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Tenor doing his bit for Mother Earth

The tenor Jos Carreras joined hands with Chinese singer Wang Lida in a song named Universal Love, which tries to raise people's awareness of the environmental crisis the earth is facing and how to prevent it becoming worse.

As part of a serial campaign on environmental protection, the song's video was completed on Monday.

In the clip, Carreras stands in a forest full of chopped trees, while children hold sprouts in their hands. Accomplished composer Wang Liping, who created the theme music of the noted 1987 TV series A Dream of the Red Chamber, worked on the melodies.

Carreras said it was the campaign's theme and the song itself moved him to join the project.

Olympics is young footballers' goal

Mai Mai Ti's 2008, a film from Xinjiang Tianshan Film Studio, premiered in Beijing on May 8. Set in a village at the edge of the Taklimakan Desert, the film follows a team of 12 young Uygur soccer players and their coach, whose dream is to take part in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

The film has just won Best Sports Film at the 15th Beijing Student Film Festival, which ran from April 6 to 22.

The film premiered in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region on April 29.

Auction records hammered

Chinese artworks are sought-after treasures. New records were set for Chinese artworks at the 2008 China Guardian spring auctions that ended recently in Beijing.

A red sandalwood bed from the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) featuring delicate carvings fetched 32.48 million yuan ($4.6) in the auction, setting a world record for ancient, classic Chinese furniture.

A Qing Dynasty banknote featuring portraits of local rulers Zhang Zhidong and Duan Fang was auctioned off at 1.17 million yuan, setting a world record for Chinese banknote prices in auctions.

Visit from Japan's greatest living artist

A grand solo exhibition of Hirayama Ikuo, president of the Japan-China Friendship Association ended recently at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing.

It was part of a cultural exchange program to mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of friendly diplomatic ties between China and Japan, say organizers.

On display were 46 paintings from the hands of Japan's most celebrated living painter. For decades, the 78-year-old artist has constantly explored such themes as Buddhism and the Silk Road to reveal his vision of a world in which cultural interchange were the basis for peace and harmony, as well as historical evidence of the common elements that connected the civilizations of Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia.

New art zone in capital

The Beijing 22 Street Art Zone opened this month in southern Beijing, amid the boom in the contemporary Chinese art market.

Combining futuristic and traditional Chinese architectural elements, the newly developed art zone sits in the Central Business District of the Chinese capital.

It features numerous art galleries, restaurants, cafes, fashion shops, art studios, as well as movie theaters, bookstores and sports gear stores.

The art zone adds to the existing art zones in northern parts of the city such as 798 Art Zone and Songzhuang Artists Village, art critics say.

Torch-bearers tell their stories

Recently, five torch-bearers Zeng Guang, winner of the 2007 Miss Chinese Cosmos Pageant; Jin Jing, wheelchair defender; Li Yuchun, pop singer; Zhang Shan, shooting athlete; and Jia Ting, photographer, appeared on one of the Phoenix TV's programs, Hand in Hand 2008, to tell their stories.

In an interview on the show, Jin Jing, the torch-bearer in Paris, told of how she remained fearless even while violence erupted around her.

China Daily

(China Daily 05/14/2008 page18)