SHANGHAI-BORN actress Cheng Pei-pei made a name for herself when she starred as the sword-wielding heroine in the Hong Kong action classic "Come Drink with Me" in 1966. More recently, Cheng was lauded for her role of the wily Jade Fox in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" from 2000. But even today, at the age of 69, Cheng shows no signs of slowing down.

Earlier this month, Cheng took the stage in Taiwanese director Stan Lai's production of "Sand on a Distant Star" at Theater Above, which recently opened at Shanghai's Metro City.

Known for her martial arts roles, Cheng's current performance appears to many to be departure. Yet even if it's what she's best known for, the kungfu films which made her famous represent only one side of Cheng's work as an actress.

"My performing career can be clearly divided into two parts. The first part was as a kungfu actress throughout the 1960s," Cheng says. "I returned to the stage in the 1990s, after a break of almost 20 years. At that time, I started to take different roles and challenge myself with more diverse film projects."

In "Sand on a Distant Star," Cheng plays Ying, a peddler in Taipei. For 20 years, Ying has been watching the stars for a sign of her missing husband, whom she believes to have been abducted by aliens.

Ying is a deeply irrational, irresponsible and deluded character, and Cheng says she struggled at first to understand the role. Lai, however, was certain that the veteran actress was a perfect fit.

"Cheng has a lot of life experience, and this is why I believed she could handle this role," says Lai, who described her performance as "flawless."

Cheng was born in Shanghai and moved to Hong Kong in the early 1960s when she was 15. Right around that time, the Shaw Brothers, who already owned the largest film production company in Hong Kong, were setting up a drama group to train potential stars.

The Shaw Brothers noticed Cheng's intelligence, her good looks and her background in ballet and let her join. Quickly, the teenager rose to stardom in Hong Kong’s film industry.

"I didn’t even know that the training class would directly send graduates to shooting films," Cheng remembers.

She starred as Lin Qiuzi in "Lovers' Rock" in 1964 and a year later played the male character Liu Yanchang in "Lotus lamp," loosely based on a Chinese fairy tale.

"Impersonating — a female actress playing a male role — was very popular at that time," she says. "It seemed that if an actress had the chance to play a male role in a movie, it would make her famous easily."

However, the "Lotus Lamp" didn't hold the big breakthrough that many had expected for Cheng. It took another year and a new movie called "Come Drink with Me" by King Hu to make her known as a martial arts actress across the Chinese-language film industry.

And that, she says, was all thanks to her background in ballet as the director was looking for someone who could act a martial arts role in a “soft” manner. Today, “Come Drink with Me” is seen as the first great Hong Kong kungfu movie. Due to its success, drama started to play a smaller role in Hong Kong’s film industry that now preferred kungfu productions.

In the 1970s, at the peak of her career as an actress, Cheng moved to the United States with her husband and children and retired from acting.

But the film world never really let go of her, and 20 years on, she decided to return to the screen for the 1993 Stephen Chow comedy “Flirting Scholar,” in the role of Madame Wah.

"To be honest, I am not a person with much sense of humor," Cheng says as she laughs loudly, "But comedy is really good. Life is tough. If you have a chance to amuse others and yourself, why not?"

The international media's spotlight was back on Cheng when she played Jade Fox in Ang Lee's Oscar-awarded film "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."

In the film, Jade Fox is the master of Jen, played by Zhang Ziyi, who betrays her.

"The director asked me about my understanding of the role 'Jade Fox.' My answer was that she is a pathetic woman, a tragic figure not understood by the majority of society," Cheng says.

From Madame Wah to Jade Fox, the roles that Cheng plays always involve martial arts. Cheng says she is really passionate about kungfu films.

"I was full of energy when I was acting martial arts,” she says, “During those years, I felt that I was a real swordswoman."

"But as I am getting older, maybe I have to turn my career from a 'swordswoman' to theater," says Cheng.

In 2014, Cheng starred in an independently produced British drama titled “Lilting” which was written and directed by Cambodian-born British director Hong Khaou. In collaboration with British actor Ben Whishaw, the film won the Cinematography Award at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.

"This independent film had a limited budget, but I love the story and that's why I accepted the role," says Cheng.

The drama “Sand on a Distant Star” will be staged through the New Year, and members of Cheng’s family will fly in from across the world to see the last show on January 3 in Shanghai.

Publicly, Cheng has expressed her admiration for Lai more than once.

"I hope to cooperate with Lai (again), to perform in his drama works, even if I don’t know which play I just want to act," she says. "I consider this to complete my career."

The show will tour at least three years across China and might also travel abroad.

Besides the drama, she has several film and TV plans for 2016 — when she will turn 70 years old.

"Performing to me — it feels like coming back home," says Cheng.

• 'Sand on a Distant Star' Time: December 24-January 3, 7:30pm Venue: Theater Above, 5/F, 1111, Zhaojiabang Rd Tickets: 80-550 yuan