Kazak film premieres

The first Chinese-made Kazak language film with synchronous sound recording, Eternal Lamb, premiered in Beijing recently.

Adapted from an essay by ethnic Kazak writer Yeerkexi Huermanbieke, the film tells the story of a Kazak woman and her personal struggles.

Directed by Gao Feng, vice-president of CCTV, the film features a group of non-professional Kazak actors and actresses. The film was shot in Kanas, the northernmost part of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region that borders Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Russia.

The film's production companies, China Central Newsreel and Documentary Studio and Beijing Qingjing Wuxian Culture and Communication Company, have made copies with subtitles in English, French, Russian and Arabic, to promote the film in different countries.

Charming China in Japan

Charming China, a program of Chinese-language IPTV (Internet protocol television), has been launched in Japan, allowing Chinese people living in Japan, as well as Chinese-speaking Japanese, to appreciate 49 Chinese TV channels.

Aimed at serving overseas Chinese, Charming China has been launched in North America, Europe, Australia and Southeast Asia over the past two years.

Charming China integrates CCTV-4, Phoenix Info News, Hunan TV, as well as various specialized channels such as Healthy Channel, Chinese Teaching, and Martial Channel.

Musings on Taishan stone

More than 50 collectors of rare stones across the country gathered at a seminar on Taishan stone, held in Beijing from Jan 15-16 .

It was organized by Mount Taishan Culture Research Society of Shandong province and Shandong Folk Artists Association. A solo exhibition of rare Taishan stones from the collection of Shandong collector Zhao Guangxing was also held at the gallery of Dafang Hotel in western Beijing.

Stone-collecting is a tradition that goes back at least 1,000 years in China.

Students get nod at awards

The awards ceremony for the "2010 Architectural Design Contest of College Students", launched by the Architectural Society of China and Tanglewood Tourism Development Co, Ltd, was held recently at Beijing Poly Theater.

The contest selected outstanding works from students in China for the company's project to build a high-end residential community for musicians near the Great Wall.

Some 980 groups of students from universities around China submitted for the contest and among the 326 sets of designs, 70 pieces were selected by the panel formed by professional architects and experts.

Promoting art in rural areas

The China Oriental Performance and Art Corporation, a national song-and-dance ensemble, recently signed the Protocol of Establishing a Strategic Cooperation with Rongzhong village of Fujian province, in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

The protocol seeks to promote State-level art performances in remote rural areas, provide film education, and build film and video sites. In 2010, the ensemble brought several high-level performances to Rongzhong area and trained the local artists.