Listings: Beijing

STAGE

Dance company Paris Magnificent Feather French Lido Customs folk show is set to hit Beijing. Lido is a synonym for fashion, romance and luxury and the performances, clothing, props and stage effects are sumptuous.

7:30 pm, January 17-20

Poly Theater, Dongsi Shitiao, Chaoyang District

6506-5345, 6506-5343

Historical drama Beginning of Autumn takes audiences back to the early 20th century. Performed by the Shanxi Drama Theater, the story unfolds with two storylines: one about business reforms of the time, the other focusing on a family drama.

7:30 pm, until January 16

The Great Theater of China Nationalities, 49 Fuxingmennei Dajie, Xicheng District

6602-2530

Accompanied by modern music, the Children's Choir from Hulun Buir sings ancient folk melodies. The songs of the 36-member choir recall running streams, twittering birds and blossoming flowers.

7:30 pm, January 4-6

Beizhan Theater, Xizhimenwai Dajie, Haidian District

6835-4455

Fairy tale puppet show Swan Lake will play at the China Puppet Theater. The revised story is based on the classic version, that a princess and her companions endure a series of hardships.

7:30 pm, until January 13

China Puppet Theater, A1 Anhuali, Chaoyang District

6425-4798, 6424-7085

The Chinese Acrobatics Group, established in 1950, has toured more than 80 countries, won numerous international awards and made great contributions to friendship between China and other nations. Its performance includes traditional acrobatics, a circus show, magic show, old Beijing folk plays and more. The show blends music, dance, local opera and martial arts into a festival of acrobatic displays.

7:30 pm, daily

Tiandi Theater, Dongsi Shitiao, 100 metres north of Poly Theater, Chaoyang District

6416-9893

CONCERTS

China Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra continues its seasonal concerts, covering Richard Strauss's Don Juan Op 20, Max Bruch's Scotland Fantasia Op 46 and Robert Schumann's Symphony No 2 Op 61 in C major.

7:30 pm, January 18

Forbidden City Concert Hall in Zhongshan Park, Northwest of Tian'anmen Square

6559-8285

Performed by the Italian Pescara Symphony Orchestra, this concert includes Mendelssohn's Symphony No 4 in A minor, John Strauss's Cuckoo Polka Waltz and Blue Danube. The conductor is Lior Shambadal.

7:30 pm, December 29

Peking University Concert Hall, Peking University, Haidian District

6275-2279, 6275-9637

A performance by the London Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra includes Tchaikovsky's Symphony No 5 as well as Beethoven's piano concerto and Symphony No 9.

7:30 pm, January 5-6

Concert Hall of National Grand Theater, west of Tian'anmen Square

5883-6800

Exhibitions

Some 300 small-scale ink and oil paintings from Ningbo and Wenzhou artists in Zhejiang Province display a realistic style of landscape and figure painting. Dai Honghai's Tang Empress presents the court and its architecture. Wang Weijia's still-life works are impressively composed. You Xusheng's ink and wash works have delicate brushlines. 20 yuan.

9 am-5 pm, until January 6.

National Art Museum of China, 1 Wusi Dajie, Dongcheng District

6401-7076

A joint exhibition of oil paintings, sculpture, photographs and installations, created by 10 artists.

Ba Qiu's bronze sculptures convey body language, Hai Tao's oil painting Virtual Passion has a charming abstract style, Xiong Xinjun produces dreamlike scenes at the Palace Museum, and Fu Yu's Opera Performers features cartoon images and simple composition.

10 am-5 pm, until January 5

Art 8 Space, 8 Guanyintang, Wangsiying, Chaoyang District

6720-1945

Andrea Bender's paintings in Grimace Parade penetrate the psychology of human beings. She shows a rich mastery of her subject. Rich and heavy brush lines combine with the transparency of water colors, in which bodies disintegrate. Caricature and grotesquery mingles with a free arrangement of colors.

10 am-6 pm, until January 6

Beijing Art Season, 4 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang District

6431-1900

In the vision of Xu Xiangdong, everything in the atmosphere and cosmos, interacts and coexists with each other. Xu tries to find the inner relationship and presents paintings from the perspective of an insider.

10 am-5 pm, until January 7

New Age Art Gallery, 4 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang District

8459-9282

Wang Niandong has pushed the aesthetic of female images to the extreme. Wang sees life from a man's perspective and explores the secrets of time and psychological reflection. The latest exhibition, titled Start from Hubbub and Silence, centers on the roles of women in modern society.

9:30 am-6:30 pm, until January 7

China Visual Arts Center, Cuigezhuang, Chaoyang District

6432-6755

Veteran Czech photographer Miroslav Tichy is putting on a solo exhibition. Born in 1925, Tichy graduated from a fine arts institute and became a photographer in his 50s. Using a homemade camera in the early years, he secretly shot people in their natural state. 11 am-7 pm, until January 9

Beijing Art Now Gallery, opposite the 12th gate of the Workers' Stadium, Chaoyang District.

6551-1632

Nine young artists from the murals department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts display their works in various formats. For this young generation, approval and disapproval are of little significance. Their topics cover entertainment, fashion and private lives.

10 am-5 pm, until January 9

C5Art Gallery, Building F, BITIC, 5 Xiwu Jie, Sanlitun, Chaoyang District

6460-3950

Li Yongfei and Yang Xinguang jointly host an exhibition, though their perspectives are different. Li's background of traditional Chinese painting meets with his exploration of synthetic materials. Yang has a sculpture and behavioral performance, causing surprise and going against tradition and nature.

10 am-4 pm, until January 10

NY Arts Beijing Space, 318 Art Garden, Hegezhuang, Chaoyang District

8457-3298

Weng Fen presents works with the theme My Olympic. These include sculpture, photographs, installations and video works.

11 am-6 pm, until January 10

Tang Contemporary Art, 2 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang District.

6436-3518

Photographer Rafael Navarro is known as the Spanish master of the nude. His first exhibition in China, Introspecciones is now on display at the Instituto Cervantes of Beijing. The exhibition features 47 works, as well as the artist's well-known Dipticos collection.

9 am-5 pm daily , until January 22.

Exhibition Space at the Instituto Cervantes of Beijing

5879-9666

Over 60 sets of wooden furniture from the Ming and Qing dynasties will be shown. Also on show are photos from the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, featuring furnishings from European artists inspired by ancient Chinese furniture, along with miniature Ming-style furniture by Tian Jiaqing, who curates the exhibition.

9 am-5 pm, January 9-21

Beijing World Art Museum, China Millennium Monument, A9 Fuxing Lu

6851-3322

Over 60 ink paintings, oil works and calligraphic scrolls by some of today's most famous Chinese artists will be displayed at the Beijing Painting Academy. The exhibits are all on sale with the revenue being donated to the Beijing Legal Aid Foundation.

9 am-5 pm, from January 5-11

Art Museum of the Beijing Painting Academy, No. 1, Liulitun Beili, Chaoyang District

6502-5171

China International Photography Fair introduces the leading brands and products on the market.

9 am-4 pm, January 9-12

China International Exhibition Center, 6 Beisanhuan Donglu, Chaoyang Distirct

8460-0000

(China Daily 01/04/2008 page20)