Seven Days

Feb 13 / BEIJING

Liu Wei solo show

One of China's most popular contemporary artists displays around 20 new works through to the end this month. The 46-year-old Liu Wei is known for the irony and sentimentalism in his works; his latest are small-scale essayistic pieces, painted in black and white.

10 am-6 pm, until Feb 28.

AYE Gallery, Yonghe Garden, Dongcheng district.

010-8422-1726

Feb 14 / BEIJING

La Traviata

La Traviata is the last part of the popular trilogy by Verdi, the Italian romantic master. This heart-wrenching story has been put on stage countless times, but China's top performing venue now brings its own production . The star-studded cast will include Zhang Liping, who will play Violetta, Leonardo Caimi as Alfredo, and Liao Changyong as Alfredo's father.

7:30 pm. 100-580 yuan.

Opera House, National Center

for the Performing Arts,

Xicheng district.

010-6655-0000

Feb 15 / Shanghai

Happy Valentine's Day on stage

A middle-aged man is depressed because of his failed marriage, and invites three best friends to party at his home on Valentine's eve. The next morning, the three are surprised to find strange things happening to them - and their host gone. They will have to find out what happened, and find the way back to their normal life.

7:15 pm, until March 6.

100-180 yuan.

Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center, 3F, 288 Anfu Road.

021-3209-9677

Feb 16 / Shanghai

Mirage

This ongoing exhibition features contemporary ceramic art by 22 artists from Shanghai. Their creations are based on the theme of "modern Silk Road", and reflect how culture is carried to the world, and how different cultures blend into new fusion forms.

9 am-5 pm, until March 1.

10 yuan.

Duolun Museum of Modern Art, 27 Duolun Road.

021-5671-9068

Feb 17 / Shanghai

Fragile legacy

More than 800 replicas of the most famous paintings and calligraphies from China's art history are on show. Original art works in the permanent collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing and several other museums around China are so fragile that exhibiting them is no longer possible. The show in Shanghai features faithful replicas.

9 am-5 pm, until March 15.

10 yuan.

Shanghai Folk Art Museum,

216 Chengshan Road.

021-5886-5398

Feb 18 /HONG KONG

A look back at Tang

Spring-Time Chinese Opera company stages a dramatization of the life of Cantonese opera diva, Tang Pik-wan. Tang, who died in 1991, was also a veteran actress of stage and screen and television from the 1950s right up to her final years.

8pm. HK$100-190.

Auditorium,

Tuen Mun Town Hall,

Tuen Mun, New Territories

852-2793-1123

Feb 19 / BEIJING

Ming to Nirvana

Ming to Nirvana, a group sculpture show, celebrates the dynamism and diversity of the plastic arts. The show, staged at the old Ming Watchtower, is inspired by many themes, including Han Dynasty burial suits, voyeuristic apartment windows and the transcendental philosophies of Buddhism.

Until Feb 28. Red Gate Gallery, Dongbianmen Watchtower, Chongwenmen,

Dongcheng district.

010-6525-1005

(China Daily 02/13/2011 page15)