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ProfileHow Bowie Woo, 94, became Hong Kong’s ultimate evergreen entertainer over 7-decade career

Since becoming a film star in 1953, ‘Sau Gor’ has adapted to remain a feature of Hong Kong screens, and his recent concert set a world record

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Hong Kong actor and singer Bowie Woo with his Lifetime Achievement Award at the 41st Hong Kong Film Awards at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui, on April 16, 2023. Woo set a Guinness World Record in June 2026 as the oldest Chinese artist to hold a solo concert at the age of 94. Photo: Dickson Lee
Charmaine Yu
This is the 81st instalment in a biweekly series profiling major Hong Kong pop culture figures of recent decades.

Celebrities who reach their mid-nineties have usually long since traded the spotlight for a rocking chair, but not Bowie Woo Fung, who, at 94 years old, is likely still practising his footwork.

On June 7, 2026, he took the stage for his sixth concert at the Hong Kong Coliseum, and in doing so set the Guinness World Record as the oldest Chinese artist to hold a solo concert. It is a remarkable feat, especially considering that Woo has never released a full-length studio album.

The occasion was notable not only for the milestone, but also for Woo’s enviable guest list, which included “godchildren” Jacky Cheung Hok-yau and Nick Cheung Ka-fai, alongside fellow pop icons such as Andy Lau Tak-wah, Eason Chan Yick-shun and Liza Wang Ming-chun.

Born Woo Kai-sau in Guangzhou, in China’s Guangdong province, in 1932, Woo adopted the stage name “Fung” (maple) because maple leaves remain “red” – which also means “popular” in Chinese – year-round, thus symbolising his hope of an evergreen career.

Known affectionately to generations of Hongkongers as “Sau Gor” (Big Brother Sau), Woo has certainly lived up to his name, continuing to serve as a bridge between the black-and-white grit of post-war Hong Kong and the glitz of the modern era.

Woo poses with his handprints during the Avenue of Stars’ launch ceremony at Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui promenade on April 27, 2004. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
Woo poses with his handprints during the Avenue of Stars’ launch ceremony at Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui promenade on April 27, 2004. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
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