Placido Domingo and peace at the Great Wall

Spanish tenor Placido Domingo performed at the Great Wall in Beijing recently, to celebrate the 30th International Peace Day.

China's own "Three Tenors" - Dai Yuqiang, Warren Mok and Wei Song - gave a joint performance under his baton. Chinese folk singer Chang Sisi also gave a solo performance of her song, Spring's Ballet. The singer, a senior student of the China Central Conservatory, also performed Libiamo Ne' Lieti Calici from La Traviata with the world-famous tenor, which closed the night.

Domingo's visit was part of his partnership with China's Reignwood Group to train young artists in Asia, that began in 2009. Every year, Domingo brings young artists from Washington to Beijing to perform with young Chinese artists.

National Library to host 1911-themed exhibition

An exhibition of 300 historical documents on the 1911 Revolution is on display at the National Library of China (NLC) until Oct 31, to mark the 100th anniversary of this momentous event.

The exhibition's special section titled "Xinhai Revolution in the Eyes of Westerners", will show reports published in foreign publications such as Le Petit Journal in France and the Illustrated London News in Britain.

Meanwhile, another NLC exhibition on the Anti-Japanese Amalgamated Army, that is on till Oct 23, commemorates the September 18 Incident in 1931 that marked the beginning of Japan's invasion of Northeast China.

Teen actress to play lead in Starry Starry Night

Huayi Brothers, the largest private media company on the mainland, will release Starry Starry Night, a mainland-Taiwan co-production on Nov 3.

Based on a comic book by renowned Taiwan artist Jimmy Liao, the film follows a girl's growing up.

Mainland actress, 14-year-old Xu Jiao, leads the cast. Xu made her big screen debut in Stephen Chow's CJ 7, three years ago.

Taiwan actress Rene Liu plays Xu's mother. She says she joined the project after watching director Lin Shu-yu's Winds of September at a film festival in 2008.

The film will compete at the 16th Busan International Film Festival in South Korea, which runs from Oct 6 to 14.

CCTV sale of 2012 advertisement slots opens

China Central Television (CCTV) has begun the sale of its advertising slots for 2012.

Online bids will open on Nov 8 for prime-time slots, such as those before and after the 33-year-old News Bulletin. Online bidding for slots on some programs, such as the half-hour Economics News, will open on Oct 22. Advertisement slots for other shows are available for purchase from Sept 21.

In 2010, the auction of prime-time ad slots raised 10.97 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) in about 13 hours.

High speed rail from Beijing to Qingzhou opens

Travel from Beijing to the Taihe Mountain Scenic Resort, in Qingzhou, Shandong province, takes just three hours on the newly opened high-speed railway.

The resort, sprawled over 20 sq km, houses the nation's largest county-level museum - Qingzhou Museum, the Huanghua Brook Scenic Area and the Yangtian Mountain National Forest Park.

Photography enthusiasts can join a special three-day group tour organized by China Youth Travel Service (CYTS) for the upcoming National Day holiday. By submitting at least 10 photos to CYTS for a photo contest that will follow, they can enjoy a 50 percent group discount.

Dou Xiao braces himself for car stunts in new film

Mainland actor Dou Xiao, who rose to stardom by playing the lead in Zhang Yimou's last film Under the Hawthorn Tree, starts a new journey.

The 23-year-old leads Racer Legend, a film that, predictably, involves a number of car stunts.

He will train with car stunts specialist Bruce Law, whose works include John Woo's Hard Boiled and The Killer.

The film will hit theaters at the end of 2011.

Xiamen gears up for Third Poetry Festival

The third China Poetry Festival will be held from Oct 15 to 20 in Xiamen, Fujian province.

The program will include poetry readings, a poetry forum, an exhibition of traditional painting and calligraphy based on poems, and poetry recitation competitions on campuses.

Xiamen is the hometown of a number of famous Chinese poets such as Shu Ting, a representative "Misty Poet", which refers to a group of poets who reacted against the restrictions of the "cultural revolution" (1966-1976). Their works were categorized as "obscure" or "misty".

The festival, organized by the Ministry of Culture and Chinese Writers' Association, is regarded as one of the nation's top poetry events. The two previous festivals were held in Maanshan, Anhui province, and Xi'an, Shaanxi province.