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Caught on camera

The annual visual feast of the Lianzhou International Photo Festival, Presence and Presentation, will zero in on news photography this year.

Works of top lensmen from across the world will go on display in Lianzhou, Guangdong province, from Dec 5 to 10.

Bao Kun from the China Photographers Association hopes the festival will rekindle an interest in news photography and underscore its significant historical role.

Highlights include retrospective exhibitions of Don Mccullin, the internationally-regarded British war photography journalist and photos taken by well-known Chinese photographer He Yanguang, whose works are grouped under the theme, How Far Can a Photographer Go.

Slides shows and seminars will run alongside exhibitions of pictures taken by more than 100 photographers from at least 10 countries worldwide.

Jewelry fair

The China International Jewelry Fair 2009 kicked off on Thursday with more than 600 jewelry companies from 15 countries and regions.

The five-day event includes the Donghai Crystal Jewelry Show, the 2009 Jewelry Night and the Kin Hing Lee Imperial Jadeite Tour.

Marc Brauner, CEO of the International Gemological Institute, and John Pollard, consultant from the Gem and Jewelry Industry from the United States will talk about the influence of the Internet on the industry. Master Sang Ki Kim from South Korea will talk about appraising diamonds and other precious stones.

The fair is on at the International Exhibition Center, Beijing.

Confucius' family tree

The Confucius Family Genealogy, China's No 1 genealogy project, is now ready after 10 years of updating. It is available online at jiapu.com, as part of the celebrations of Confucius' 2,560th birthday this year.

More than 1.9 million of Confucius' descendents have been registered in the Confucius Family Genealogy' catalog, including nearly 200,000 women, who were excluded from the family genealogy for more than 2,500 years.

Confucius' descendents are scattered all over the world, with more than 10,000 in other Asian countries.

Boost for 'heavy-color' art

China's first art project aimed at encouraging research into traditional heavy-colored ink paintings and oil paintings, was launched recently in Beijing.

The Zhou Changxin Art Fund Heavy-colored Oil Painting Research Project gathers veteran Chinese artists, art critics, theorists and art professors.

"Apart from theoretical studies, art competitions and exhibitions will also be held annually from 2010 to promote the art of heavy-colored oil painting," says team leader Zhou Changxin.

The project is sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and the Beijing Culture Development Foundation.

China Daily

(China Daily 11/09/2009 page8)