Hai''''an Flower Drum Opera

In his book "Little Knowledge in Bright Studio", Chu Lian, a Shanghai writer living during the reigns of emperors Qianlong and Jiaqing of the Qing Dynasty, wrote, "Over the three decades since flower drum opera was introduced, it has always been on changes. Men played it in the beginning but women do it later. It was performed in daytime in the beginning, then at night. First in the countryside, and then in the town. First popular among country hooligans and then among dandies." His reco…     

FOLK DANCE AND RELATED CULTURAL RELICS OF GUIZHOU

Miao ethnic group, most dwelling in the southwest province of Guizhou, is versed in singing and dancing. Folk dances of Miao people vary in accordance with props, movements, themes and performance venues. In terms of props, there are wooden drum dance, copper druln dance, reed pipe dance, bamboo stick dance, big knife dance, spear point dance and flower stick dance. From the perspcctive of movements, there are chicken fight dance, chicken dance, flower drum dance, rolling dragon dance and rolling pearl dance. Migration dance and stepping-bridge dance are so named because of their themes. And dances named after their different performance venues include stick-passing dance, round dance, Nan-hall dance and hidden-drum dance. Even for the same type of dances, there are minor differences in light of performance venues, gender and agc of dancers as well as instruments. The four most famous and popular types of folk dance in Guizhou include wooden drum dance, copper drum dance, flower drum dance and reed pipe dance. As these four dances are all accompanied by drums or reed pipes, Miao culture is thus called ＂culture of drum and reed pipe＂.     

Xia Xiaocao： Life Devoted to Violin

The violinist's prof ile: Born in Shanghai, Xia Xiaocao is a Chinese violinist active in the international music circle. Xiao began learning the violin at age 6 and often appeared in radio and TV music programs in her childhood. She has received training under the mentorship of several prestigious professors including Wang Zhilong, Peng Dingxin and Lin Yaoji. Upon graduation from the Central Conservatory of Music, Xia was engaged as teacher at the conservatory. She then went to Souther…     

Chinese Local Operas Fascinate Parisians

The Second Chinese Theatre Festival took place in the winter of 2005 in Paris, France. The event, organized by China Cultural Center in Paris, has seen six local opera troupes from Hebei, Jiangsu, Jilin, Fujian and Guangdong provinces, showing to Parisians scores of traditional programs of Chinese operas. Chinese theatric art is not novel to French people. Over past decades in the history of modern China, Chinese opera masters, in particular, Peking opera singers, visited Paris many times and made traditional Chinese opera known to French people. For example, when visiting Paris half the century ago, master Cheng Yanqiu gave lectures on Peking opera, the first Chinese opera genre that was introduced to French people.     

HIDDEN ＂VALLEY OF FEMALE BEAUTY＂REDISCOVERED

Donnu Guo （＂Eastern State of Women＂） was an ancient kingdom governed by queens and existing during the Sui and Tang dynasties （approx. 6th-9th centuries AD）. Few historical records have been ever found about this mysterious matriarchic society until it was rediscovered one thousand years later in Danba, a county in western Sichuan Province adjacent to Tibet. Ancient watchtowers, unique terrains in the shape of plum blossoms and in particular beautiful women that have been insulated within the depth of mountains for hundreds of years,all have gained it a reputation as the ＂valley of female beauty＂.     

Shaanxi Opera

SHAANXI opera is one of fourmajor traditional operas inChina.It originated in the area of to-day’s Shaanxi Province during theQin and Han dynasties(2nd centuryB.C.-A.D.2nd century),was fullydeveloped in the Ming Dynasty(1368-1644)and became most po-pular in the Qing Dynasty(1644-1911).The music and singingof Shaanxi opera can be vigorousand deep,solemn and tragic,sono-rous and indignant,or sentimental     

Melody of ＂Jasmine Flower＂ Echoes in Olympic Venues

When hostesses dressed in outfits with image of white-and-blue porcelain and holding red flower bouquets served medals at Olympic medal ceremonies during the 2008 Games, the readapted, lingering melody of the Chinese folk song ＂Jasmine Flower＂ sounded in the sports venues. According to Wang Ning, an official in charge of medal ceremonies from the Beijing Olympic Games Organizing Committee, the music used at the medal ceremony was recreated based on the original melody of ＂Jasmine Flower＂ which is perhaps the most popular Chinese folk song.     

Historic Scenes in Yangzhou

The Slim West Lake is a national-level scenic resort in the historical city of Yangzhou.The garden in the lake area was built during the reign of Qing-Dynasty emperors Kangxi and Qianlong.It integrates the delicate beauty of south China with the vigorous grandeur of north China,featuring willow trees and towers and terraces along the lake dyke.Major scenic sports around the Slim West Lake include rockeries     

Print Art： A Means to Express Reality

Print is a unique painting art with diverse characteristics. And silk screen print, closely related to modern technologies and materials, is a new but most e cient variety among many types of print art. “Series of Faint Dreams” is my early attempt to demonstrate human relationship by juxtaposing depicted gures. A crowd of people appear in the beginning. They then change into three gures who gradually appear similar and in the end the sophisticate background and props recede. Those gures, w…     

Creative Industries in Shanghai

From “Made in Shanghai” to “Created in Shanghai” Creative industries have been given priority in strategies to upgrade national images and economic strength in many countries nowadays. China is no exception in this new surge of industrial restructuring. In particular, creative industry clusters have continued to be founded in Shanghai, turning it from a manufacturing city to a creative city. Since the first 18 creative industry clusters were officially named in April 2005, Shanghai now has 75 city-level clusters of creative industries.     

The Currently-Preserved Oldest Railway Station in China

Railway played an important role in the modernization of China＇s transportation network. The first railway in China was the 20-kilometer-long narrow-gauge railway between Shanghai and Wusongkou, invested and built by a British trade company in 1876. But due to the strong opposition of the Qjng imperial government, the railway was bought and then demolished.     

Pinwheels Bring Happiness

Liang's lifetime has been dedicated to pinwheel making and it is said pinwheels that he has crafted can make a hill if put together. Thanks to his pinwheel makers' family and his disposition to have fun, pinwheels have been with Liang in all his life. Liang was born in a family of pinwheel makers in the eastern suburb of Beijing in the early 1930s. Pinwheels that Liang's family made were quite popular in neighborhoods and during the Spring Festival Liang's grandfather sold pinwheels in a tem…     

A Life Destined for Calligraphy

I was born in the countryside. I had a colorful and joyful childhood although my peasant parents couldn＇t give me an affluent life at that time, My toys were all handmade by myself such as catapults and powder guns. Like many kids of the time, I also liked to dissemble and re-assemble clocks and radios as a means of entertainment. Once I noticed a small bottle of ink with a brush pen in it at the window and showed strong interest in them. Since then, my poor handwriting left over everywhere in my house. My father was tolerant and never scolded at my unrestrained scrawling. That was my first experience in Chinese calligraphy which led me to a life destined for this magic art.     

Folk Festivity Parade Brings Fun to Beijingers

Folk festivity parade （literally meaning ＂folk flower fair＂ in Chinese） dates back to hundreds of years in China. This miscellaneous form of folk performance is evolved from ＂bai-xi＂ （variety folk show] in the Han Dynasty and ＂she-huo＂ [festivity performance] in the Song-and-Yuan period when it featured walking on stilts, yangke dance, lion dance and land-boat dance. Since the Qing Dynasty, diverse forms of performance have been added and folk festivity parade has developed into a major folk arts form performed during temple fairs and other traditional festivals that integrates such diversified art expressions as dance, singing, drama, martial arts, acrobatics, ballad-singing and music.     

JACQUES CHIRAC： FIRST FOREIGNER TO VISIT TERRA-COTTA WARRIORS

Terra-cotta warriors in the Mausoleum of First Emperor were first discovered in 1979. Thanks to hard work and successful excavation by archeologists, a magnificent museum was built in the site and opened to public in 1979. The mausoleum and warriors have been hailed as one of the greatest archeological findings in the 20th century and the site was included in the World Cultural Heritage list in 1987.[第一段]     

Archeology Achievements of China over the Past 30 Years

Over fine past 30 years since the reform and opening up palicy was launched in China, rapid progress and remarkable achievements have been made in the field of archeology. A variety of foreign theories and schools of thought have been introduced to China, which have significantly facilitated the development of China＇s own theories about archeology.     

SHANGHAI FILM FEST HIGHLIGHTS ASIAN YOUNG TALENTS

The 10th Shanghai International Film Festival （SIFF） was rounded off at Shanghai Grand Theatre on June 24, 2007. The full list of winners from Jin Jue Award was announced at the awarding ceremony and the closing ceremony with all the eight awards in their proper places. The international judges, together with film and TV stars, distinguished guests from home and abroad awarded the prizes to the winners. ＂Flight of the Red Balloon＂, the closing film led the 10th Shanghai International Film Festival to a successful conclusion.     

COLLECTION ＆ AUCTION

＂Sketch Painting of Rare Birds＂ Sold for 55.10 Million RMB Yuan
At the Poly Spring Auction, ＂Sketch Painting of Rare Birds＂ created by Emperor Huizong of the Northern Song Dynasty was sold for 55.10 million RMB yuan, it is known that Emperor Huizong＇s extant creations total less than 20 and this painting work is the most complete one among all the extant works, There are 21 seal imprints by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty and 7 seal imprints by previous collectors.     

Rain Flower Pebbles

Rain flower pebbles are stunningly beautiful stones emedded with naturally occurring designs.A legend sas that during the Liang (502-557AD)of the Southerm dynasties when Master Monk Yunguang was expounding the texts of Buddhism,the Heavenly God was so moved that he rained flowers.Those flowers,when falling on the ground,trned into colorful stones and were so callled“rain flower pebbles“.     

Shanghai in Foreign

“Shanghai in Foreign Artists' Eyes” is an art exchange event jointly organized by the Information Office and the Foreign Affairs Office of Shanghai Municipal Government. 23 foreign painters from 23 countries and regions, including Australia, Finland, Singapore and the United States, were invited to stay in Shanghai for a while and create artworks that are involved with this rising international metropolis. Their works were then displayed in an exhibition entitled "Shanghai in Foreign Artists' Eyes".