Celebrities from Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan performed at a charity concert in Beijing on Thursday to raise money for victims of the tsunami that hammered much of southern Asia.

Hong Kong heartthrob Nicholas Tse sang the well-known theme "Chinese People" to a nearly full house of about 6,000 people who waved glow sticks, clapped and sang along at the Workers' Gymnasium in Beijing.

Tse's former girlfriend - popular Hong Kong actress-singer Cecilia Cheung - also sang at the four-hour event. Others slated to appear were Taiwanese singer A-Mei and Feng Xiaogang, a movie director from the mainland.

"We came here to help out the victims of the tsunami," said Lan Linggang, a 28-year-old school teacher who paid 1,000 yuan (US$121; euro91) for his ticket. "We just wanted to do something small."

Both celebrities and the audience dropped money into donation boxes on the stage and around the stadium.

The Chinese public has responded with unprecedented generosity to the Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami, which the United Nations has estimated could leave 150,000 or more dead.

By Thursday, the Chinese Red Cross had received 45 million yuan (US$5.4 million; euro4.1 million) in donations and pledges - the most ever collected for a non-domestic disaster - said spokesman Wang Xiaohua.

The concert is part of an outpouring of support from greater China's glitterati.

Well-known mainland film director Zhang Yimou personally donated 300,000 yuan (US$36,300; euro27,500) to tsunami victims, making him the biggest celebrity donor, reported the major mainland Web site Sina.com.

"Zhang Yimou has been watching the news anxiously and watched with an aching heart as the death toll increased over and over," Zhang Weiping, who invests in Zhang Yimou's films, was quoted as saying.

He made the comment Wednesday as he handed a check to the Chinese Red Cross on the director's behalf, Sina said.

Zhang directed last year's martial arts epic House of Flying Daggers.

(China Daily via Agencies January 7, 2005)