Bird film in theaters

Director Sun Xian's My Garden of Eden, on the black-tailed gulls of Hailu Island in East China's Shandong province, will premiere on Jan 21.

The film that took seven years to complete has actress/director Xu Jinglei as the narrator, while Tan Jing sings the theme song.

Showbiz Net stars of 2010

The nation's largest search engine Baidu.com organized a gala on Saturday to celebrate showbiz personalities who drew the most attention in 2010.

The power list, based on votes cast by 400 million netizens, includes Hong Kong star Andy Lau, who was named Artist of the Year. In 2010, news, images and videos about him were searched more than 1 billion times.

Feng Xiaogang's Aftershock, the highest-grossing domestic flick in 2010 with revenues of more than 600 million yuan ($88 million), was searched more than 350 million times and honored as Film of the Year.

Actor Li Yapeng who founded the Smile Angel Foundation that offers free operations for children with cleft lip won the honor of The Most Charitable Artist of the Year.

Jet Li to play monk Fahai

Jet Li, a Buddhist, will don a monk's robes in It's Love, a fantasy film based on a well-known Chinese folk tale.

Li will play Fahai, a monk who intervenes in the relationship between a young scholar and his lover, a white snake in human form. The story, widely known in China, had existed in oral traditions before being written into a short story collection around the early 17th century. It has been the subject of several Chinese films and TV dramas.

The film has many action sequences showing Li battling computer-generated "snake demons". Calling it a new experience, Li says his role was a challenge as he had to imagine his enemies' moves.

Mainland actress Huang Shengyi plays the white snake and Hong Kong actor Raymond Lam, her love interest.

Bazaar raises charity funds

More than 90 business people and philanthropists gathered for a fund-raising bazaar at the White Box Museum of Art, in the 798 Art Zone, on Saturday afternoon.

Zhao Yuting, a senior member of the China Calligraphers Association, wrote a calligraphy scroll for the bazaar, and a group of kindergarten children performed a sign language song and English songs.

Dozens of artwork pieces and jewelry were sold out, with prices ranging from 300 yuan ($45) to 60,000 yuan ($9,000). The money will go to the host, Huaxiaren Charitable Foundation, for its charity projects.

The foundation has raised more than 16 million yuan ($2.4 million) since its establishment in Oct 2009.

Societe Generale art awards

Jiang Pengyi's photography artwork titled Unregistered City No 2 has bagged the Jury Grand Prize of 15,000 euros ($20,000) at the first Societe Generale Chinese Art Awards, 2010.

The awards, aimed at discovering the nation's young emerging artists, attracted more than 360 quality artworks during a two-month submission period.

The Jury Special Prize of 7,000 euros ($9,300) went to Luo Haiming and Qiu Shiming .

The works entered in the competition will be displayed in selected galleries and art spaces - in Beijing's 798 art district, as well as in Shanghai, Taipei, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Paris and Singapore, from January to May.

Societe Generale, one of France's oldest banks, has been involved in nurturing young talents in classical music and contemporary art around the world, since 1987.

China Daily

(China Daily 01/19/2011 page20)