Hong Kong Celebrates 40th Anniversary Of Bruce Lee's Death

Kung fu icon Bruce Lee celebrated in new exhibition in Hong Kong to mark 40 years since martial arts legend's untimely death. A towering statue of kung fu legend Bruce Lee in action looms above the displays at a new exhibition marking 40 years since the star's death.

Bruce Lee: Kung Fu, Art, Life, which opened in Hong Kong today on the anniversary of Lee's death, features everything from the famous yellow tracksuit he wore in 'Game of Death' to poems he wrote as a young man, to the 3.5 metre high statue illustrating his physical skill to powerful effect.

Organised by the Bruce Lee Foundation together with the Hong Kong government, the showcase charts his journey from child actor and kung fu student to fully-fledged martial arts icon.

Lee, who was born in San Francisco but raised in Hong Kong, died at the height of his fame due to an allergic reaction to painkillers at the age of 32.

His last film, Enter the Dragon, was released six days after his death and became his most popular movie.

Shannon Lee, who was just four-years-old when her father died, said people often assume she is similar skilled in martial arts when they realise she is the kung fu icon's daughter.

'People immediately assume that I am some amazingly skilled and deadly martial artist,' said Ms Lee, 44, who said she has studied martial arts in the past, but pursued a career in business.

Ms Lee, who has a 10-year-old daughter, Wren, and is president of the Bruce Lee Foundation, said that, while he is a legend in the world of martial arts, there was more to her father than his astonishing kung fu skills.

She hopes the new exhibition will show a more 'complete picture' by revealing Lee's family side, the poetry he wrote, and the effort that went into creating apparently effortless action scenes in his movies, she said.

'I think a lot of people see the final product up on screen and they go, "Oh, there's a talented guy", but they don't see all the effort that went into it,' she said.

Ms Lee said working to promote her father's legacy was inspiring because she gets to see 'how many lives he's touched in such a positive way, and if I can keep that going, that's meaningful'.