What's on

Mysterious culture

The kingdom of Dian once thrived in what is today's Yunnan province in Southwest China. Its culture rose in the fifth century and is believed to have lasted some 500 years. The remote kingdom is rarely mentioned in historical records. It came to light after tombs of its royals were first discovered in 1955. Since then more than 10,000 artifacts have been excavated from several Dian burial sites, offering information about its glory, especially fine bronze ware. The Lost Kingdom, an exhibition at Shenzhen Museum, reveals aspects of Dian's society and culture, showing more than 140 ritual bronze items, weapons, agricultural tools and other objects essential to Dian people's daily lives. The show celebrates Dian's economic and craft scenes, particularly metal work, and adds to people's curiosity about the culture and how it declined, which is a mystery. The exhibition runs through to Sept 18.

10 am-6 pm, closed on Mondays.6 Tongxin Lu, Futian district, Shenzhen, Guangdong province.0755-88132247.

A mouse of legend

"It all started with a mouse," as Walt Disney once said. Since he first appeared in Steamboat Willie, the world's first sound animated film in 1928, Mickey Mouse has become a worldwide cartoon icon, capturing the hearts of children and people of different ages and cultural backgrounds. Mickey has also been an influencer beyond animation in the field of contemporary art. Mickey: The True Original and Ever Curious, an exhibition jointly presented by Disney and the Beijing-based UCCA Lab, is now on in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, showing dozens of works by artists from China and other countries on the anthropomorphic mouse in new times. On show, which runs until July 3, are installations, images, illustrations and sculptures, including Liu Jiayu's immersive visual-and-audio work inspired by the 1928 film, which encourage people to never stop being courageous in pursuing their dreams. Also on display is May the World Fill With Love, a work by Wang Dongling, in which the artist draws the mouse in Chinese calligraphy in a semi-abstract way. The Mickey exhibition was first held in New York City in 2008 to celebrate his 90th birthday, and has toured Chinese cities such as Shanghai and Chengdu, Sichuan province.

11 am-10 pm, daily, 4/F, north zone, Mixc World Shenzhen, 9668 Shennan Dadao, Nanshan district, Shenzhen, Guangdong province.

Grassland bronze

In ancient times in Erdos, in today's Inner Mongolia autonomous region in North China, an agrarian civilization and grassland culture crisscrossed. It produced a distinctive bronze culture as vivid examples of communication between Zhongyuan, the central plains, and the nomadic communities living on the extensive grasslands. Archaic bronzeware found in Erdos exhibited different features from those in the Middle Kingdom, which were presented at rituals and look majestic. Erdos bronze ware is simple in pattern design and made for practical use. Under the Sky, an exhibition at Shanxi Museum in Taiyuan, brings together more than 400 bronze items in the collections of five museums in Inner Mongolia. The culture traces some 3,500 years ago when people there began to make small bronze items for daily use. The show displays a variety of bronzeware, including weapons, ornaments and accessories, when bronze manufacturing flourished from the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) until the Han Dynasty (202 BC-AD 220). The show also allows the audience to picture nomadic life back then. The exhibition runs through to Aug 21.

9 am-5 pm, closed on Mondays.13 Binhe Xi Lu, Taiyuan, Shanxi province. 0351-8789-188.