What's in

Classic fun for kids

China Children's Arts Theater will premiere its latest production Dragon Child (pictured) as the Spring Festival gift for young audiences. Directed by Australian Peter Wilson, who was one of the segment directors of the opening ceremonies of the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the 2006 Doha Asian Games, the show features the 12 animals of the Chinese lunar calendar and carries environment protection themes.

Mu Xing, playwright with the China Children's Art Theater, creates the story of a boy who is born in nature and grows up with a rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. However, the fast-developing civilization is destroying the nature gradually.

Water and other natural resources are depleted and plants are dying. The dragon finally shows up and uses its magic power to revive the world.

Wilson, who has held puppet shows since 1975, adds puppet and magic to the play to inspire kids' inspiration of nature. Richard Jeziorny from Melbourne designs the fantastic setting and interesting costumes for each animal.

This is the first international production by the China Children's Art Theater, according to Zhou Yuyuan, president and artistic director of the company.

After the performances in Beijing from February 7 to 24, the show will tour Australia, the United States and France in 2008.

Museum's facelift

The National Museum of China is preparing for a grand exhibition named The Road to National Resurgence, which will open in September 2009, as part of the celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the founding of New China.

The museum has been undergoing a massive renovation since last March. The museum's vice-director Zhou Zhiqiang says the western sections facing the Tian'anmen Square will be ready for exhibitions in October 2009, while the rest of the expanded museum won't reopen until August 2010.

Top Thangka art

Ningxia People's Publishing House has released the first volume of the Collection of Chinese Thangka Art series (pictured).

Thangka is a form of traditional Tibetan paintings or embroideries on scrolls of silk or other cloth. With a history of over 1,300 years, Thangka is widely found in areas where people believe in Tibetan Buddhism, including Tibet, Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan, Yunnan and Inner Mongolia.

The first volume of the Collection of Chinese Thangka Art contains text of more than 100,000 characters, about 400 pictures and a CD-Rom, which document the information about Thangka in Tunwu, a village in Qinghai province.

The series is a part of the Project on Salvaging the Folk Culture Heritage of China, which was initiated by the Chinese Folk Literature and Art Association. The project has also signed with The Sichuan Dictionary Publishing House to release the Collection of Chinese Nuo Culture, about the traditional masked ritual and dance that is called nuo.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/05/2008 page18)