Life and Leisure

What's new

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-09-01 11:59

Yuan Dynasty art

An exhibition titled The World of Kublai Khan: Chinese Art in the Yuan Dynasty will be held from Sep 28 till Jan 2 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Hosted jointly by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage of China and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the exhibition will cover the years from 1215, the year of Kublai Khan's birth, to 1368, the year of the fall of the dynasty founded by him.

More than 100 of the exhibits on display are from the 13 provinces of the Chinese mainland, and the other 100 exhibits are from Taiwan and countries such as Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, Britain and the US. They feature every art form, including paintings, sculpture, textiles, ceramics and lacquerware.

The exhibition will highlight the art forms that emerged as a result of the unification of China under the Yuan Dynasty and the massive influx of craftsmen from all over the vast Mongol empire - with reverberations in 14th century Italian art.

Greek Tourism Week

Travel to the magnificent Aegean Sea and its famous honeymoon locations at Greek Tourism Week, now on at the Shanghai Library.

A highlight is the exhibition You in Greece, on Greek tourism and cultural traditions. A 3D interactive "Gate" lets visitors enjoy Greece's famed sceneries, island architecture and landscape. A Forum on Sustainable Tourism and Urban Regeneration: The Way to Growth, will also be held. It will detail the comparative advantages of the Greek tourism industry and introduce not just its ecotourism, but also its conference, therapeutic and Spa tourism.

Greek Tourism Week ends on Friday.

Products in TV shows

Product placement is thriving in Chinese TV series.In the romantic comedy Unbeatable, hair shampoo Clear has a strong presence.

Market research firm Askform says that about 94 percent of interviewees paid more attention to the brand after seeing the show, and 94.4 percent said they tended to choose the brand next time they bought shampoo.

Marketing expert Chen Gelei notes that product placement, if smartly connected with the storyline, can win the audience over instead of annoying them.

The 36-episode TV series tells of how a newcomer to a PR agency struggles to be an executive.

According to CSM Media Research, when broadcast in five regional TV stations this month, the show's audience ratings were always among the top 10.

It was also one of the most seen shows when broadcast on the video channel of Web portal Sohu.com since Aug 5, according to the website.

'Smile angels' get busy

The SmileAngel Foundation and Mercedes-Benz China are organizing a medical journey to Heilingjiang province and eastern part of Inner Mongolia.

Entitled Journey of Angles, Let's Spread the Love, it will bring a team of medical experts and celebrities to Chifeng, Tongliao, Daqing, Heihe and Harbin.

Over 10 days, the team will offer free operations to 62 children with cleft lips and palates from impoverished, rural families, according to Li Yapeng, director of the foundation and team leader.

Launched in 2008, this annual journey complements the foundation's long-term co-operation with eight urban hospitals in six major cities, offering poor children in remote areas with cleft lips and palates free operations.

Initiated by diva Faye Wong and her husband actor Li Yapeng in 2006, the foundation helps children with the expenses involved in cleft lip surgery. By July 31, 6,907 children with had benefited from this charity.

China Daily