Teresa Teng - Death and Commemorations

Death and Commemorations

Teng died from a severe asthma attack while on holiday in Chiang Mai, Thailand, at the age of 42 (43 by Chinese reckoning) on May 8, 1995. She was an asthmatic throughout her adult life. Teng was given state honors at her funeral in Taiwan, with the flag of the Republic of China draped over her casket and then president Lee Teng-hui in attendance among thousands in mourning.

She was buried in a mountainside tomb at Chin Pao San, a cemetery in Jinshan, New Taipei City (then Taipei County) overlooking the north coast of Taiwan. The grave site features a statue of Teng and a large electronic piano keyboard set in the ground that can be played by visitors who step on the keys. The memorial is often visited by her fans. (This represents a noteworthy departure from the traditional Chinese practice of shunning grave sites.) Geotagging of the Teresa Teng Memorial Park (Yun Garden): Geolocation on Google Maps from the tomb of Teresa Teng with view from the driveway on her golden statue: 25.248582,121.601843 (Latitude/Longitude).

A house she bought in 1986 in Hong Kong at No. 18 Carmel Street has also become a site of pilgrimage for her fans soon after her death. Plans to sell the home to finance a museum in Shanghai were made known in 2002, and subsequently sold for HK$ 32 million. It closed on what would have been her 51st birthday on January 29, 2004.

To commemorate the tenth anniversary of her death, the Teresa Teng Culture and Education Foundation launched a campaign entitled "Feel Teresa Teng". In addition to organizing an anniversary concert in Hong Kong and Taiwan, music fans paid homage at her shrine at Chin Pao San Cemetery. Additionally, some of her dresses, jewelry and personal items were placed on exhibition at Yuzi Paradise, an art park outside Guilin, China.

In May 2002, the wax figure of Teng was unveiled at Madame Tussauds Hong Kong.