Although Lu played fairly routine exotic roles in "Terror in the Wax Museum" (1973) and the short-lived TV series "Anna and the King" (1972, based on "The King and I"), she spent much of the 70s acting in Hong Kong and Taiwan, winning awards for films including "The Arch" (1970) and "The Empress Dowager" (1973). The latter proved apt preparation for a similar role Lu played almost 15 years later in Bernardo Bertolucci's "The Last Emperor" (1987). Wayne Wang's "The Joy Luck Club" (1993) also gave her a good role as a mother who tells her daughter stories over mah-jongg.