What's new

China Daily | Updated: 2007-03-27 07:01

Fresh opportunities for rookie movie people

What's new Festival of New Chinese Films, initiated by veteran director Wu Tianming (pictured) and his Qujiang Film & Television Investment Group to promote China's young directors and their works, kicked off over the weekend.

According to Wu, any Chinese director under 35 and actor under 30 with no more than three works (the film sent to the festival should have passed the censorship of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television), can apply to take part in the festival.

The preliminary selection by film experts and industry insiders will run from March 31 to April 5. Those selected will tour major cities with all expenses paid.

Experts and the public will choose three to five winners in each of the categories of best director, film, and actors. The award ceremony will be held on May 13 in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province.

The best films will tour China's major cities' cinemas in May and June, while the prize-winning directors will receive a supporting fund for their next work.

Travel Day marked in memory of ancient traveler

Xu Xiake Society of China and the government of Ninghai in Zhejiang Province, plan to make May 19 China Travel Day, in memory of the ancient Chinese travel writer and geographer Xu Xiake.

May 19 was chosen because that was when Xu set out for his first journey in 1613, as recorded in his famous work Xu Xiake's Travelogue. Ninghai was the very first place Xu began his book.

There is also a campaign to select the 10 most outstanding travelers around China. All people, regardless of their age or nationality, can enter for the competition with their unique travel experiences. Foreign travelers are welcomed, as long as the traveling was done in China between 1980-2006.

Those who are interested can sign up at: http://www.lotour.com or xuxiake@lotour.com until April 17. The final results will be announced on May 18.

Ceremony to give sacrifice to Yu the Great

The 2006 Public Sacrificial Ceremony for Yu the Great will be held on April 20 in Shaoxing of East China's Zhejiang Province.

Yu the Great, or Da Yu, who became the first emperor of the Xia Dynasty (2070 BC-1600 BC), is known for passing by his home three times without going inside because of his devotion to harnessing the flood.

In Shaoxing where Da Yu's tomb is located, there is a family named Si, who have been guarding Da Yu' tomb for 4,000 years and 146 generations.

Sponsored by the government of Shaoxing, the sacrificial ceremony for Da Yu began in 1995 and has become an annual event.

Actor to re-visit monk role in new TV drama

What's new Chinese mainland actor Chi Chongrui (pictured), best known for playing Tang monk Tripitaka in Journey to the West (Xi You Ji), a popular TV drama of the 1980s, will now play another Tang Dynasty monk, Jianzhen. The 16-episode drama, Jianzhen's Journey to the East, focuses on the monk's 12-year effort to realize a journey to Japan to propagate the Buddhist faith. Despite failing five times and even going blind, Jianzhen did not give up and finally landed in Japan in AD 753. During his 10-year stay in the country until he died, Jianzhen also served as an important authority on Chinese sculpture, architecture and medicine.