Taiwan actress-singer Vivian Hsu stars in "Shao Nian Xing Hai" (Xinghai in his childhood), a tribute film for the 10th anniversary of Macao's return to China.

The flamboyant star has declined an 80-million-Japanese yuan endorsement deal offered by a Japan-based beverage company, making sure she was uninterrupted while reading the screenplay and studying her role - musician Xian Xinghai's mother - during her preparation for the film.

Xian Xinghai, born in a poor boatman's family in Macao, 1905, is an outstanding composer in China's modern history. The musican is noted for his prolificacy in creating music and academic contribution to the music education. He died in Moscow in 1945.

The film started shooting recently in souther China's Zhuhai, a neighboring coastal city to Macao.