On a cozy, rainy night, Mu Lan, a die-hard fan of Taiwan pop diva Teresa Teng, is sitting alone in a mini-theater inside the Teresa Teng Cultural Relic Museum in Beijing. She cannot take her eyes off the music video that is playing and she sings along in a whisper in the tranquil darkness, slowly working herself into a melancholic state.

The day was May 8, 2011, the 16th anniversary of the death of Teresa Teng (1953-1995).

"Looking at her performance (in the video) and her belongings in this museum makes me feel that I am emotionally connected with her," Mu, 37 says. "In my heart, she is a master. Nobody can beat her."

Mu is just one of the many Teresa Teng fans who made the pilgrimage to the museum that day. Opened December 2010 at the Taiwan Impressions of Qianmen Street, the oldest commercial area in the capital city, the museum has been operating quietly. But on May 8, it witnessed probably the biggest crowd since its opening.

"There were up to 100 visitors. On ordinary days, the number is about 40-50," says Song Dandan, a staff working for the museum, the only one on the Chinese mainland.

This is exactly what Summer Teng, niece of Teresa Teng and curator of the museum, has been hoping for.

"The museum gives the feeling of family for Teresa Teng fans and anyone who wants to know more about Teresa," she says.

The relatively tiny museum of just 360 square meters was designed by a Taiwan film director. Its main exhibits of Teng memorabilia include costumes, jewelry and furniture.

Visitors are greeted by a giant portrait of a beaming Teresa Teng at the entrance.

It points the way down a corridor to a snow-white gown that Teng wore for her One Billion Applause concert at Taipei Gymnasium in 1984.

"We picked the dress because it signaled the first time when Teresa recognized she has a colossal following in the mainland," Summer Teng explains.

The museum exhibits are changed every three months, rotating with those on show at the Kaohsiung Teresa Teng Cultural Relic Museum in Taiwan, the curator says while pointing to a set of crystal necklace and bracelets. "These just came in."

Apart from browsing through the collection, the best way to remember the glory that is Teresa Teng is to sit quietly in the theater and relive her music and her concerts - just like Mu Lan did.

China Daily