Again, Hong Kong tames the Golden Horse

Last night, Tainan basked in the limelight, with the arrival of stars such as Andy Lau, Leon Lai (黎明) and Ang Lee (李安).

The city's 300-year-old historical buildings, such as the Confucian Temple and Yi-tsai Gold Castle were specially decorated for the event.

The whole city came out in support of the awards. All the eateries famous for Tainan delicacies, many of which have been in business more than 100 years, donated their local snacks to guests. And even the betel-nut girls at stands near the Tainan interchange and Tainan airport all wore cheongsams, reportedly under pressure from the city's police, to welcome the event to the city.

Beginning at 2pm, fans of Andy Lau and Leon Lai -- mostly teenag girls -- lined up on the two sides of the red carpet in front of Tainan Cutural Center.

"Tonight I have to see Leon Lai and Lee Sin-jie (李心潔)," said 19 year-old Yi-shue (怡學) who waited in the crowd for three hours. "And also Daniel Wu (吳彥祖)," said her friend Hsiao-yu (小雨).

The award ceremony also paid a special tribute to Taiwanese action actor Ke Shou-liang (柯受良), who passed away in Shanghai on Tuesday.