Funeral for renowned Chinese film director Xie Jin held in Shanghai

SHANGHAI, Oct. 26 (Chinese media) -- A funeral for Xie Jin, a

well-known Chinese director whose movies have won popularity among generations,

was held Sunday afternoon in Shanghai.

More than 10,000 people, including film stars and ordinary

citizens from across the country, came to the Longhua Funeral Hometo mourn

for the filmmaker who died on Oct. 18 in Shangyu, eastern Zhejiang

Province.

Chinese President Hu Jintao and other top Chinese

leaders also expressed their mourning for Xie in different ways.

Xie, born in 1923, died of an illness in the early

hours on Oct. 18 in his hotel room in Shangyu. He was there attending the 100th

anniversary of his middle school.

Xie, who made his film directing debut in 1957 with

the acclaimed "Woman Basketball Player No. 5," went on to create other popular

features such as "The Red Detachment of Women," "The Herdsman," "Legend of

Tianyun Mountain," "The Opium War" and "Hibiscus Town." He was active in

directing until 2001 with his last film "Woman Soccer Player No. 9."

The Herdsman, shown in 1982, registered a record 150

million spectators. Three times his films won the Golden Rooster, a top award in

the Chinese film industry.

"Xie Jin is irreplaceable! The Chinese film industry

dims with the departure of him," said Professor Zheng Dongtian of Beijing Film

Academy.