英语文摘:Profiteering scalpers fail to deter fans from Faye Wong comeback concerts

BEIJING, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Demand for tickets for pop diva Faye Wong's comeback shows on the mainland has sent ticket prices soaring, with some touts asking five-figure sums.

However, her fans say the cost is a small price to pay to see the singer perform live for the first time in more than five years.

Between 80 percent and 90 percent of all the tickets had been sold, according to Yongle Ticketing, the ticket agent for the concerts, on Friday.

"Only a few of the 1,500-yuan tickets are available," a spokeswoman for Yongle Ticketing told Xinhua.

The spokeswoman, who declined to be named, said, "Ticket sales have been driven by the fact that Faye Wong has had a hiatus of more than five years, and her fans are longing to see her again."

The first of 10 mainland concerts will be held in Beijing on Oct. 29.

The most expensive tickets are priced at 2,500 yuan (370 U.S. dollars) through official channels. However, they are being auctioned for 12,000 yuan or more on China's biggest online shopping website, Taobao.com.

The tickets were priced in six categories, ranging from 300 yuan to 2,500 yuan.

A report of the Beijing News Thursday said some scalpers were anticipating big profits from the concerts.

"The price is absolutely high, but it's worth it. You know, I love her so much," said a fan surnamed Lu in a discussion on the ticket prices on the QQ conversation board.

Another fan surnamed Li said in a post that the ticket prices were acceptable. "The rich can buy the expensive VIP tickets, while the rest can buy the cheaper ones."

"The scalpers have stocked a lot of tickets to resell for a much higher price, so many fans can't buy tickets from official channels and are forced to pay more," another posting said.

Wong, who withdrew from the limelight to devote herself to charity and her family five years ago, caused a stir when she announced her return earlier this year.

Advance sales for the 10 concerts -- five each in Beijing and Shanghai -- totalled almost 19 million yuan in the first 10 days, concert promoters said at a press conference in July.

Wong appeared at the press conference, but left with few words about 15 minutes later.

A Beijing native who made her name in Hong Kong in the 1990s, Wong is known for her syrupy songs, as well as taciturn public appearances.

Besides big hits such as "Easily Hurt Woman" and "Red Bean," her album "Restless", the pop song "Eyes on Me" and her occasional film roles, including in Wong Kar-wai's award-winning "Chungking Express", were well received abroad, especially in Asia.

Wong and her film star husband, Li Yapeng, launched the Smile Angel Foundation to help children with cleft palates in 2006, months after she gave birth to a daughter with the condition.

Their philanthropy increased the couple's popularity in China.

Wong was born in 1969 and has another daughter from her previous marriage to Chinese rocker Dou Wei.