China Broadcasting Chorus is to present a variety show this weekend. It combines crosstalk, short drama performances, as well as Chinese and Western music sung by vocal artists and musicians including pianist Cheng Chi and conductor Liu Yanping.

Tickets: 40-280 yuan (US$5-34)

Time/date: 7:30 pm, March 5

Location: Guotu (National Library) Concert Hall, Zhongguancun Nandajie

Tel: 8854-5501

国图音乐厅，中关村南大街

Peress performs

Maurice Peress from the United States will conduct China National Symphony Orchestra.

A famous conductor, Peress has conducted American Metropolitan Theatre, Vienna Opera Theatre and San Francisco Opera Theatre amongst others.

Programme: Overture to Egmont by Beethoven, Piano Concerto No 1 by Brahms, Symphony No 4 by Schumann.

Tickets: 50-380 yuan (US$6-46)

Time/date: 7:30 pm, March 6

Location: China National Library Concert Hall

Tel: 8854-5501

国图音乐厅，中关村南大街

Wonderful women together again

Famous female musicians are set for a special show celebrating International Women's Day.

Zheng Xiaoying was China's first female conductor. She also formed the first women's orchestra in China. Yu Lina was the Chinese violinist who premiered the classic Butterfly Lovers. Bao Huiqiao, is a famous pianist, among the first to elaborate another traditional classic, Yellow River Cantata. And Min Huifen is a leading erhu player, most famous for premiering Flowing River Waters.

The four will co-stage a concert, accompanied by the Symphony Orchestra of China National Song and Dance Theatre.

Tickets: 80-500 yuan (US$10-60)

Time/date: 7:30 pm, March 6

Location: Forbidden City Concert Hall, in Zhongshan Park

Tel: 6559-8285

中山音乐堂，中山公园内

Mahler's melody

China Philharmonic Orchestra is to feature Mahler's works.

Yang Yang will take the baton. Mezzo soprano Yang Jie will sing solo.

Vocal artists of the Women's Chorus of China Opera and Dance Theatre, and Youngsters Chorus affiliated to the China National Symphony Orchestra will join in.

Tickets: 50-380 yuan (US$6-46)

Time/date: 7:30 pm, March 7

Location: Poly Theatre, Dongsi Shitiao

Tel: 8838-4171, 8838-4159

保利剧院，东四十条路口

Songs and sax

The Light Music Band of China Song and Dance Ensemble is to present a song-and-dance variety show.

It will include Latin music and dance and jazz, songs and sax. Saxophonist Lu Tingquan will solo.

Programme: Chinese music including Yao-nationality Dance Tunes, Love Song in Kangding, songs including Beautiful Spanish Maiden, I Belong to You, Memories and Going Home.

Tickets: 80-480 yuan (US$10-58)

Time/date: 7:30 pm, March 8

Location: The Great Theatre of the Cultural Palace of Nationalities, Fuxingmennei Street

Tel: 6602-2770, 6602-2530

民族宫大剧院，西单西

Chinese twist

Turandot is adapted into a Peking Opera version with a Chinese princess Turandot taking the limelight. The Peking Opera was premiered late last year.

The reformed piece includes traditional singing and stylized formats plus some fresh modern elements aimed at enticing a contemporary audience. Costumes are updates, the props are more sophisticated and ballet dancing and pop is thrown into the mix.

The controversial production is staged by China National Peking Opera House targeting both Chinese and foreign audiences.

Tickets: 120-580 yuan (US$14-70)

Time/date: 7:30 pm, March 10-21

Location: Poly Theatre (保利剧院)

Tel: 6506-5343

Flight fright

A comedy drama Boeing-Boeing, based on Marc Camoletti's script, features Chinese film star Zhu Shimao. The comedy tells how a Hong Kong engineer wins the love of three "fiancees? who are all air stewardesses flying different routes. His three fiancees are all pretty and lovable, and fortunately for him, know little of the other women in his life. But what happens when all three happen to arrive at their boyfriend's home at the same time?

Tickets: 80-880 yuan (US$10-106)

Time/date: 7:30 pm, March 5-9, 11-17

Location: Grand Chang'an Theatre, Jianguomennei Dajie

Tel: 6510-1155

长安大剧院，建国门内大街

Strings attached

Chinese pop singer Liu Huan is to hold a concert, accompanied by China Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Yu Long, its artistic director. Liu has been accepted by both the pop and classical music circles as well as the general public.

Ticket: 120-1,280 yuan (US$

Time/date: 7:30 pm, March 19

Location: Capital Gymnasium, Baishiqiaolu

Tel: 6835-4055

首都体育馆，白石桥路

Centenary celebrated

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of Czech composer Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904), musicians from the China Philharmonic Orchestra will stage a symphonic concert. Zhang Guoyong will conduct. Michel Dalberto will play the piano.

Programme: Overture to Othello, Op 93, Piano Concerto in G minor, Op 33, and Symphony No 6 in D Major, Op 60, all by Dvorak.

Tickets: 50-380 yuan (US$6-46)

Time/date: 7:30 pm, March 12

Location: Forbidden City Concert Hall, in Zhongshan Park (保利剧院)

Tel: 6559-8285

Dance spotlighted

Under the baton of Chen Xieyang, China Philharmonic Orchestra is to feature dance music excerpts from operas.

Programme: Prelude to Act I from La Traviata by Verdi, excerpts from Die Walkure by Wagner, polonaise from Eugene Onegin by Tchaikovsky, Dance of the Comedians from The Bartered Bride by Smetana, ballet music pieces from Faust by Gounod, extracts from Salome by Strauss, Samson and Dalila by Saint-Saens.

Tickets: 50-380 yuan (US$6-46)

Time/date: 7:30 pm, March 20

Location: Forbidden City Concert Hall, in Zhongshan Park

Tel: 6559-8285

中山音乐堂，中山公园内`

Variety show

American-Chinese composer Li Xiaolu is to lead China National Symphony Orchestra in a symphonic concert.

Programme: Leonore by Beethoven, Forest, a piano concerto by Liu Dunnan, Harold in Italy by Berlioz.

Tickets: 30-380 yuan (US$4-46)

Time/date: 7:30 pm, March 20

Location: China National Library Concert Hall

Tel: 8854-5501

国图音乐厅，中关村南大街

Yu for you

China Philharmonic Orchestra will present another symphonic concert under the baton of Yu Feng.

Female musician Cao Fei will solo on the viola. Zhang Xiaodi will play the double bass.

Programme: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Fawn by Debussy, Viola Concerto by Bartok, Double Bass Concerto in F sharp minor, Op 3 by Serge Koussevitzky, Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta by Bartok.

Tickets: 50-380 yuan (US$6-46)

Time/date: 7:30 pm, March 26

Location: Forbidden City Concert Hall, in Zhongshan Park (中山音乐堂)

Tel: 6559-8285

Quint's essentials

Russian-American violinist Philippe Quint is to join musicians of China National Symphony Orchestra in a concert.

Quint, nicknamed "the contemporary Stern?by the media, has been a Grammy nominee twice and has won numerous other international competitions. Li Xiaolu, artistic director of the orchestra, will conduct.

Programme: Symphonic Fantasia by Zhu Jian'er, Violin Concerto in E Minor by Mendelssohn, Symphony No 1 by Brahms.

Tickets: 30-380 yuan (US$4-46)

Time/date: 7:30 pm, March 27

Location: China National Library Concert Hall

Tel: 8854-5501

国图音乐厅，中关村南大街

The Star Maker

(L'uomo delle stelle) (1995)

Director: Giuseppe Tornatore

Cast: Sergio Castellito, Tiziana Lodato

In Italian with Chinese subtitles.

The film won the Winner Special Grand Jury Prize in 1995 Venice Film Festival.

In the golden age of cinema, everyone dreams of becoming a star. One man promises to make all their dreams come true. But is it real?

Tickets: Free

Time/date: 7 pm, March 11

Location: in the Italian Embassy, 2 Sanlitun Dongerjie

Tel: 6532-2187

意大利大使馆文化处，三里屯东二街2号

Bloody Morning

(Xue Se Qing Chen) (1990)

Director: Li Shaohong

Starring: Kong Lin, Gong Zhaohui, Hu Yajie

A judge travels to a village to investigate the murder of a bachelor schoolteacher, Li Guangming. As the investigation proceeds, the judge unravels numerous twists and turns in the case. Much of the story is told through flashbacks from the dead victim's point of view. Li Guangming allegedly slept with Li Hongxing, who had recently married.Her two enraged brothers, immediately killed him in revenge. But the judge discovers that what looks like a simple murder case is not.

It won the Golden Montgolfiere at the Nantes 3 Continents Festival in France, the Distribution Help Award at the Fribourg International Film Festival in Switzerland in 1992.

Ticket: 50 yuan (US$6), 30 yuan (US$4) with a student's card.

Time/date: 8 pm, March 5, 6

Location: Cherry Lane Movies, Gate 29, Anjialou Street, near 21st Century Theatre

www.cherrylanemovies.com.cn

樱花巷电影，安家楼路，世纪剧院东北

Art from the heart

Young artists Zhao Jinhe and Zhang Yongping focus on love in their latest joint exhibition.

Painting Dialogue to Love, being staged at Fafa Gallery, finds both drawing on their own experiences to show how art can be used as a language to create a colourful world in which people in love can have a dialogue with each other.

Time/date: 9 am-10 pm, March 16-31

Location: 2 Xiangjiang Beilu

Tel: 8430-2587

香江北路2号

Opening show

A joint show displaying art works by Chinese and Israeli artists Miao Xiaochun and Rivka Rinn will be held this Saturday to mark the opening of White Space, a new gallery located in the Dashanzi art area.

The new gallery is the China branch of Pruss & Ochs Gallery founded in 1997 by Jaana Pruss & Alexander Ochs in Berlin, Germany. It has become a leading gallery showing contemporary art by Asian artists. The opening exhibition features photography works created on the basis of multilingual and multicultural dialogue.

Time/date: 10 am-6 pm until April 17

Location: 4 Jiuxianqiao Lu

Tel: 136-8324-0024

酒仙桥路4号

Art of the temporary

Modern works by artists Chen Wenbo and Liu Ding will be unveiled at the Pink Studio on March 6.

Temporariness is the theme of the show,particularly appropriate in a undergoing such a dramatic transformation process. The exhibition also includes paintings by Chen Wenhui and embroidery and installation works on the same theme.

Time/date: 9 am-5 pm, March 6-31

Location: inside the Cultural Palace of the Working People

Tel: 6526-5045

劳动人民文化宫内

Me! me! me!

Self-portraits by 22 artists from across China are on show at the Courtyard Gallery. The exhibition expands the traditional limits of self-portraits to include a rich variety of modern interpretations of the self.

The exhibits range from tangible records of the artists?lives to visual explorations of identity, offering a framework to indulge in self-consciousness and artistic exchange revealing the artists?concentrated act of observing themselves.

Time/date: 10 am-5 pm until April 15

Location: 95 Donghuamen Dajie

Tel: 6526-8882

东华门大街95号

Joint show

Beijing Tokyo Art Project will stage a joint show displaying art works by two artists at Chamagudao Restaurant in Soho New Town.

The participating artists are Yang Jingsong and Ren Xiaolin, who will present their latest works touched with a personal passion to express their feelings in a modern and exaggerated style.

Time/date: 10 am-5 pm until March 29

Location: Tower-D-3F, 88 Jianguo Lu

Tel: 8457-3245

现代城，建国路88号

Unearthed treasure

Relics unearthed in Yunnan Province highlighting bronze culture will be displayed at the National Museum of China on January 14.

Bronze ware is widely distributed in over 70 counties and cities in Yunnan where the Dian culture is praised as one of the wonders of China. The widespread scattering of bronze objects here has been regarded as proof to the existence of the ancient Dian Kingdom. The exhibition will feature many precious national-level relics ranging from those used in war to those used in everyday life.

Time/date: 9 am -4:30 pm until March 25

Location: east side of Tian'anmen Square

Tel: 6512-8321

国家博物馆

Hooked on classics

Veteran oil painter Liu Wenquan will stage a personal exhibition showing around 30 of his latest works at Wanfung Art Gallery.

A professional artist living in Beijing, Liu has a particular interest in Chinese classical books. His works are strongly characterized by realism and nostalgia. The artist reveals his feelings about the landscape, objects and people of the latter period of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

Time/date: 10 am-6 pm, March 20-25

Location: 136 Nanchizi Dajie

Tel: 6523-3320

南池子大街136号

New beginning

The Melodic Gallery will stage an exhibition to welcome the new spring. A total of 12 artists will participate, bringing their latest works to portray life and people.

Time: 9 am-5 pm until March 31

Location: 14 Jianwai Dajie, opposite the Friendship Store

Tel: 6515-8123

建外大街14号

Body beautiful

A scientific exhibition displaying preserved human body tissue is underway at Beijing Natural History Museum.

The exhibits include six specimens of complete human bodies, processed using special technology to replace the water and fat contained in the body into synthetic resin to preserve the original appearance. The display also shows the process of pathological changes in people.

Time: 9 am-5 pm until March 31

Location: 126 Tianqiao Nandajie

Tel: 6702-4431

北京自然历史博物馆

Wenders wonders

Filmmaker Wim Wenders? unique view of the world has been taken to Beijing in a world-touring photo exhibition underway at China Millennium Monument.

Pictures from the Surface of the Earth is a retrospective exhibition of 34 photographs compiled over the past 20 years.

Born in Dusseldorf, Germany in 1945, Wenders has been regarded as one of the outstanding representatives of the New German Cinema during the 1970s with his unique films such as Wrong Move (1975), Paris, Texas (1984) and Wings of Desire (1988) winning awards in various international film festivals.

Since 1983, Wenders has taken pictures with a panoramic camera he carries everywhere with. Most were created during his travels and while location-scouting for films and range from landscapes of Cuban villages to forests and temples in Japan, endless roads in Australia's hinterland and seascapes in Israel.

Time/date: 9 am-5 pm until March 21

Location: 9A Fuxing Lu

Tel: 6851-3322/6852-7108

中华世纪坛

Rare rubbings

The National Library of China is staging a year-round free exhibition displaying the elite book rubbings of ancient calligraphy masterpieces selected from its collection.

The exhibits on showcase are called fatie, a special type which contain examples of handwriting of outstanding calligraphers for learners to copy. The 30-odd displayed rare pieces are labelled amongst the elite collection of the library ranging from the Song (960-1279)to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), among which is the only copy of the first private rubbing existing today.

Time/date: 9 am - 4 pm until December 31

Location: 33 Zhongguancun Nandajie

Tel: 8854-4114

国家图书馆