A memorial hall for the famous Chinese Henan Opera actress, Chang Xiangyu, is being built at Xiangyu Primary School in Gongyi, a city in central China's Henan Province.
   
An official with the Gongyi City government said that construction on the hall began Friday and is scheduled to be completed and open for visitors on October 17, the 83rd anniversary of Chang's birth.
   
The hall has a floor space of 2,760 square meters and will contain a lecture hall, a multi-media hall, an exhibition hall showcasing the life of Chang Xiangyu and a library.
   
Chang was born in 1922 in the town of Nanhedu in Gongyi and died in June 2004.
  
Chang first studied Henan Opera with her father and won stage fame at the age of 13, when she acted the part of a lively maid in the Story of West Chamber.
   
She has created dozens of characters varying from an ancient woman general to an ordinary person in the People's Commune. Hua Mulan, one of her best loved operas featuring a legendary heroine from about 1,500 years ago, was filmed in 1956 and made into a cartoon by Disney later.
   
Chang Xiangyu enjoyed the fame as "Empress of Henan Opera" with her splendid acting skills. She was honored the award of "Lifetime Achievement of Art of the Best Artists in Asia" in 1994.

(Xinhua News Agency March 14, 2005)