Bruce Lee to finally get recognition - and museum - back home

Hong Kong, March 28 (DPA) Plans to build a museum in Hong Kong dedicated to the life of fabled kung fu actor Bruce Lee are moving ahead with proposals for an international design competition, a media report said Saturday.

The project involves the restoration of Lee's former house in the Kowloon Tong district of Hong Kong plus the possibility of building an adjacent cinema and library, the South China Morning Post said.

The competition has been agreed upon after talks between the government and the two-storey villa's owner, Yu Panglin, who has agreed to donate the property, which is valued at 100 million Hong Kong dollars ($12.8 million). The actor spent the last years of his life there before dying in 1973 at the age of 32.

Lee built up a cult following as a result of films such as 'Enter the Dragon' and 'Fist of Fury' with fans across Asia, the US and Europe. His legend grew larger after his early death.

But attempts to commemorate the actor's life in Hong Kong have been dogged by delays and inaction.

His former home in Kowloon Tong became a love hotel for discrete assignations for several years. Even Mostar, Bosnia, built a statue to Lee before there was a similar one in Hong Kong.

Michael Choi, a property surveyor who helped Yu on the project, said personalities related to Lee's life and career, including his daughter, Shannon; former classmates; and film company Golden Harvest founder Raymond Chow have been contacted.