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(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-12-14 08:06

Four-Night Tales online film project a hit

The Four-Night Tales Film project, initiated by Hong Kong director Pang Ho-cheung, Sina.com and Samsung China, has proven a success, getting more than 200 million hits and acclaim after premiering on the Internet on Oct 15.

The four short films directed by three new directors and produced by Pang, were designed from the very beginning to cater to young Internet users by focusing on urban romances and popular actors such as Zhou Xun and Shawn Yue (pictured).

Samsung pays the filmmakers and their crews, while Sina uses its platform to broadcast and offer media support.

Yin Hong, a professor at Tsinghua University, praises the innovative approach, saying it offers not only a new method for product placement, but is also a rare opportunity for young directors to make films.

Alpha Animation capitalizes on share listing

Guangdong Alpha Animation and Culture Co Ltd, the first mainland animation company to go public with an A-share market listing, has launched a new TV series about Warrior Armor, a beloved character it created.

The show features a combination of real people acting and computer-generated animations. It tells how three boys become warriors and fight various monsters.

According to the company, more than 5 million volumes of books on the franchise have been sold and sales of the related toys have reached 100 million yuan ($14.7 million) since it was launched in 2009.

The company's other favorites include Naughty Boy Ma Xiaotiao.

The show will hit the small screen in January 2011.

TCM gets a shot in the arm at a New York university

If you live in New York City and are interested in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) the recent funding of a Confucius Institute at the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Optometry is good news.

A partnership with the Wenzhou Medical College of Zhejiang province, the institute was opened in early November and caters to SUNY students and faculty, as well as the general public. It provides Chinese-language programs and cultural courses with a special focus on China's healthcare system.

The institute is the first entity of its kind to be established at an optometric institution. Cooperation between the two colleges goes back to the 1980s, and has produced many successes, including an emerging model of eye care for the visually impaired.

David Heath, president of SUNY College of Optometry, received the Friendship Award in October, China's highest award for foreign experts who have made outstanding contributions.

Tibetan medical college boosted by donation

The Beijing-based Apple Charity Foundation has established a partnership with the Ngari administration, which involves a donation of 20 million yuan ($3 million) to Gangdese Tibetan Medical College, one of the largest donations to develop Tibetan medicine and pharmacology from a non-governmental organization (NGO).

The money will help improve the school environment and teaching, and promote research into Tibetan medicine, as well as expanding free clinics to local residents. Wang Qiuyang, chairperson of the foundation, said the aid would carry on for many years and train many Tibetan medical personnel.

The prominent Tibetan physician, Tenzin Wangtie, who died in 2007, founded the college in the 1990s.