Mr Jiang sang parts of a Western opera and a Peking opera for staff at the National Grand Theatre, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post reported.

In 2001, Mr Jiang sang O Sole Mio with the late Luciano Pavarotti, after the Three Tenors performed in Beijing.

Mr Jiang likes to recite poetry and plays the piano and the flute.

He also plays the erhu, a two-stringed instrument similar to the violin.

"Mr Jiang was very happy and satisfied with the theatre and sang a few songs during his visit," the South China Morning Post quoted a source in the theatre as saying.

Love Me Tender

The National Grand Theatre is in central Beijing near Tiananmen Square. It has been dubbed the "egg shell" because of its smooth, semi-spherical shape.

Jiang Zemin stepped down as president in 2003, to be replaced by Hu Jintao.

He sang his duet with Pavarotti - who died early this month - during a lunch in Beijing. He played host to Pavarotti, Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo after their performance in the Forbidden City.

Famously, he also delivered a stirring rendition of the Elvis Presley song Love Me Tender, after a dinner with Philippine President Fidel Ramos at the 1996 Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in Manila.