MUSEUM DEDICATED TO KUNG FU STAR BRUCE LEE OPENS IN CHINA

A museum dedicated to the late martial arts icon Bruce Lee has opened in a port town in booming Guangdong Province, a Hong Kong newspaper reported Wednesday.

The two-floor museum, located in a tea shop in Shunde near Lee's ancestral home village, houses rare letters written by Lee, film posters, photographs and other memorabilia.

"It is a dream come true. It is the continued effort of all those who adore the martial artist," curator Wang Dechao said of the museum, which opened Tuesday, according to the South China Morning Post.

Wang, who is vice president of the Bruce Lee Studies Association, reportedly scouted memorabilia from Lee's fans as far apart as the United States, Japan and South Korea.

The Guangdong provincial government donated the museum venue in Shunde, which the kung fu star visited only once when he was 5.

Born in San Francisco, Lee grew up in Hong Kong, where he studied kung fu, found fame and lived for many years.

He died under suspicious circumstances in 1973 at the age of 32 while at the height of his fame. He starred in such films as Fist of Fury, Way of the Dragon and Enter the Dragon.

Hong Kong apparently missed out on the opportunity to open the first museum commemorating its greatest movie star despite the fact he had closer ties with the territory than mainland China.

"His family has always wanted to see one built here. It is a pity that nothing has happened over the years," Lewis Luk, chairman of the Hong Kong-based Bruce Lee Union, reportedly said.

© Kyodo World News Service, 03-27-2002