Leslie Cheung Photo: Courtesy of Tencent

A 4K remaster of the late Hong Kong SAR singer Leslie Cheung's 2000 "Passion Tour" concert attracted more than 17 million views after it was released on Friday to mark the 19th anniversary of the Cantopop legend's death.

The remaster of the "Passion Tour" concert, known as one of the star's most memorable and audacious performances, was streamed globally for the first time through Tencent Video and WeChat with enhanced visuals thanks to AI technology from Tencent Media Lab.

"We felt a bit stressed when accepting the task," said Xia Zhen, a Tencent researcher.

He explained that bringing an immersive experience to audiences online was a big challenge because of the quick editing cuts and the low resolution of the original video material.

They finally solve the problem by using an ultra HD immersion repair engine, and they also fixed the noise and image distortions of the original material in just one month, according to Xia.

To achieve this, he captured a static picture of Cheung and placed him in the center of the stage. Using a computer program, he made it so the reflection of the stage could be seen in the star's twinkling eyes. Such an effect aroused the resonance of many fans during the live broadcast of the concert.

The concert quickly began trending on Chinese mainland's social media, with many netizens expressing surprise at the improved visual quality of the video, in which they could even see details such as Cheung's individual strands of hair and the silhouette of his face under the dim lighting. Many netizens remarked that it was like they had "traveled back to the year 2000."

With the development of digital technologies such as 5G and AI, the ultra-high-definition video technology has become an important driving force for the rapid development of China's ultra-high-definition video industry. 

According to a plan jointly issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other authorities, by 2022 the total value of the ultra-high-definition video industry will exceed 4 trillion yuan ($629 billion), and the production of ultra-high-definition content will exceed 30,000 hours annually.

Born on September 12, 1956, Cheung was one of the leading pioneers who shaped the identity of Cantopop during the 1980s. On April 1, 2003, he leapt to his death from the 24th floor of a hotel in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) at the age of 46. The news sent shock waves of grief among fans across China and many other countries in Asia, many of whom still leave flowers outside the building every year to pay their respects to the late star. In his 26-year career from 1977 until his death, Cheung released over 40 music albums and starred in 56 films.