Career
Lai began his career as an actor, and was involved in one of the first films made in China, Stealing a Roast Duck, a silent short directed by Liang Shaobo in 1909. The British colonial government rejected their plans to build the studio in Hong Kong, so they were forced to do so in neighboring Guangzhou in 1924. In 1925, Lai directed Rouge, the region"s first feature-length film.
He also started the China Sound and Silent Movies Company, which released the first Cantonese talkie, Conscience, in Hong Kong in 1933.
Conscience was only a partial sound film however, a full sound film, An Idiot Disturbs the House, was released the same year. Lai left the Hong Kong film industry in 1935, and died later in 1950.
Lai is commemorated with a star at the Avenue of Stars in Hong Kong.
