IT had excitement and flare: local celebrities, lots of glistening gems, even luxuriously clad models dripping with jewels. But this party in the Shanghai Concert Hall was not designed to show off a line of expensive adornments - rather, it was for a movie star.

Cherie Chung Cho-Hung, known as China's Marilyn Monroe, attended the party as the brand model in China for Piaget, the 122-year-old company based in Geneva, Switzerland.

Surrounded by screams and applause from the audience, the Hong Kong movie star who seldom appears in public, said her career as an actress had not ended yet.

"I never said I would retire from the limelight. I will accept the offer to start my next movie if the script is interesting enough to attract me," she said.

Chung's movie career started after she reached the fourth place at the 1979 Miss Hong Kong Beauty Pageant. The actress starred in more than 50 movies over the course of her 11-year career.

She was quickly picked up and placed on the silver screen in "The Postman Strikes Back" opposite Chow Yun-Fat. She followed up with a cool showing in Sammo Hung's "The Dead and the Deadly".

Her highly photogenic features finally landed her a contract at Shaw Brothers where she made her debut in "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", which led to an appearance in Jackie Chan's "Winners and Sinners".

Her gutsy yet lustful performance made her one of the most adored actresses in Hong Kong and also brought critical acclaim.

In 1991, she married and has made few movies since. Li Jian