Beijing

Notre Dame

The French version of the musical Notre Dame has a all-star crew including Alan Lortie for the lighting design, Christian Ratz for stage design, Fred Sathal for costume and choreographer Martino Muller. Since its first performance in the Congress Hall in Paris, the play has received huge acclaim and Felix Awards including best play, best songs and best-selling album.

Grammy-award winner Will Jennings writes the English lyrics and Richard Cocciante composes for it.

7:30 pm Dec 27-30. Beijing Exhibition Center Theater, 135 Xizhimenwai Dajie, Xicheng district. 010-6835-1383

Russian State Ballet

Russian State Ballet will present a visual and audio feast accompanied by the Russian State Philharmonic Orchestra.

The ballet gala has a separate orchestra pit to allow the audience to "enjoy the music with eyes and the ballet with ears". Classics including Swan Lake, Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty will all be performed.

7:30 pm, Jan 1, 2. Tianqiao Theater, 30 Beiwei Lu, Xicheng district. 010-5166-1145

Masters of Art

About 100 works created by the six masters of Chinese painting in the 20th century - Ren Bonian, Jiang Zhaohe, Pan Tianshou, Qi Baishi, Huang Binhong and Li Keran - are to be shown. The exhibition has three sections focusing on figures, flowers and birds, and Chinese landscape painting. The show is a narrative of Chinese painting from the traditional to modern.

9 am-5 pm, Dec 31-Jan 10. National Art Museum of China, 1 Wusi Dajie, Dongcheng district. 010-8403-3500

Shanghai

Nutcracker Suite

The Tchaikovsky classic Nutcracker will be staged by the Shanghai Ballet. A favorite for Christmas all over the world, the play tells about the little girl Clara's dream, in which her gift nutcracker turns into a prince that fights against evil mice, and accompanies her on a journey of magic and wonder. The Shanghai edition features stage and costume designs tailor-made for the Shanghai Ballet, with a sprinkling of Chinese characteristics.

7:15 pm, Dec 24, 25. Shanghai Grand Theater, 300 Renmin Avenue. 021-6386-8686

Traveling studio

Shanghai-based artist Maleonn will have his solo photograph exhibition opening on Thursday evening. With the kick-off of this show, the artist has started a new project named Studio Mobile, for which he'll travel across 55 cities in China, taking pictures. Audiences will be encouraged to have their photos taken in the studio.

11 am-9 pm, Dec 20-Jan 31. 18Gallery, 4F, 18 Zhongshan Dongyilu. 021-6323-8099

Daqian and disciple

Paintings and ink sketches by Zhang Daqian are on exhibit alongside works by his disciple Sun Yunsheng from Taiwan. Zhang is a master artist in modern China. In his early years he studied different schools of art in China's history and later, as he traveled to South America, the United States and other places, his ink paintings turned abstract. The sketches provide a good opportunity for audiences to learn about the creative process of Chinese ink painting, and many sketches are being exhibited for the first time.

9 am-5 pm, Dec 9-Jan 10. Zhu Qizhan Art Museum, 580 Ouyang Lu. 021-5671-0742

Hong Kong

Shanghai nights

Shanghai-based video artist Yang Fudong unveils his black and white homage to the city with The Fifth Night, a Hong Kong premiere presented in partnership with Videotage and its One World Exposition. Held prior to the official 2012 opening of Spring (Workshop), the installation is projected on seven synchronized screens spanning 21 meters in length.

The collection of images lets viewers experience the space in innovative ways.

Noon-8 pm, until Jan 8, Wed-Sun; noon-4 pm Dec 24 and Dec 31; closed Dec 25, 26 and Jan 1. 3/F Remex Center, 42 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Aberdeen. www.springworkshop.org

Art with heart

'Tis the season for giving - and Sin Sin Fine Art once again mounts its annual show to raise funds for Art in Hospitals' Reach for the Heart program.

The works of 21 local and international artists including Shanghai's Ann Niu, American Rick Lewis and Indonesian I Gusti Ngurah Buda are available, with one third of sales going towards workshops and other art activities for chronically ill seniors in Hong Kong's public hospitals.

Proceeds from previous charity exhibitions have helped more than 1,000 patients and their families in four hospitals that benefit from the program.

Until Dec 31. 53-54 Sai Street, Sheung Wan. 852-2858-5072

Christmas market

If you can't get to your favorite European Christmas markets this season, stop by the Landmark for the next best thing.

Classified Christmas Market is a pop-up shop offering yummy seasonal goodies for gift giving - even if you're just planning to treat yourself. Check out its array of artisan breads, cheeses, boutique wines and novel ideas for stocking stuffers.

There are also wine and cheese master classes hosted by Classified's in-house experts for those who want to brush up on their gourmet culinary knowledge. Book ahead: The workshops fill up quickly.

Dec 21 and 22. Shop B23, The Landmark, 15 Queen's Road, Central. 852-2522-3444

(China Daily 12/18/2011 page15)