Faye Wong in Beijing with the movie's cast to promote the movie Fleet of Time. Jiang Dong/China Daily

Movie and music celebrities are usually very comfortable promoting their projects. But it was rather a surprise to see reclusive Hong Kong singer-songwriter Faye Wong make an appearance at a recent movie-related media event.

On Monday, reporters were invited by makers of Fleet of Time, an art-house movie based on a Chinese best-selling novel of the same name, to the launch of its theme song. Wong, 45, showed up on the stage and started to sing the movie's title number that sought to chronicle the protagonists' memory of a 15-year romance.

The movie, set mostly in the '90s, shows the lives of five young Chinese and is slated for nationwide release on Dec 12, regarded by Chinese as the day to "show your love".

Meanwhile, at Monday's event, Wong's voice triggered a frenzy among her fans, some of whom were from the media. One reporter even leaped to draw Wong's attention, but the reticent singer managed to keep to herself.

Wong is known to be an artist of few words - literally. She seldom grants interviews or gives speeches at concerts.