Life and Leisure

What's New

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-09-15 07:53

Actor Liu Ye's 'Foundation of Love'

Inspired by his happily married life, actor Liu Ye has designed a gold accessory named the "Foundation of Love".

Liu says love is the foundation of happiness and man the foundation of a family.

Liu's latest role is Mao Zedong in Founding of a Party, a film to commemorate the founding of the Chinese Communist Party in 1921.

He has been reading Mao's biographies and practicing his calligraphy style to prepare for the role.

The film will hit screens in the summer of 2011.

Shrek spin-offs are authorized

Beijing Yingzone Technology and Trade Cooperation has announced it now has the US film studio giant Dreamworks' authorization to produce Shrek 4 movie merchandise for the Chinese mainland.

The products include small combs and mirrors with Shrek's and Fiona's images on them, Shrek canteens, and Puss in Boots key rings, and a hairpin with two green monsters' ears on it.

Because there are many pirated Shrek products in the Chinese market, Yingzone chose to produce cheap, simple and functional merchandise, in the hope that consumers will choose to purchase authorized Shrek products, according to the company's general manager Wang Lei.

Wang said in the coming year, the company will cooperate with Dreamworks, Warner Brothers Entertainment and Paramount Pictures, to produce merchandise to accompany movies, including Kungfu Panda 2, Transformers 3, Tin Tin Destination Adventure and Puss in Boots.

First marriage counselors

The China Association of Marriage and Family Studies (CAMF) announced that China's first 294 marriage and family counselors are ready to help solve marriage and family problems.

The job of marriage and family counselors was introduced from the US by CAMF and the matchmaking website baihe.com.

The two organizations provide training courses for people who want to develop careers as marriage and family counselors. After three to nine months training, students have to pass exams to be certified by the nation's ministry of human resources and social security.

It is estimated that there are 400,000 counselors needed on the Chinese mainland.

Royal introduction for Tianjin school

The inauguration ceremony for Wellington College International Tianjin was held in Tianjin last Friday.

It is the first international school of Britain's Wellington College, which was founded 150 years ago by Queen Victoria and has close ties to the British royal family. As guest of honor, Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, gave a short speech at the ceremony.

This well-equipped international school will open in August next year, and is expected to house around 800 foreign students, aged 3 to 15. Older year groups will follow in subsequent years. Its classical education concepts, teaching methods, and core curriculums will be adopted in Tianjin.

Bring them sunshine

A movie on adolescent mental health in China, named Sunshine of the Mind, is currently shooting. It is part of a project called "Caring for Children".

The movie producer hopes that the film will bring adolescents more understanding from adults and urges parents to pay more attention to the living environment of their children.

The project, funded by a Beijing-based trading corporation, endeavors to bring sunshine into the lives of youngsters living in poverty or with mental disorders.

China Daily