What's new
Jiang's lens on charity
Mainland director Jiang Wen's latest offering The Sun Also Rises (Taiyang Zhaochang Shengqi) has made a big stir since its premiere last month. When many are still talking about whether they understand the uncanny story, Jiang (pictured right) has moved on to something new that could keep people talking about the film.
Using a series of ravishing scenes in the film, Jiang made a 30-second film revealing the hard lives of children living in the picturesque mountain areas in Southwest China's Sichuan Province and Chongqing Municipality, following a flood there this summer. As a father of two, Jiang said he was happy to do something for children. He hopes audiences will help children in impoverished areas realize their own dreams. China Mobile is supporting Jiang's goodwill through a campaign in which its GoTone service subscribers can contribute their credits to the company.
Gallery opens Beijing branch
Chambers Fine Art, one of the top places to see a wide range of creations by Chinese artists in the United States, recently opened a gallery in Beijing, seven years after it first opened in New York.
Designed by Ai Weiwei, the new gallery is located at Caochangdi, which is becoming one of the major centers for contemporary art in Beijing. The first exhibit in the new space, Net: Reimagining Space, Time and Culture, runs through November 3, featuring the works of some of the most active contemporary artists like Ai Weiwei, Qiu Zhijie and Zhang Peili.
Music forum ends
The International Music Council (IMC) World Forum on Music 2007 and the 32nd General Assembly of the IMC wrapped up in Beijing last week. IMC executive board members and dozens of musicians from across the world attended the event hosted by the Chinese Musicians Association.
The World Forum on Music 2007 mainly dealt with four themes - Music in Development and Development in Music, Intellectual Property Rights, Enhancing Music Diversity and Music in the Future.
The conference was also punctuated by a fascinating array of performances of Chinese music and they were beyond what is normally available to the public.
Diverse folks
The 7th China International Folk Arts Festival kicked off with a Kunqu performance in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province, on September 25 and ended with a gala show at Beijing's China Theater last week. The festival in two cities saw a diversity of folk performances by over 400 artists from 21 countries.
To promote and exchange the diversity of folk arts in various countries, China Federation of Literary and Arts Circles started to organize the China International Folk Arts Festival in 1990. Held once every three years, the festival has run in 30 cities in the last 17 years.
A filthy lesson
Authorized by China Ministry of Health and sponsored by Tide laundry detergent, Peking Union Medical College issued a report on the sanitary condition of school uniforms based on a test of 10,000 uniforms from Beijing's primary schools.
To raise the awareness of the sanitary condition of school uniforms, Peking Union Medical College and Tide will launch a "Clean from Body to Clothes" campaign in primary schools throughout China. Tide will send staff to give additional health classes and distribute illustrated books on the topic to the students so as to help them and their parents keep the school uniform clean.
China Daily
(China Daily 10/23/2007 page21)
