers of Cantopop”. He was voted one of the “top five most iconic musicians of all time” by CNN, placing just behind Michael Jackson and The Beatles. Leslie also had a hugely successful film career.
Leslie was very tender. He would take care of almost everyone around him. After a movie, theoretically the non-famous actors should have no contact with him. But he would invite them over for dinner. And he always paid special attention to regular people, trying to remember their names. Usually he would remember your name and talk with you about your concerns by your second meeting. Ten years have passed, and the fans are still so loyal to him. I have the responsibility to do something for these fans in Leslie’s name, to repay his love.
There is a saying that would be best applied to Leslie: Compared to his performances, his good looking means nothing; and compared to his morals, his performances are nothing. Leslie Cheung will be remembered by his fans not only for this decade but for many to come.