Li Chengzhu, a tenor of Korean nationality, will perform a recital after completing studies from abroad.

Li has suffered many setbacks in his pursuit of a singing career, a dream of his since he was a child. He has even sold his clothes to attain the money necessary to keep on his musical journey. His perseverance paid off.

In 1990, he was recruited into the Shanghai Conservatory of Music to study vocal art. Upon graduating, he became a soloist in the Central Minzu Song and Dance Ensemble, and toured over 20 countries including the DPRK and Japan. In 2003, he obtained an artist's diploma at a conservatory in Italy, and later studied for his Master's Degree at the music conservatory affiliated with Seoul University.

He can sing in over five languages, including Italian, German, French, English and Chinese, and his repertoire covers the songs of the Baroque and classical periods, artistic songs of romantic genres and modern songs.

It is his first performance in Beijing after his graduation from South Korea.

Programme: works by Scalati, Handel and Strauss and others, accompanied by piano, with tenor arias as well as Korean folk songs accompanied by an orchestra.

Time/date: 7:30 pm, November 7

Location: China National Library, Zhongguancun Nandajie

Tel: 8854-5501

国图音乐厅，中关村南大街

Stage

Closing ceremony

The Seventh Beijing International Music Festival will end with a final concert conducted by Charles Dutoit.

Dutoit, born in 1936, is one of the world's best conductors and will lead the UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra.

Founded 15 years ago, The UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra consists of over 100 musicians between the ages of 17 and 29 from 35 countries.

Violin player Maxim Vengerov, who will perform the solo, began playing the violin from the age of five and won the Junior Wieniawski Competition in Poland at 11.

Programme: Overture to opera The Marriage of Figarro by Mozart, Violin Concerto in D Major, Op 61 by Beethoven, Prelude to The Afternoon of A Faun by Debussy, Picturesque Exhibition by Mussorgsky.

Tickets: 50-1,000 yuan (US$6-120)

Time/date: 7:30 pm, November 5

Location: Poly Theatre, Dongsi Shitiao

Tel: 6506-5345

保利剧院，东四十条路口

Peking Opera

In a move to encourage a greater understanding and appreciation of Peking Opera by college students, postgraduates of the China Local Operas Institute will stage the Peking Opera The Women Generals of the Yang Family. The students are deemed to be the future fans and supporters of the Peking Opera arts.

The plot tells of a patriotic story of all the women members of the Yang Family during the Song Dynasty. After their grandfathers, fathers and husbands have died as heroes in the battlefields, they take responsibility to fight against invaders and protect their country.

Tickets: 10-60 yuan (US$1-7)

Time/date: 7 pm, November 6

Location: Peking University Concert Hall, Peking University, Haidian District

Tel: 6275-9637

北大百年讲堂，北京大学内

Original songs

Ten top down-to-earth farmer-turned singers will sing Chinese folk songs that have spread throughout the Yellow River regions.

Most of the singers are still farmers, shepherds, and their passion and love for singing comes right from their souls.

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

Time/date: 7:30 pm, November 5-7

Location: Haidian Theatre, Haidian District

Tel: 6255-8026

海淀剧院，海淀路84号

Swan Lake

The Ballet troupe of the National Song and Dance Theatre of the Ukraine is to tour Beijing to stage the Russian version of Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky.

Time/date: 7:30 pm, November 6

Location: Beizhan Theatre, Xizhimenwai

Tel: 6835-4455

北展剧场，西直门外大街

Pop trumpet

Saskia Lawo, a top trumpet player from Amsterdam, and her band, are to visit China.

Lawo was introduced to music early and received formal training for the trumpet at a musical conservatory from the age of 19, also studying vocal art and saxophone.

Lawo brings her band to perform various music genres including jazz, fusion, avant garde, African, Caribbean, funk, heavy metal, techno, eletro and lounge.

During their Beijing concert, the band will add a reportoire of Chinese music works to their program.

Tickets: 10-30 yuan (US$1-4)

Time/date: 7 pm, November 11

Location: Peking University Concert Hall, Peking University, Haidian District

Tel: 6275-9637

北大百年讲堂，北京大学内

Dance from Britain

The Random Dance Company from the United Kingdom will perform in Beijing presenting two modern themes.

Their performance marks the beginning of the British drama and dance festival, known as the Beijing Mini Festival of UK Performing Arts, held this month.

Time/date: 7:30 pm, November 12, 13

Location: Tianqiao Theatre, Beiweilu, Xuanwu District

Tel: 8315-6170

天桥剧场，宣武区北纬路

Far-east army

The Red Flag Far-East Army Song and Dance Ensemble, affiliated with the Ministry of National Defence of Russia, is to present a song and dance show in Beijing.

The 40 member troupe will feature not only Russian songs and dances, but also Chinese works.

Tickets: 10-80 yuan (US$1-10)

Time/date: 7 pm, November 13

Location: Peking University Concert Hall, Peking University, Haidian District

Tel: 6275-9637

北大百年讲堂，北京大学内

Tap me

Led by top tap-dancer and choreographer Michael Flatley from Ireland, another dance spectacular Lord of the Dance is to be staged.

Time/date: 7:30 pm, November 17-21

Location: Beizhan Theatre, Xizhimenwai

Tel: 6835-4455

北展剧场，西直门外大街

Fusion

The British Company F/Z's Throat, a fusion of dance, theatre, circus, comedy and cabaret, will be staged, a key programme for the UK Performing Arts Mini Festival. Winner of the 2003 Best Contemporary Circus in the World Fair and the 2002 Total Theatre Award for Innovation and Excellence, the work is themed on the relations between humans and their environments.

Time/date: 7:30 pm, November 17-20

Location: Bei Theatre, Beibingmasi Lane, Dongcheng District

Tel: 8602-4898

北兵马司剧场，交道口南大街

Pop star

Taiwan pop singer and actress Rene Liu will appear for a pop concert.

Enjoying high popularity on the Chinese mainland, Liu says she will keep on singing on stage so long as her fans keep screaming with passion.

Tickets: 120 - 1280 yuan (US$14-154)

Time/date: 7:30 pm, November 19

Location: Capital Gymnasium

Tel: 6835-4055

首都体育馆，白石桥路

Stories in boxes

British performance artist Bobby Baker will present Box Story to conclude the UK Performing Arts Mini Festival.

Her performance covers various aspects of life, including health, shopping and educating children, exploring these themes with originality.

Tickets: 80-120 yuan (US$10-14)

Time/date: 7:30 pm, December 3-5

Location: Bei Theatre, Beibingmasi Lane, Jiaodaokou, Dongcheng District

Tel: 8602-4898

北兵马司剧场，交道口南大街

Cinema

Strength that counts

Two films will be shown at Cherry Lane Movies: the 40-minute short film Xiao Yuan, directed by Tian Zhuangzhuang in 1983, and an 11-minute short film Bus 44, directed by Dayyan Eng in 2001.

Bus 44 begins with a woman driving a bus along a deserted country road and picks up a young man from the roadside. Although the man attempts to engage her in chit-chat, she remains silent. Suddenly, two robbers board the bus, take the passengers?money, and drag the driver behind some bushes where they proceed to rape her.

Only one passenger -- the young man -- comes to her aid, but is beaten by the villains. The other passengers simply do not react.

The film has won awards at the Venice Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, and Cannes Film Festival.

In Chinese with English subtitles.

Tickets: 50 yuan (US$6)

Time/date: 8 pm, November 5, 6

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

Info: www.cherrylanemovies.com.cn

樱花巷/安家楼路世纪剧院东北

Herod's Law

(La ley de Herodes) 1999

Director: Luis Estrada Rodriguez

La ley de Herodes is a hilarious, outrageous satire set in a tiny Mexican town in 1949. Damian Alcazar stars as Juan Vargas, a junkyard operator who is recruited as a temporary mayor, after the demise of the latest corrupt town leader. At first, Vargas is the ideal politician: honest, desperate and not terribly ambitious, or so it seems. But, eventually, he gives in to overwhelming temptation, bribery, and even violence.

In Spanish with English subtitles.

Tickets: free of charge

Time/date: 7:30 pm, November 10

Location: Mexican Embassy, 5 Dongwujie, Sanlitun

Tel: 6532-2244

墨西哥使馆，三里屯东五街5号

Veteran man

Taiwan's veteran singer Fei Yuqing, who has been singing for over 20 years astounding audiences with his heavenly mellow voice, will return to sing his classics that win many middle-aged fans?hearts.

Programme: Moon Represents My Heart, Small Town's Story, Dreaming of Camel Bells and many others.

Time/date: 7:30 pm, December 10

Location: Workers?Gymnasium

Tel: 6501-6655

工人体育馆，东四十条东

High voice

Chinese mainland pop singer Sun Nan, who does not boast a handsome face but sings with high, powerful voices, will hold a concert in Beijing.

He has won the favour of many fans with his unique high voice and popular good-to-hear pop songs.

Most of the cheaper tickets are already sold out, and organizers are considering adding another performance to appease the fans.

Time/date: 7:30 pm, December 24

Location: Workers?Gymnasium

Tel: 6501-6655

工人体育馆，东四十条东

The Hundred Steps

(I cento passi) (2000)

Director: Marco Tullio Giordana

Starring: Luigi Lo Cascio, Paolo Briguglia, Luigi Maria Burruano

Cinisi, a Sicilian village like many others, is an important crossroad for drug trafficking. A hundred steps separate Peppino Impastato's house from that of Mafia boss Tano Badalamenti. Peppino refuses to walk the hundred steps to get closer to the boss. In Sicily this means challenging the Mafia.

It is a film about family conflict, love and disillusion, shame and blood relations.

In Italian with English subtitles.

Tickets: free of charge

Time/date: 7 pm, November 11

Location: Italian Embassy, 2 Dong'erjie, Sanlitun

Tel: 6532-2187

意大利使馆，三里屯东二街2号

Anniversary auction

Beijing Rongbao Auctions will present a themed autumn auction on December 18 and 19 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the company as an auctioneering house.

More than 800 quality items are expected to be auctioned off with an estimated worth of over 120 million yuan (US$14.6 million), the final highlight concluding China's auction market which has experienced unprecedented prosperity in 2004.

Two themed auctions of Chinese paintings and calligraphy works are supplied from two major sources. Rongbaozhai, the company's affiliated workshop, specializing in trade and collecting of Chinese painting and calligraphy works, has provided pieces by Chinese masters like Xu Beihong, Qi Baishi, Huang Binhong and Guo Moruo. The other themed auction will highlight Chinese paintings and calligraphy works offered by individual collectors and organizations with works by Wu Guanzhong, Wu Changshuo, Lu Yanshao, Huang Zhou and Fan Zeng.

The pre-auction show will be held at the Asian Hotel from December 15 to 17.

Time/date: 9 am - 6 pm, December 15-19

Location: 8 Xinzhong Dongjie, Gongti Beilu

Tel: 6500-7788

亚洲大酒店

Korean calligraphy

The ROK Embassy in Beijing is staging a calligraphy exhibition to celebrate the 12th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea at the exhibition hall of the News and Cultural Office.

Both countries have deep cultural bonds with each other and have been actively involved in cultural exchange for centuries. South Korea is influenced by Chinese culture so deeply in its past that Chinese was used as their written language before the invention of their own language in 1443. The exhibition displays the elite works of 14 participating calligraphers to reveal their uniqueness and accomplishments in comparison to Chinese calligraphy.

Time/date: 9:30 am - 5 pm until November 12

Location: 38 Xiaoyun Lu

Tel: 8453-8112/8113

宵云路48号

Simply affection

Artist Fan Zhibin's personal exhibition is underway at the Today Gallery, where over 100 pieces are featured to reveal the artist's affections.

Graduating from Lu Xun Fine Arts College, Fan has spent years creating wash paintings of figure images. He impresses viewers with a combination of western painting skills and Chinese traditional painting philosophy. The exhibition presents works of wash paintings, line art and colour sketches that Fan has made over the years.

Time/date: 9 am - 5 pm until November 9

Location: 9 Wenhuiyuan Beilu

Tel: 6227-7395

文慧园北路9号

Dried fruits

Liu Mingyi's personal oil painting exhibition, ambient with the hues of the countryside, is underway at the Fafa Gallery.

Liu sprinkles his effects and colours on objects commonly seen in the countryside across China. He particularly employs realism techniques to depict dried fruits like walnuts, peanuts, Chinese dates, as well as other conspicuous items adorned by people in the countryside like handmade red cloth, wicker baskets and tiger-head-shaped shoes for children, to impress viewers with a passion for regional culture and the beautiful simplicity of real life.

Time/date: 10:30 am-8 pm, November 1-10

Location: 1 Xiangjiang Beilu

Tel: 8450-6888 ext 310

香江北路1号

Mexican treat

The Ministry of Culture and Mexican Embassy in China will jointly stage a retrospective exhibition featuring the life of Mexican artist Jose Luis Cuevas at China Millennium Monument.

Born in 1933, Cuevas was a self-taught drawer, engraver and sculptor. He played a pivotal role in Latin America's drawing and printmaking renaissance in the 1960s and 1970s, and is also associated with Latin America's neo-figurative movement.

Cuevas?works were influenced by the graphic art of Goya and Picasso, as well as Posada and Orozco, whose representations of deformed creatures, degraded humanity and prostitutes were a particular theme of interest. He has distinguished himself by portraying distortions and transformations of human figures that represent the solitude and isolation of contemporary man, and human being's inability to communicate.

Time/date: 9 am - 5 pm, November 5-18

Location: 9A Fuxing Lu

Tel: 6857-3281

中华世纪坛

The environment

Movement, and feeling related to the environment, is what artist Sekine Nobuo depicts at the Beijing Tokyo Art Projects from November 6. The exhibition features the latest works by the Japanese artist that ponder over the existing world we all live in.

Time/date: 10:30 am-6 pm, November 6-28

Location: 4 Jiuxianqiao Lu

Tel: 8457-3246

酒仙桥路4号

Yang's world

Artist Yang Gang's solo exhibition will begin at the Creation Gallery on November 13.

Breaking away from traditional Chinese brush stroke painting, Yang has made himself noted for abstract works regarded as a signature and symbol of Chinese contemporary art. The exhibition showcases his latest works of ink and oil paintings created during Yang's exploration of the land and people of Inner Mongolia.

Time/date: 10 am-7 pm, November 13-21

Location: north end of Ritan Lu

Tel: 8561-7570

日坛路北端