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Panda treat for the New Year

The animated feature, Little Big Panda, a Sino-European co-production, will premiere on Feb 3, the Chinese New Year.

Made at a cost of more than 300 million yuan ($51 million) in Germany, Spain, Belgium and France, the film tells how the panda Manchu saves the human race from a crisis.

The largely-European production includes many typical Chinese elements such as ink painting and kungfu.

The film's star cast has Li Yang, the first Chinese voice of Donald Duck when the cartoon was released in China in 1986, and Zhao Zhongxiang, a TV news anchor with more than 40 years of experience. Variety show host He Jiong (pictured) contributes his voice to Manchu and children's show hostess Liu Chunyan lends hers to Manchu's best friend.

Promoting art exchanges

The International Art Exchange Center of China National Academy of Painting opened recently in the Sanxitang Art Zone of Tianjin's Wuqing district.

A national organization devoted to the study and creation of Chinese painting, calligraphy and seal cutting, China National Academy of Painting aims to facilitate more international exchanges to promote Chinese art through the center, according to its vice-president Zhang Jiangzhou.

Located halfway between Beijing and Tianjin proper, Wuqing has a long tradition of art and was named "home of Chinese painting and calligraphy" by the Ministry of Culture in 2008.

Apart from China National Academy of Painting, Wuqing's art zone has also attracted many other art organizations, including the Memorial Museum of calligrapher Liu Bingsen, and the studio of painter Sun Qifeng.

Boost for insurance culture

The Ministry of Culture and China Insurance Regulatory Commission have jointly announced the first batch of 11 trial insurance types for the culture industry, and designated three companies for the trial.

The three companies are PICC Property and Casualty Company, China Pacific Property Insurance Company, and China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation, while the trial insurance types include insurance for performances, cancellation of performances, and for the intellectual property of cultural enterprises.

Ouyang Jian, vice-minister of culture, says that the insurance industry's support is indispensable to the establishment of a multi-layered system of investment and financing in the culture industry.

Spotlight on an 'unsung hero'

The film Zuo Lijun, about its eponymous protagonist, a police officer in Beijing's Haidian district who died of exhaustion while on duty, was launched on Jan 6 in Beijing.

Helmed by Ding Yinnan, a director who made his name in movies about historical figures such as Sun Yat-sen, Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping, the film features actor Shao Feng and award-winning actress Liu Xing.

Ding says many policemen, including Zuo, are unsung heroes, and Zuo's warm-heartedness and commitment to his job is what the film is all about.

China Daily

(China Daily 01/12/2011 page20)