Beijing

Grassroots singer

Dao Lang is staging a comeback tour after shunning the spotlight following his instant celebrity with his song The First Snow in 2002. The tour, which kicks off at Beijing's Wukesong Arena, takes its namesake from the song Thank You he wrote to show appreciation for fans who have listened to his music over the past decade. The Sichuan native, whose real name is Luo Lin, is acclaimed for his coarse vocals and incorporation of ethnic harmonies from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. He also blends Uygur music with the squealing vocals of Sichuan Opera.

8 pm, May 21. Wukesong Arena, 69 Fuxing Lu, Haidian district. 400-899-8989

Calligraphic works

Yang Zaichun is holding his solo calligraphy show with more than 100 calligraphic scrolls, besides brick carvings, ceramic works and wooden furnishings with his inscriptions, inspired by essays and poems by late Chinese revolutionary leaders Li Dazhao (1889-1927) and Mao Zedong (1893-1976).

A co-founder of Chinese Calligraphers' Association in 1981, the 69-year-old is widely considered a pioneering artist, educator and publisher, who has devoted himself to promoting Chinese calligraphic art over the past three decades.

9 am-5 pm, until May 27. National Art Museum of China, 1 Wusi Dajie, Dongcheng district. 010-6401-7076

Heaven on Earth

Artist Wen Fang has joined hands with local women in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, in Northwest China, to create Heaven, an exhibition of installation art that takes viewers into a dazzling world of embroidery, thread, leather and wood. The artworks are for sale, with half the proceeds going to Ningxia women.

10: 30 am-6 pm, May 29-July 17 except Mondays. Opening ceremony at 16 pm on May 29. Li Space, Red No 1, Building F, Caochangdi, Chaoyang district. 010-5127-3272

Fat Art theme exhibition

The theme exhibition of Fat Art 2011 is now running with more than 20 oil paintings, pencil drawings, photos, sculptures and installations by 14 young and middle-aged artists, including Liu Wei, Wang Jinsong, Yu Gao and Jia Aili.

Fat Art is a cross-over project initiated by British art critic Karen Smith and Modern Sky Music Inc three years ago to encourage communication between visual artists and musicians.

10 am-5:30 pm, until May 25. Today Art Museum, 2/F, 32 Baiziwanlu, Chaoyang district. 010-5876-0600

Seasonal auction

The preview of Forever-Christie's Auctions spring sales displays more than 1,000 lots, ranging from Chinese calligraphy, ink paintings, ceramic pieces, and oil masterpieces by modern Chinese artists, such as Chen Yifei and Yu Houhan, from the collection of Guy Ullens, founder of the largest foreign-invested gallery in Beijing. Also on view are vintage Moutai liquors and more than 80 Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) embroidery works from the collection of Taiwan pop singer Jeff Chang. The exhibits will be put under the hammer at the same hotel from May 22-24.

9 am-6 pm, until May 21. Park Hyatt Beijing Hotel, 2 Jianguomenwai Dajie, Chaoyang district. 010-8567-1234

Shanghai

Dark humor

The play God of Carnage by French author and actress Yasmina Reza will be presented in Chinese.

The black comedy tells about two sets of parents, one of whose child has hurt the others. They meet to discuss the matter in a civilized manner, but it all ends up in chaos. Winner of the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy, the play is expected to enjoy as much popularity with local audiences as Art, another play by Reza.

7:30 pm, June 9-July 3. Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center, 288 Anfu Lu. 021-6473-0123

Joys of innocence

The children's musical Growing Joys will be staged to mark Children's Day.

Two children, who enjoy playing computer games on the Internet, enter a gaming world of forest animals. They find themselves transformed into a tiger and deer, and have to follow the laws of the jungle where tigers hunt deer. Besides music and dance, the musical will also have interactive multimedia elements.

7:30 pm, June 1-3; 10:30 am, June 4-5. China Welfare Institute Children's Theater, 643 Huashan Lu. 021-6249-7313

Imaginative brick play

Sculptor Wang Keping's debut exhibition, All in Smile, puts together 1,000 sculptures that, at first glance, look like bricks. "The bricks can be piled up and form a wall or a stacked tower. Lay them out and you can cover the ground. You can also use them as a chair or table, or flowerpots on the balcony," Wang says about his creations. "It can also be piled up into a small castle or, a small Great Wall."

10 am-5 pm, May 19-June 30. 18 Gallery, 4F, 18 Zhongshan Dongyilu. 021-6323-8099

Contemporary inks

Duolun Museum of Modern Art will hold an exhibition of water ink paintings and calligraphic works. The exhibits, curator Huang Yan says, present two aspects of contemporary ink art - the interaction between Zen and graffiti art, and the connection between Chinese ink art aesthetics and semiotics.

10 am-5 pm, May 21-30. Duolun Museum of Modern Art, 27 Duolun Lu. 021-5671-9068

China Daily