Wonder women

Beijing

Heart strings

The National Ballet's symphony orchestra will present a Valentine's Day concert. Conducted by young musician Zhang Yi, the performance features such selections as Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake.

7:30 pm, Feb 14. National Center for the Performing Arts, west of Tian'anmen Square. 010-6655-0000

Wonder women

Entitled Self Portrait: Woman's Art in China (1920-2010), a grand exhibition of Chinese women artists is ongoing at Cafa Art Museum at the Central Academy of Fine Arts.

On view are more than 100 works created by celebrated Chinese women artists over the past century.

The exhibits, ranging from paintings and sculpture to installation and mixed media works, are on loan from a string of museums, galleries and private collections. The earliest works date back to the 1920s and the latest ones are as recent as early 2010.

9 am-5 pm, until Feb 20. Cafa Art Museum at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, 8 Huajiadi Nanjie, Chaoyang district. 010-6477-1575

Masters of ink

The Museum of Beijing Fine Art Academy is holding a grand show of ink masterpieces from the Jiangsu Provincial Art Museum's collection. On display are more than 70 selected paintings and calligraphy works, created by renowned 20th-century artists, including Li Keran, Wu Changshuo, Gao Jianfu, Fu Baoshi, Yu Youren and Lin Sanzhi.

9 am-5 pm, until Feb 21. Beijing Fine Art Academy, 1 Liulitun Beili, Chaoyang district. 010-6507-1285

Sacred offerings

This Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) temple, constructed in 1530, was where Ming and Qing (1644-1911) emperors worshiped their ancestors. Sacrifices were offered for 167 memorial tablets for emperors, besides 79 tablets for officials of merit. An exhibition puts together scenes of sacrifices held in the temple, in the form of text and photographs.

8:30 am-4 pm, daily except Mondays. The Historical Imperial Temple, 131 Fuchengmennei Dajie, Xicheng district. 010-6651-7739

Shanghai

Operatic odyssey

The recently written Peking Opera Zheng He's Voyages to the Western Oceans will be presented by Tianjin Youth Peking Opera Troupe. The production innovatively combines symphony, opera and modern musicals with traditional Peking Opera to tell the 15th-century story of Zheng He, who the emperor sends on voyages across mysterious oceans.

7:15 pm, Feb 11, 12. Shanghai Grand Theater, 300 Renmin Avenue

021-6217-2426

Zooming in on fashion

Karl Lagerfeld is well known as the creative director of Chanel but few know he began working as a photographer in 1987. The exhibition features a limited collection of photos produced by Lagerfeld and Adnan Taletovich - a professional fashion model and photographer. Taletovich has collaborated with Lagerfeld for many years on numerous photo shoots.

10 am-10 pm, until Feb 20. 18Gallery, 4F, 18 Zhongshan Dongyilu. 021-6323 8099

Cardboard rabbit

Twelve artists will get together to create artworks with cardboard at the shopping mall LifeHub@Jinqiao. Curator Li Xu has asked the artists to work on the theme of the rabbit to mark the Year of the Rabbit.

10 am-10 pm, until Apr 30. LifeHub@Jinqiao, 3611 Zhang Yang Lu. 021-2023-3888

It's all about the view

Contemporary artist Zhang Enli's solo exhibition features everyday objects, like a tree, a box and a bed, viewed from different angles. He deliberately weakens the form of his subjects to reveal the possibilities of the language of painting itself.

9 am-6 pm, until Feb 13. Minsheng Museum of Modern Art, F570 Huaihai Xilu. 021-6282-8729

China Daily

(China Daily 02/11/2011 page20)