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(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-08-10 14:21

Riding the crest of a wave

The TV adaptation of the bestseller A Story of Lala's Promotion has been popular not only on television, but also on the Internet.

The 32-episode show, on a young lady's rise from being an assistant to a human resources director in a big enterprise, has been the most frequently viewed TV series on Web portal Sohu's legitimate video sharing channel, more than 10 million clicks a day and 100 million clicks in the 14 days since its premiere.

Thanks to the show's and original book's popularity with young audiences, the lead actress Wang Luodan has risen to be a TV A-lister. Her next work will be a show adapted from smash romantic novel The Love of Hawthorn Trees. Li Guangjie, her love interest in Lala's Promotion, will play her lover again. The adaptation is directed by Zhang Yimou.

 

More historic tales

Beijing TV's storytelling show Archive has joined hands with China Archive News to unveil more secrets.

Based on various archives at home and abroad, the show, which launched on Feb 4, 2009, features senior actor Shi Liang as the storyteller. Its portfolio includes the assassination of John F Kennedy and the Lockerbie bombing.

China Archive News, a newspaper affiliated to the China Archive Bureau, has a history of 15 years and access to many precious archives.

The first fruits of the collaboration will include the will of Emperor Kangxi (1654-1722) and guerillas in Shandong in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45).

Shi Jun, the show's producer, says the core of the show is to use the archives in a different way, leading the audience into real history scenes.

TV themes tour

Chinese soprano Wan Shanhong will stage 100 concerts nationwide in the following months, after her Four Chinese Classic Novels rendition at the Sydney Opera House on July 11 took the audience by storm. Wan will perform well-received themes from TV adaptations of the "Four Classics", namely Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Outlaws of the Marsh, Journey to the West and A Dream of the Red Mansions.

Those sharing the stage include Sun Jian, China Oriental Song and Dance Ensemble baritone Jin Zhengjian and Tian Yan, Wan's fellow tenor at the China National Chinese Opera and Dance Drama Company (CODDC). Fan Tao will take the baton. The first performance will be at the National Center for the Performing Arts at the end of this month.

Born in an artistic family, Wan started vocal training at an early age under the guidance of her mother. She became a solo singer at the CODDC in 1978 and has since then played leading roles in many Chinese operas. She is also a successful opera director. She is now studying education at Northeast Normal University.

 

Chinese flavor arts

Over 200 Chinese ink paintings of various styles by some 90 veteran artists will be featured for the first time at the upcoming 12th China Shanghai International Arts Festival, which runs from Sept 27-Oct 27 in Pudong, Shanghai.

Also on show will be some masterpieces from ancient Chinese artists and related historical documents, offering background knowledge for viewers from home and abroad, organizers say.

"In previous festivals, we only staged shows of Chinese performing arts. Visual arts of Chinese flavor, ink art in particular, have largely been ignored. This time the festival is playing catch-up with the vibrant, changing art scene in China," said Chen Shenglai, general manager of the festival.

The 2010 Free-hand Chinese Ink Art Invitation Exhibition is being prepared by the China National Painting Academy, which will host an academic forum on Chinese free-hand paintings during the exhibition.

A huge catalogue containing works on display will be launched at the opening on Sept 27 in Shanghai.

China Daily