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(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-09-30 08:02

Lang Lang fights climate change

In an effort to raise public awareness of global climate change, leading Chinese pianist Lang Lang recorded a public service announcement for "the Five Things Every Day" program, an initiative designed to promote a free exchange of ideas about how to solve the climate change problem.

Launched by WildAid, a San Francisco-based organization dedicated to wildlife conservation, the program tries to deliver a message that everyone can make a contribution to the environment by doing five simple things on a daily basis.

Lang Lang's five things include: to wipe his sweat with a towel instead of a tissue, to shower rather than to bathe in a tub, to drink up the water in his bottle, to turn off lights when leaving, and to sort garbage.

Spotlight on international folk arts

The 8th China International Folk Arts Festival, jointly organized by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and Jiangsu provincial government, will be from Oct 7-17 in Suzhou (the main venue) and Beijing.

The festival will attract more than 1,200 artists from home and abroad. Nearly 400 foreign performers from 14 countries will give outdoor shows and galas featuring folk dance, vocal music and instrumental music of diversified cultures.

The troupes will move to Beijing on Oct 13 and will interact with Chinese students at different universities. The closing ceremony will be at the National Center for the Performing Arts.

Outdoor classical concerts in Tongzhou

"Xiaoyao Musical Journey", a series of outdoor concerts featuring classical music, will be held from Oct 1-3 at the Canal Park in Beijing's Tongzhou district, allowing people to experience outdoor concerts in the capital city.

Presented by China National Opera House Symphony Orchestra and China Opera and Dance Symphony Orchestra, the three-day musical activity will be themed as "Opera Night", "Concerto Night" and "Oscar-winning Musical Score Night". Acclaimed artists, including internationally renowned opera singer Dai Yuqiang and eminent Chinese violinist Lu Siqing will perform during the concerts.

Hearing-impaired kids get free help due to program

The National Cochlear Implant Program, a free medical program for hearing-impaired children in poverty-stricken areas, has achieved first-phase success this month, bringing back a world of sound and speech to 3,500 patients.

Operated by China Rehabilitation Research Center for Deaf Children, the program is getting assistance from the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Health, and received a total fund of 400 million yuan ($59.7 million) that will be spent on the operation, hearing aids and the post-surgery recovery training.

The three-year program is launched in 2009 and aims to help 9,000 hearing-impaired children, including 1,500 severely deaf patients aged 1 to 5.

Tianjin offers medical training in English

Tianjin Medical University inaugurated China's first training center for overseas medical students in Tianjin recently. Teachers will use English to train international students majoring in medical courses.

Hao Ping, vice-minister of the Ministry of Education, led the founding ceremony of the center.

The training center will support higher education institutes all over the country, focusing on training English-speaking medical teachers for international undergraduate students.

This training also covers areas such as collecting and evaluating medical cases in English, the standard of evaluation and examination of undergraduate students in English, and the curriculum for the simulation hospital.

Ethnic Korean musical works in CNSO concert

The China National Symphony Orchestra (CNSO) will present a concert of works from the country's ethnic Korean composers on Oct 10 at Beijing Concert Hall.

The China Ethnic Korean Music Research Association has selected some important pieces, including Celebration, Changbai Prelude and My Hometown. Jiang Jinyi will take the baton.

There will be more concerts featuring only Korean ethnic composers, singers and performers, according to the association.

Hong Kong jeweler opens 1,000th store

Hong Kong-based jeweler Chow Tai Fook opened its biggest shop in the Asia-Pacific region on Beijing's downtown Qianmen Street on Tuesday.

This is the 81-year-old company's 1,000th store on the Chinese mainland. To mark this milestone, the company is offering up to a 10 percent discount in all its stores across the Chinese mainland until Oct 31.

The new store in Beijing offers a complete selection of Chow Tai Fook's designer jewelry including its prestige collection, "Yun Yi", comprising a set of rare gems and exclusive recreations of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) treasures.

The store also has a boutique section selling the world's top brand-name watches.

China Daily

(China Daily 09/30/2010 page20)