Beijing

ABBA is coming

Beijing will once again ring with the sounds of Dancing Queen, Mamma Mia, Waterloo and I Have a Dream with ABBA touring China. The Swedish pop group once topped the charts worldwide in the 1970s and are one of the top best-selling artists in the history of recorded music. Original group members Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson will go on tour with two other young singers newly recruited. Before Beijing, the group will also perform in Chongqing and Guangzhou, and then go on to Shanghai.

7:30 pm, Dec 30. Workers Stadium, Gongti Beilu, Dongcheng district. 010-6417-0058

Cisarovsky watercolors

Tomas Cisarovsky is one of the most renowned Czech contemporary painters. His watercolors feature landscapes, humans intertwining with jellyfish, tree roots and octopuses in his representation of the state of mankind today.

10 am-6 pm, until Jan 21. BLOOM gallery, D 03-4, 2 Middle Street, 798 Art District, Chaoyang district. 010-5978-4824

Classic calligraphy

Su Yue has dedicated himself to traditional calligraphy for over 30 years, and has proven himself at various calligraphy styles. About 100 pieces of his calligraphy done in recent years are now on display, including the Diamond Sutra and his recent One Thousand Character Primer. Also on view are over 10 treasured ink-stones collected by Handian Art Museum.

9 am-5 pm, until Dec 26. Ronbaozhai Mansion, 19 Liulichang Xijie, Xicheng district. 010-6304-7468

Mascot master's show

Han Meilin, chief designer of Beijing 2008 Olympic mascot Fuwa, will hold his retrospective show in Beijing. The exhibition presents more than 3,200 exhibits ranging from ink paintings, calligraphies, sculptures, ceramic works, design works Han has created over the past decades. His official website www.hanmeilin.com will also open during the exhibition. Han has donated most of his works to public museums over the past few years.

9 am-5 pm, Dec 26-Feb 8. National Museum of China, 16 East Chang'an Avenue, Dongcheng district. 010-6511-6400

Shanghai

Strauss Philharmonic

The Strauss Legacy Philharmonic from Austria will make its fourth visit to Shanghai. The widely-touring company is famous in presenting Johann Strauss' works and modern music pieces.

Lead violinist Attila Szabo will be playing on an antique violin from the 17th century, worth more than $2 million.

7:30 pm, Dec 28. Shanghai Oriental Art Center, 425 Dingxiang Lu, 021-6854-1234. 7:15 pm, Dec 29-30, Jan 2-3. Shanghai Grand Theater, 300 Renmin Avenue, 021-6372-8702

Eye on Yamashita

Japanese artist Ryo Yamashita is having an exhibition entitled A Wild View. Yamashita has engaged in fashion design since 1998 and established fame making eyeglasses out of innovative materials. On exhibition will be his designs, plus sculptures and installations.

10 am-6 pm, until Jan 12. Momo Art Shop, 107 Huqiu Lu, Huangpu district. 021-3330-0702

Bird cage inspirations

Hong Kong-based artist Kum Chi-keung articulates the dynamics of the urban lifestyle through elegant interpretations of the common birdcage. Kum has created a large number of site-specific installations for numerous public spaces in Hong Kong including the city's MTR stations and Star Ferry.

11 am-7 pm, Tue-Fri and Sun; 11 am-9 pm, Sat; closed on Mon; until Feb 26. Leo Gallery, 376 Wukang Lu. 021-5465-8785

Hong Kong

Matsushita, rising son

New kid on the block Tohru Matsushita is a Japanese artist to watch as he continues to gather momentum and accolades for his street style "cracks paintings". One Million Years is his debut solo exhibition in Hong Kong. A dialogue between nature, man and contemporary culture, the cracks in his paintings show the impermanence of humanity and its fragility against the passage of time.

Until Jan 6. Red Elation Gallery, G/F, 5-6 Lung On Street, Wanchai. 852-2893-7837

Dangerous liaisons

Hong Kong playwright Candace Chong's award-winning Cantonese script from the 2006 Hong Kong Drama Awards is back on stage. Presented by Theater Horizon and directed by Chan Chu-hei, The French Kiss stars Emotion Zhang, Noel Leung and Sean Kwan and focuses on the concept of absolution.

The plot: A pastor is accused of sexual harassment by his secretary. He consequently suffers a loss of both job and faith. Five years later, they bump into each other at a party - but can they put aside their differences to forgive and forget?

8 pm, Dec 25-27; 3 pm, Dec 26. Shouson Theater, Hong Kong Arts Center. 852-5401-6768

Macao

Enter the dragon

One of the legendary "heavenly kings" from Hong Kong's Cantopop heyday, it is surprising that Jacky Cheung has never performed in Macao. Century Tour is a tour de force that combines music from film, rock, jazz and classical genres all in one show.

Don't miss this chance to swoon over the celebrity crooner and find out why his concerts attract the biggest audiences with the most box office sales.

8 pm, Dec 30 and Jan 1; 8:45 pm, Dec 31. Cotai Arena, Venetian Macao, Estrada da Baia de N. Senhora da Esperanca, s/n, Taipa. 853-2882-8818

(China Daily 12/25/2011 page15)