Instead of making planes, he creates indie music

Cui Renyu studied aircraft manufacturing at Northwestern Polytechnic University in Xi'an, Shaanxi province-but instead of constructing planes, he started creating indie music after graduation.

Boundless calligraphy draws outside the lines

As an advocate of ink art innovation, Chen Heliang does not like attempts by some artists in the field.

Tianjin rocks its own style

For many years the people of Tianjin have taken pride in quyi, a term used to describe the various traditional local folk arts, such as storytelling, singing and cross-talk.

Editor's picks

Where are we going? To the movies

Art hubs unite

Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Chongqing all have vibrant artistic communities. A recent forum looked at the best ways to encourage artists to continue their practice and produce works. Lin Qi reports.

ABBA classics keep coming

Art beat

Beijing

Tilling a field of dreams

Xing Jianxin worked as a full-time photographer in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang province, and he often accompanied journalists when they covered agriculture-related issues.

Culture adjustment in China

Punishment before pleasure. That seems to be the general theme for art lovers in Beijing who actually pay good money to attend plays, concerts or other performances.

What's new

Chan remembers a legend

Going up

Just a couple of years ago, Chen Chunyu could only imagine what it would be like to ascend 1,000 meters above the ground, to a place between the clouds and the sun. Now the hot air balloon pilot routinely takes "selfies" against a bird's-eye view of a city, then drifts away for the pure joy of floating through the air. Since 2011, Chen has flown over mountains and rivers, volcanos, grasslands, terraced fields and other picturesque places around China.

More people cast their eyes toward the skies

For hot air balloonists, the joy of a one-hour flight sometimes is diluted by a long wait for approvals from authorities. But as restrictions continue to ease on low-altitude airspace use, enthusiasts see an exciting future ahead.