Visitors crowd the new Bruce Lee museum that opened in Shunde, Guangdong Province on November 9, 2008. (Photo: fsonline.com.cn)

The ancestral hometown of Bruce Lee in southern China has finished building the world's largest memorial museum for the action legend, China News Service reported Tuesday.

The museum, located in Shunde, Guangdong Province, was inaugurated Sunday by Bruce's sister Phoebe Lee, who traveled from San Francisco for the occasion.

More than 1,000 items related to or used by Bruce Lee are on display, including costumes and photographs. Some letters and poems written by the martial artist are being exhibited for the first time, the report says.

The compound also includes a sculpture park that will feature the world's tallest Bruce Lee statue when the 18.8-meter-tall artwork is finished early next year.

Future meet-ups for Bruce Lee's fans are being planned, with which the museum's director Huang Dechao hopes to create a communication forum for worldwide fans.

There has been a resurgent interest in China over Bruce Lee, who passed away three decades ago, thanks to a new 50-episode drama series The Legend of Bruce Lee, produced by China Central Television (CCTV). The drama, although controversial for some bloopers found in its scenes, has become the most-watched CCTV drama in history following its initial airing in October.

(CRIENGLISH.com November 11, 2008)