Zonbo Media ropes in South Korean directors

China's Zonbo Media has signed on South Korean directors Hur Jin-ho and Kwak Jae-yong to each direct at least one commercial film the company will produce, starting this year. But it did not say how long the cooperation will last. Zonbo will distribute the films in China and abroad.

The first film to be made is a Hur-directed adaptation of the French literary classic Dangerous Liaisons. Set in Shanghai in the 1930s, its script has been written by novelist Yan Geling.

Hur told a news conference recently that a South Korean A-list actor will lead the cast together with a Chinese actress. He also said the $15 million project features war scenes, romance and gun fights.

Biopic on Henan entrepreneur premieres

Son of Taihang, a biopic on a legendary entrepreneur in a small town at the foot of the Taihang Mountains in Henan Province, premiered in Beijing on June 19.

The film follows the life of Fan Qingrong, now 74, who was born to a farmer in Huixian county in Henan. He set up the first paper factory in the town in the 1970s. In 1987, he founded the first power plant in town and transformed it into an energy-efficient one in 2007. Senior actor Zhai Wanchen plays the protagonist.

Modern libraries to be built in Tibet's monasteries

The Tibet autonomous region's government will build libraries in 480 monasteries this year and in all of Tibet's monasteries by 2015 to enrich the cultural lives of monks and local residents, a spokesman with the region's press and publication bureau said recently.

The project will be assisted by the country's General Administration of Press and Publication, the spokesman said.

"In addition to Buddhist scriptures, we need to read books about technology, literature and social sciences to keep up with the times," Doje, a Sera Monastery lama in Tibet's capital Lhasa, said.

The Sere Monastery is among the five monasteries that already have libraries in Tibet. Built in 2007, Sere has more than 10,000 books - most of which are in the Tibetan language - on literature, Buddhist classics, laws and regulations, history and healthcare.

Group marks celebration with charity drive

The Tibetan High Mountain Culture Development Foundation celebrated the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China and the 60th anniversary of the peaceful liberation of the Tibet autonomous region, with a charity drive on June 12.

Calligrapher Zhang Biao donated his calligraphy works and more than 500 copies of his 2007 book Collection of Poetry and Calligraphy Works.

The foundation plans to give some of the copies to the arts department of the University of Tibet and sell the others to raise money for education and heritage protection in poor farming areas of Tibet.

China Daily - Xinhua