He's a heart-throb and a virtuoso - but someone else wrote his book

Heart-throb classical pianist Li Yundi is not only known for his looks, but his humble demeanour and honesty as well.

In town to promote his Chinese-language autobiography, The Piano Prince, after a series of concerts in Macau, Li openly admitted a ghost writer penned the book. He said he had no time to write it himself, though he wished he had.

'I flew all over the world. The only way I could get the book done was by talking to her for hours on the phone whenever I had time,' says Li, who has been granted residency in the city under the government's Quality Migrant Admission Scheme.

Critics who read the book said it gives interesting insights into classical training on the mainland, but there are few personal revelations about the virtuoso, who shot to fame when he won a prestigious international piano competition in 2000 in Warsaw.

The juiciest revelation: as a child, he wanted to be a ping-pong champion.