Children on their toes

The seventh "Little Lotus" National Children's Dance Festival has closed in Beijing after a week's performances. Presented by the Chinese Dancers' Association, the festival showcased 137 dance works performed by some 4,000 young dancers from around the country. Founded in 1998, "Little Lotus" is an event devoted to children's education through dance. Seminars and workshops about children's dance were also held during the festival.

Palace product contest

The Palace Museum - commonly known as the Forbidden City - has kicked off a contest for cultural and creative product design to celebrate the 88th anniversary of the royal palace's transformation into a museum. This is the first time the Palace Museum has invited public entries for the museum-themed cultural and creative product design. Design studios, art practitioners, professional designers, art-school teachers and students as well as amateur designers are welcome to enter. The deadline of the contest is Nov 15. Detailed information and documents are now available on the official website of the Palace Museum.

Ancient pearls aglow

An ancient pearl jewelry exhibition was recently held in Beijing by Kejia Zhenyu Tang, an antique dealer based in Guiyang, Guizhou province. Designed by a Taiwan modern jewelry designer, the jewelry pieces are made with ancient jade, carnelian, silver, and hundreds of pearls the antique dealer has obtained over decades. The jewelry was also exhibited in the China-Russian Culture Exhibition from Aug 7 to 11, in Heihe, Heilongjiang province.

Combo deal for tourists

More than 50 of China's most popular tourist sites have teamed up to develop a package card, the Zhongjing Tongyou Card, which allows a tourist to access all the sites with a fixed price of 365 yuan a year. The sites include Mutianyu Great Wall in Beijing, Yulong Snow Mountain in Yunnan province, and Qinghai Lake in Qinghai province. Ticket prices to Chinese tourist sites have risen considerably in the last few years. The ticket value for all the sites covered by the card totals more than 7,000 yuan. The Zhongjing Tongyou Card will be released in mid-August.

Film fest ambassador

Actress Lin Peng has been selected by the Beijing International Sports Film Festival to be its image ambassador. Lin, who performed at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, is known for her acting in a series of action films. Lin will also be a judge of the Beijing International Sports Film Festival, which will end on Aug 18.

TV host's new book

Hu Qiaohua (better known as Huashao), host of the Voice of China, one of the most popular reality talent shows in China, had a book-signing event in Wangfujing in Beijing on Sunday. The 240,000-word book tells the story about how he grew up as a child with mild autism and became a host for the Voice of China. It is meant to encourage young people to fight for their dreams, Huashao said at the event. The Voice of China started on July 13, 2012 on Zhejiang Television. Part of the The Voice franchise and following the essential format of the Dutch program The Voice of Holland, the Chinese version is now in its second season.

China Daily

(China Daily USA 08/14/2013 page10)