THE TIME-HONORED ART OF CHINESE PUPPET AND SHADOW PLAY

Puppet and shadow plays are two old artistic expressions that integrate painting, engraving, carving and performing. Their history in China can date back to at least more than 2500 years.     

SHADOW PLAY CHERISHED AS INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE

In celebration of ＂China Cultural Heritage Day＂, a comprehensive exhibition showcasing Chinese .shadow play masterpieces was held in June in the National Art Museum of China. Some 17,000 rare leather silhouettes used for shadow plays and collected by NAMOC was displayed for the first time in the history of NAMOC and shadow plays by folk troupes were presented in the museum for three days in order to give the audience an authentic taste of this timehonored art form.[第一段]     

PUPPET PLAY IN CANGNAN

Asmall village in Cangnan County, southeast Zhejiang Province. The old street is so narrow that can hardly house a miniature puppet show stage. Wooden houses along the street have been worn down by the years and stairs may creak when people step on them. Young people no longer get used to these historical quarters and have moved into modern buildings in new districts. Only old people are left in the old street. It is so quiet here that you can even hear the noise that old people make when they bask under the sun. But performances by the newly-arrived touring puppet play group have broken the deadly quietness of the old street. Old villagers can enjoy themselves in this fascinating traditional entertainment.[第一段]     

HOMETOWN OF SAGE OF MEDICINE

Qizhou, a historical town in the west border of central Hubei Province, is the hometown of great medicine scientist Li Shizhen,acclaimed as ＂sage of medicine＂, who wrote the medical canon ＂Compendiura of Meteria Medica＂.[第一段]     

60 YEARS OF FINE ARTS OF CHINA

The exhibition ＂60 Years of Fine Arts of China＂ was recently held in the National Art Museum of China in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the People＇s Republic of China,The 687 masterpiece exhibits represent important accomplishments made by the fine arts circle of China since 1949.     

FOUNDATION OF THE FORUM OF CULTURE AND ARTS OF UZBEKISTAN：BRINGING PEOPLE CLOSER

Foundation of the Forum of Culture and Arts of Uzbeldstan today is well known not only in Uzbekistan, but also abroad. Initially created for promotion of national arts and culture on international arena, the Foundation has developed a wide scope of activities in various directions of culture,     

THE BEAUTY OF THE OLD VILLAGE OF GUODONG

Guodong Village is located at the foot of the mountain of primitive jungles, 10 kilometers to the south of Wuyi County, Zhejiang Province. In the village, ancient architectures in the styles of the Ming and Qing dynasties are available everywhere. And with a combination of both artificial and natural sceneries, the village, like a retreat away from the world, is famous for its accomplishments in education and culture as well as numerous virtuous and talented figures emerging from the village…     

BRONZE TREASURES OF THE ANCIENT KiNGDOM OF DIAN

The ten national permanent museum exhibitions of the year were announced on the World Museum Day on May 18, co-organized by China Museum Association, Xi＇an Municipality and China Heritage News. The permanent exhibition ＂Bronze-Age Civilization of Yunnan＂ by the Museum of Yunnan Province won this annual award.[第一段]     

WEDDING TRADITIONS OF BEIJING

Mr. Zang Hong, a famous master of ceremony for wedding in Beijing, has presided more than 200 wedding ceremonies in the past 30 years, According to him, the complete process of Beijing＇s traditional wedding includes eight major steps： marriage proposal, marriage interview, offering prelude betrothal gifts, choosing the wedding date, offering formal betrothal gifts, presenting dowry, welcoming the bride and worship Heaven and Earth.     

CHARM OF SUZHOU EMBROIDERY

On a sunny day in the end of 2007 I was invited for a visit to Suzhou Embroidery. Research Institute. Led by Ms. Zhang, the institute＇s artistic director, I entered through a moon-shaped gate in a traditional style and an elegant classical Suzhou-style garden was unfolded in front of me. Quiet paths, luxuriant plants, winding corridors, all are filled with fascinating charm, like a scene in a traditional Chinese ink painting. The garden is called ＂Huanxiu Resort＂ where the embroidery institute is based. At that moment,     

MUSEUM OF ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE

Innumerable ancient buildings used to stand within the vast territory of China. With the passage of time, however, many grand wooden structures faded away. Shanxi Province, though, thanks to its unique geographic conditions, is still home to many ancient buildings representing a wide variety of styles. Architecture from each dynasty and era can still be found in Shanxi, and therefore the province is known as the ＂Museum of Ancient Chinese Architecture＂.     

AGLIMPSE OF CHINESE MURALPAINTING

Mural painting enjoys a long history in China and numerous mural masterpieces .have been left over from ancient times.For example, Mogao Grotto Temples in Dunhuang house 492 caves with some 45000 square meters of mural painting. First built in 366 AD, Mogao Grotto Temples are the best-preserved grotto groups with the largest number of mural paintings in the world. In addition, there are more than 25,000 square meters of mural painting preserved in temples and tomb chambers in Shanxi Province. And mural paintings in Yongle Palace in Ruicheng, Shanxi and Fahai Temple in Beijing are considered classical masterpieces of Chinese mural art. The art of porcelain, lacquer, silk, cast copper, painted stone and brick in ancient China all have contributed to the diversity and excellence of mural painting skills. Since the 1970s, this art form has gained growing vitality, with a diversity of genres developed.[第一段]     

HISTORIC TOWN OF HUANGYAO

The historic town of Huangyao is located in the eastern part of southwest Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region at the lower stream of the Lijiang River. The town took shape in 968 and thrived during the 17th century.     

RESCUE MEMORIES OF HUTONG ALLEYS

In the beginning of 2009, a photo exhibition entitled ＂Memories of Hutong＂ was held in the office building of the Ministry of Culture. The photos on display are shot by Lu Baohua,a 77-year-old retired ernployee of the ministry.     

THE ART OF CLAMP-RESIST DYEING

On October 30, 2007, Chen Songyao took out the two flower-print boards stored in his closet for years and to his surprise, strong herbal fragrance from the board made him so refreshed. After more than one decade of stand-by,these two old print boards were again used for producing Chinese blue calico in the clamp-resist dyeing.     

HISTORIC BRONZE TREASURES OF SHANXI

Shanxi Province, located in north China, is known as a major birthplace of Chinese civilization, where human activities has begun and continued from the pre-history Old Stone Age. With a huge reserve of coal and metal resources, S hanxi has witnessed the prosperous development of metal forging and casting, in particular, its creation of bronze objects.     

CONSERVATION OF URBAN CULTURAL LANDSCAPE

Over the sweep of human history, various types of cultural landscape have been created and developed in light of different natural and ecological conditions. These cultural landscapes go beyond the scope of cultural heritage as we originally defined and evolve in greater natural and geographic contexts, with more dynamic combination of elements and more sophisticated cultural richness. Urban cultural landscapes, as one category, were developed through several centuries or even longer spans of time. They thus feature more distinctive local characteristics and reflect the harmonious relationship between culture and nature, with significant aesthetic values.     

KITCHEN RANGE PAINTING OF JIAXING

Every household in Jiaxing＇s villages has a two-stove opening or three-stove opening kitchen range. Dazzling arrays of patterns and designs with text captions are painted on the surface of ldtchen ranges, which are called ＂kitchen range painting＂ by local villagers.     

TEMPLES OF MATSU IN GUIZHOU

Matsu, or the Goddess of Sea is widely worshipped in coastal areas of China and temples are built in these areas to enshrine statues of Matsu or Heavenly Queen. But it is quite interesting that there are quite a few Matsu temples in the inland province of Guizhou. Among these temples, the Heavenly Queen temple in Zhenyuan County is the largest, best-preserved and finest-built one and proclaimed as a site under the province-level protection.     

上海音乐厅介绍

上海音乐厅原名南京大戏院,建于1930年，当年3月26日开业。1950年更名为北京电影院．1959年改名为上海音乐厅至今。[第一段]