$2,283 Away From Forever – Global Fans Race to Fund Yu Menglong’s Memorial Bench in Beverly Hills
BEVERLY HILLS, California – 9 March 2026
Under the ancient live oaks of Beverly Gardens Park, a small brass plaque could soon carry the name Yu Menglong—provided the world can close a final gap of just $2,283.
The memorial bench project, launched quietly by an international group of fans last November, has become one of the most emotionally charged crowdfunding efforts in recent entertainment history. As of this morning, the GoFundMe campaign stands at 59% funded ($8,217 of the $14,000 target), with donations arriving from more than 87 countries. The remaining amount must be raised before the 31 March deadline, when the Beverly Hills Parks and Recreation Department will reallocate the reserved spot if the full sum is not met.
The bench itself is modest: a simple cedar seat with a cast-bronze plaque reading “In loving memory of Yu Menglong – Your light still shines.” Yet for the hundreds of thousands who have followed the actor’s story since his death on 11 September 2025, it represents far more than a place to sit. It is a physical counterpoint to the official narrative of an accidental fall after drinking—a quiet, enduring refusal to let his name be erased.
Yu Menglong, 37, was found deceased after a reported fall from a Beijing apartment building. Authorities closed the case within days, citing intoxication. But leaked audio of screams, airport photographs showing visible injuries and a shaved head, a purported final notarized statement detailing years of alleged coercion and abuse, and persistent claims of surveillance and control have fueled one of the largest online justice campaigns in modern Chinese entertainment history.
The #JusticeForYuMenglong movement has generated more than 1.4 million petition signatures on Avaaz and continues to trend on international platforms whenever new fragments emerge. Organizers of the bench campaign say the idea was born from that same refusal to forget. “We can’t change what happened in Beijing,” said campaign co-founder Lin Wei (a pseudonym used for safety reasons), speaking from Seoul. “But we can give him a place where people can come, sit, remember, and maybe feel less alone.”
The location was chosen deliberately. Beverly Gardens Park is open to the public 24 hours a day, centrally located in one of the most photographed neighborhoods in Los Angeles, and already home to several celebrity tributes. “It’s a place where fans from every country can visit,” Lin explained. “Chinese tourists, Korean fans, American supporters—everyone passes through Beverly Hills. Yu’s name will be seen.”
Donations range from $1 symbolic contributions to several $1,000 gifts from anonymous supporters. Messages attached to the gifts are raw and consistent: “For the light you gave us,” “You deserved better,” “We won’t let them silence you again.” Several donors have written in Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, English, and Spanish, reflecting the truly global reach of Yu’s fanbase.
The campaign has faced predictable obstacles. Within China, any mention of Yu Menglong or the bench is swiftly censored. Overseas fundraisers have been targeted with coordinated negative reviews and false reports in an apparent attempt to trigger platform suspensions. Despite this, the page remains active and transparent, with every expenditure (plaque fabrication, installation fee, perpetual maintenance endowment) itemized and receipts uploaded.
Beverly Hills Parks officials confirmed that the bench site has been reserved pending full funding. If the goal is not met by the deadline, the spot will be offered to the next applicant on the waiting list.
For the fans who have turned grief into action, the remaining $2,283 is more than money. It is the final distance between a story that ends in silence and one that lives on in a quiet corner of a California park, under trees that have stood for decades and will stand for decades more.
As one recent donor wrote: “This isn’t just a bench. This is proof that love can outlast cruelty.”
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