Archive for February 11th, 2010

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China Travel – Haihe River(1)

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

The Haihe River is one of the great rivers in North China. The five large rivers (the North Canal, the Yongding River, the Daqing River, the Ziya River and the South Canal) converge near Tianjin City to form the Haihe River. The trunk stream, with a total length of 73 kilometers, starts from the Jingang Bridge of Tianjin City. The riverway is narrow and has many bends. The Haihe River valley starts from the western Taihang Mountain and reaches the eastern Bohai Sea, its southern boundary is the Yellow River, and the northern part even reaches the southern edge of the Inner Mongolian Plateau, running across Beijing City, Tianjin City, Hebei Province, Shanxi Province, Shandong Province, Henan Province, Liaoning Province and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Its drainage area is 317,800 square kilometers, accounting for 3.3% of the total national area.

The Haihe River resembles a jade belt running across Tianjin City. It not only has close relationship with the agriculture, industry, waterborne traffic/transportation and the people’s life, but also is the important scenic sight of Tianjin City. The best place to view the scenery of the Haihe River is the zonal Haihe Park located near the bank of the Haihe River.

(Source: chinaculture.org)

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Beijing Olympic – Kunqu Opera: The Peony Pavilion

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

Presenter: Suzhou Kunqu Opera Theatre
Author: Tang Xianzu (Ming Dynasty)
Chief producer: Bai Xianyong
Cast: Shen Fengying, Yu Jiulin, Shen Guofang, Tao Hongzhen, Shen Zhiming, Qu Binbin, Chen Lingling, Tang Rong, etc.
Venue: National Centre for the Performing Arts - Theatre
Dates: July 03 - 05, 2009    19:30
Price:  VIP    360    260    160    120    80 RMB

Programme Introduction

The Peony Pavilion is a romantic masterpiece in the Chinese opera history. In 2004, Bai Xianyong planned, created and rehearsed the youth version of The Peony Pavilion. He invited over 80 excellent artists from the China’s mainland and Taiwan to form the most powerful team.

The youth version consists of three volumes – The Love in Dream, the Human-Ghost Love, and the Mortal Love. The three volumes will be performed on July 3-5, one volume each day, with a total length of 9 hours.

The performance team will mainly consist of the young actors of Suzhou Kunqu Opera Theatre. Three actors are not only at their prime time, but also are excellent in appearance, singing and action, very close to the temperament of the figures in the play. The stage pursues the beauty of simplicity so that the play will display the elegance and classicality of the Suzhou ancient culture, and also be full of the charm of youth.

The youth version of The Peony Pavilion has been performed in the US many times, and received great appraisal. It often becomes a hotspot before performance, and the tickets are sold well and even fallen short of supply.

(Source: ebeijing.gov.cn)

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Chinese Culture – Painter of Great Men: Wei Chuyu(3)

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

Nobody forced Wei to paint Mao — he was compelled to do it. The artist said he was so moved by the chairman’s unadorned lifestyle and work ethic that he wanted to share it with others. “Ordinary people do not have the chance to visit Chairman Mao’s former bedroom,” he said, adding: “I went there and saw what it was like. I strongly feel that I have a responsibility to tell others what I’ve seen.”

As an artist, Wei chooses the brush rather than words to articulate himself. “An artist doesn’t speak. His paintings say everything,” Wei explained.

With a deep feeling of respect and admiration, Wei began to work on his painting of Chairman Mao. He collected bundles of source materials from Mao’s relatives and former assistants to make sure that everything was as accurate as possible. It took him seven years to complete the work.

The painting was greatly received by Mao’s relatives and abroad. “There are quite a number of foreigners who like the painting and some of them want to buy it,” said Wei, “but I promised not to sell it. I think it should be kept in China.”

Asked if he has any plans to capture other Chinese leaders on canvas, Wei smiled: “You know, my energy is limited. If I decide to paint for someone, I want to learn about the person comprehensively. I just don’t have much time and energy to do that.”

Wei did say, however, that he would continue producing artworks of Chairman Mao.

（Source: chinaculture.org）

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