No wedding for Chow

Comedian/director Stephen Chow, 51, says he is too old to get married. Chow was having a discussion with Ma Yun, CEO of e-commerce group Alibaba, at a seminar at the Communication University of China when students pushed him to talk about his marriage plans. Chow says at his age, he may not have many opportunities. He also says he will not act in his latest directorial-work A Chinese Odyssey, a fantasy based on the classic novel Journey to the West. The hard-core fan of Bruce Lee says he may turn to choreography of action films if he gives up directing. The film will premiere on Feb 10, the Spring Festival.

Snakes made precious

China Post Group released gold and silver bars on Jan 5 in conjunction with the release of special Chinese zodiac stamps for the Year of the Snake. The gold and silver bars are based on the motif of this year's zodiac, the snake. The whole set includes five gold bars, weighing 10g, 30g, 50g, 100g and 500g, and one silver bar, which is 100g. Processing techniques include mirror-finishing, matting and carving in relief. Each bar is carved with a unique code number, along with a collector's certificate. China Post Group has released 10 sets of gold bar products since 2009. This year's series can be purchased from post offices and stamp-collecting specialty shops. The price for the bars starts at about 4,800 yuan ($762).

Classic strokes on TV

China Central Television unveiled its new documentary on Chinese calligraphy on Jan 2. Titled 5,000 Years of Chinese Calligraphy, the series ploughs the depths of the history of five typical types of character styles and explores how the art has come to symbolize the core of Chinese culture and spirit. To collect stories and study the evolution of Chinese calligraphy, the entire crew traveled around Europe, America and Asia, visited hundreds of museums and artifacts, and studied tens of thousands of relics. The documentary has eight episodes now showing on CCTV-4, the Chinese channel that is broadcast around the world.

More laughs onscreen

Comedian Huang Bo, star of Lost in Thailand, 2012's highest-grossing domestic film that raked in 1.1 billion yuan ($175 million), takes a lead role in a romantic comedy that also stars screen goddess Lin Chi-ling. The Taiwan model/actress plays a cellist and Huang an old bachelor. They meet on a blind date, after which the man decides to be a decent guy - at least in front of her. His hilarious courtship shapes the film's storyline. Huang has made his name by starring in many popular comedies such as The Crazy Stone and The Crazy Racer. The film will be released on Feb 12.

Online news awards

Ifeng.com, a leading web portal, has paid its tribute to grassroots podcasters who recorded some of the most memorable moments of 2012. The website presented 10 awards on Dec 28. A video of the death scene of Zhou Kehua, a robber and killer shot by police after months of pursuit, won best breaking news. Ifeng.com has also announced it will build an alliance with news organizations such as the Southern Metropolis Daily and Yunnan TV to support new media. The website has been offering financial and technical aid to grassroots podcasters for the past year.

Star on the rebound

Japanese singer/actress Noriko Sakai showed up in China for the first time after a drug scandal in August 2009, for which she received a three-year suspended sentence. Sakai attended the Fashion Achievement Awards hosted by mainland web portal Sohu.com on Jan 8. At the ceremony, she summarized the last three years as "long and hard", and the life controlled by drugs "very difficult". Sakai, a well-known star in China since the 1990s, says she may work in some Chinese films or TV dramas in the future.

China Daily

(China Daily 01/10/2013 page20)