Taipei City Government

Every era has someone or something that symbolizes it. Teresa Teng (鄧麗君) is that kind of legendary figure. With a sweet smile and voice to match, she sang songs that brought peace to a restless generation. In recognition of her accomplishments, the Discovery Center of Taipei is showing a virtual performance by Teng on the first floor as part of “The Return of Teresa Teng Memorial Exhibition (何日君再來‧鄧麗君文物紀念展). ” Using virtual reality technology from the California-based visual effects production house Digital Domain, an Academy Award winner for Scientific and Technical Achievement, Teng’s enchanting character is recreated, to allow fans to relive her performances of such classics as “Sweet as Honey (甜蜜蜜).”

This exhibition marks the 20th anniversary of Teng’s death and is organized by the Department of Information and Tourism, Taipei City Government, with special assistance from the Teresa Teng Foundation (財團法人鄧麗君文教基金會). The exhibition runs until January 22, 2016, on the first and second floors of the Discovery Center of Taipei. In addition to preserving valuable artifacts belonging to the singer, the city government will promote related industrial development by building a Teresa Teng memorial hall in cooperation with the Teresa Teng Foundation, so that Teng’s voice never falls silent in this city.

Revisiting a Beautiful Era by Recreating the Classics

Items on display include some of Teng’s favorite clothing and accessories, such as a gemstone necklace given to her by her mother, a black phoenix qipao worn at several performances, and the air force uniform Teng donned when performing for the troops. At the entrance are artworks from the famed Japanese photographer Tenmei Kanoh that are a blend of photography and painting. There are also 43 classic album covers, the complete collection of Teresa Teng commemorative stamps, close to 60 photographs that document Teng’s life growing up in Taipei, as well as several items on loan for the first time from Teng’s alma mater Luzhou Elementary School (蘆洲國小), such as a large jigsaw puzzle, film posters, and magazine and newspaper articles. There is also a gold vinyl record, which had a worldwide limited production of just 3,000.

The background soundtrack for the second floor features “When Will You Return (何日君再來),”"I Smile When I See You (一見你就笑),” and “Jing Jing (晶晶),” the latter of which is not only Teng’s first original song, but also the theme song to Taiwan’s first TV drama series. These many displays bring viewers back in time to that great era when Teng rose to stardom. Additional items include a joint concert performance with the singer Fei Yu-ching (費玉清) and an interactive installation that allows visitors to insert themselves into classic photographs of the singer. These can be uploaded to Facebook to share with friends!

For additional event information, visit the Discovery Center of Taipei website at discovery.gov.taipei or call the 1999 Taipei Citizen Hotline (02-2720-8889 outside Taipei City) extension 8630.

Source: TAIPEI