BEIJING, Dec. 15 -- A star-studded cast including pop king Jay Chow attended the world premiere of "Curse of Golden Flower" in Beijing Thursday night.

Nine famous hosts from the mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong presented the event, including He Jiong, Shen Xing and Guo Degang.

Director Zhang Yimou is working on an opera in New York, but managed to send his congratulations from abroad.

"The synchronized screening of the film around the world shows the growing influence of Chinese film. But to be frank I still pay more attention to domestic audience's response. I hope more Chinese people will like it," said Zhang.

Jay Chow was the star of the night. He sang the two songs he composed for the film and said he really loves the role he played.

"I think my personality quite fits an ancient character like this. I loved kungfu fighting from childhood. And at one point in the film I was acting like crazy, killing whoever approached me. The fighting scenes were hard to shoot, but I felt really happy all through it."

Taiwan host Tsai Kang Yung gave his impressions of the film.

"The relations between characters are very complicated. And secrets are being disclosed one after another. So you're constantly being hooked while watching the film. Finally you reach the conclusion that a person overly obsessed with power will never be happy."

Despite the praise heaped on it from the Chinese media, some foreign critics weren't overly impressed with "Curse of Golden Flower." They said the story didn't measure up to the sumptuous design of the film.

It tells the story of an ill-fated romance in the imperial palace, where royal family secrets are revealed one after another.