Crosstalk artist Chang Baohua (center) attends the memorial service for artist Yan Su, Feb 18, 2016.[Photo by Zou Hong/China Daily]

Yan received more than 100 awards, including lifetime achievement, for his contribution to opera, drama and music.

In a post on its Sina Weibo account, the PLA Air Force hailed Yan as "an artist with a loyal heart, passion and righteousness".

He had both talent and virtue and left the world with a legacy of more than 1,000 musical compositions "with ambition, virtue and warmth, which encouraged and inspired generations of Chinese people", the post read.