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Bruce Lee's Hong Kong residence to hold children's music lessons

By Elizabeth Shim
A wax figure of the late martial artist Bruce Lee is displayed at the Madame Tussauds museum in Beijing, China. The star is in the spotlight again following reports of plans for his former residence in Kowloon. File Photo by Rolex Dela Pena/EPA
A wax figure of the late martial artist Bruce Lee is displayed at the Madame Tussauds museum in Beijing, China. The star is in the spotlight again following reports of plans for his former residence in Kowloon. File Photo by Rolex Dela Pena/EPA

Nov. 19 (UPI) -- The Hong Kong mansion where kung fu legend Bruce Lee once resided may soon be filled with the sound of music and children reciting Mandarin lessons, if a philanthropist's proposals are carried out as planned.

Pang Chi-ping, the grandson of Yu Pang-lin, a billionaire philanthropist who passed away in 2015, is executing the wishes of his late grandfather, Malaysia's The Star reported Monday.

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Pang is the sole trustee of the charity fund that owns the building at 41 Cumberland Road in Kowloon, according to the report.

"We will convert the mansion into a center for Chinese studies next year, which provides courses like Mandarin and Chinese music for children," Pang said, adding the original details found in the house will be left intact.

"We will keep the mosaic, which was left by Bruce Lee, on the back of the wall surrounding the mansion," he said.

Renovation is expected to begin after the 2019 Lunar New Year. The 5,699-square-foot property is in need of repairs, according to Pang.

Other plans include martial arts classes. Lee's images are not to be used for promotions.

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Lee became a star in the United States and Asia, with Hong Kong films like The Big Boss in 1971, and U.S. television shows like The Green Hornet from 1966 to 1967. He died unexpectedly in 1973, at the age of 32.

Yu, a rags-to-riches billionaire, purchased the house in the early '70s and was planning to sell it in 2008 to raise funds for Sichuan earthquake victims. He later decided to restore the property.

The Hong Kong mogul, who made a fortune in hotels and property, also left behind a trust of about $1.28 billion that could be used to donate to Hong Kong's universities for scholarships.

Lee's on-screen career was recently in the spotlight, following the death of Raymond Chow Man-wai, the Hong Kong movie producer behind films like The Big Boss.

The South China Morning Post reported Chow was the "godfather of the Hong Kong film industry" who helped actors like Jackie Chan on their path to stardom.

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