Beijing

Strawberry symposium

The 7th International Strawberry Symposium to be held at Beijing's Changping district is expected to attract about 1,000 delegates from 60 different countries and regions from across the world, said Su Weidong, deputy director of Changping, at the 100-day countdown ceremony.

Changping is a well-known strawberry growing area in China. The theme of the coming symposium is Green, Freshness, Health and Development.

The gathering will feature exhibitions on strawberry production and research. Visitors can also pick their own fresh strawberries in the greenhouses.

Feb 18-22. Xiaotangshan, Changping district. Drive along the Badaling Express and exit at Xiaotangshan

Polish Lailonia

Based on the book Thirteen Tales from the Kingdom of Lailonia for Adults and Children by Leszek Kolakowski, the Polish play Lailonia demonstrates human beings' confusion and helplessness by using elements in a game.

Characters from the Kolakowski tales are afraid of their anonymity, doing anything to emphasize their presence, to be noticed, to be distinguished from the crowd, to exist. They believe that if they manage to satisfy that desire, they will be happy and be winners at last. The play will be performed in Polish with Chinese subtitles.

7:30 pm, Dec 9-11. Capital Theater, 22 Wangfujing, Dongcheng district. 400-0567-522

Christmas blessings

They have what reviewers call an "impeccably manicured vocal blend, enchanting the ear from first to last note".

The King's Singers are among the top a cappella performers. The six-member group will surprise their fans with elaborated vocal imitation of various musical instruments. Their repertoire goes from the Renaissance to contemporary, from folk songs to pop music. This time in Beijing, they will sing around the theme of Christmas.

9:30 pm, Dec 11. National Center for the Performing Arts, 2 West Chang'an Avenue, Xicheng district. 010-6655-0000

Shanghai

Gao Huijun acrylics

Gao Huijun is having a solo exhibition at Longmen Art Projects, presenting more than 20 of his acrylic paintings. The artist has painted landscapes in traditional Chinese ink art style, but with a touch of contemporary concern. Gao was born in 1966 and is now based in Beijing.

10 am-6:30 pm, until Feb 15. Longmen Art Projects, 2F, Building 23 515 Fuxing Zhonglu. 021-6472-2838

Structural harmony

Entitled Sages' Sayings, the exhibition will feature Wang Xieda's cast-bronze sculptures and ink drawings. Highlights are his recent sculptural works made of rattan that are suspended from the ceiling, evoking drawing in space. While the structure and spirit of Wang's works share essential similarities with Chinese calligraphy, they also focus on the material presence of bronze lines in which to create minimal, elegant forms rendering space and atmosphere.

10 am-6 pm Tue-Sat, noon-6 pm Sun, Mon by appointment, until Jan 19. James Cohan Gallery, 1F, Building 1, Lane 1, 170 Yueyang Lu. 021-5466-0825

Island memories

The ongoing art show Forgotten Places is inspired by a project initiated by Qian Rong, to explore the history of Fuxing Island, located in Yangpu district of Shanghai.

In the series of ink paintings he examines how events that happened decades ago on this small insignificant island had an impact for the present state of affairs.

Also exhibited are works from Chai Yiming, Christophe Demaitre, Robert Lee Davis, Li Xiaofei and Wang Taocheng.

10 am-6 pm, until Jan 7. OV Gallery, 207 Building 4A, 50 Moganshan Lu. 139-1637-3474

Hong Kong

Past present

Hong Kong multimedia artist Another Mountain Man - sometimes known by his more pedestrian name Stanley Wong - is fascinated by documenting changes in Chinese culture.

Traces: On The Road Again is an exhibition of new photographs taken by Wong that shows how the past can be glimpse through China's breakneck speed of progress. Held in an under used space in the heart of Lan Kwai Fong, photos of Chinese characters snapped within the past 15 years are paralleled against images of the remote desert landscape around Dunhuang in Gansu province.

11 am-8 pm, Tue-Sun, until Dec 18. Future Industries Gallery, 21/F Ho Lee Commercial Building, 38-44 D'Aguilar Street, Central. 852-2291-0488

Less is more

Detour, the informal flip side of Business of Design Week, returns with a theme of "use-less". Aiming to provoke further action on sustainability, Detour is organized by the Hong Kong Ambassadors of Design and has become one of the largest design fairs in the city. Highlights this year include a bamboo stage similar to ones used for Cantonese opera, with performances ranging from live music, round table discussions and digital visual art. Don't miss this year's Design Mart, a fun market for emerging designers to exhibit their original creations.

11 am-8 pm, Sun-Thu; 11 am-10 pm, Fri-Sat; until Dec 11. Former Police Married Quarters, 35 Aberdeen Street, Central. 852-2739-6889

(China Daily 12/04/2011 page15)