Wastepaper violin bags top honors in eco-art contest

A New Zealand resident in Shanghai has walked away with the top honors in an eco-art contest with her violin made of waster paper, plastic tubes and used pull-top cans.

The violin, created by Monica Liaw, won almost 200,000 votes from taxi passengers, in the contest held by Touch Media, which showed the entries on the touch screens of taxis.

More than 100 of the works from 13 countries are being exhibited at Shanghai Yueda 889 Plaza through the end of the month.

Foreigners and Chinese harmonize for modern operatic performance

Twenty foreign singers and six Chinese signers gave a modern operatic performance in Chinese at the National Center for the Performing Arts, near Tian'anmen Square in Beijing on Thursday.

The event was organized by the Confucius Institute, an organization that offers classes on Chinese language and culture throughout the world.

They gave the performance after a month-long series of lectures, held at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. They were taught how to perform modern operatic works that are based on old Chinese stories. The 20 young foreign signers come from eight countries, including the United States, Italy, Canada and Brazil.

Guangzhou Triennialto begin on Sept 22

The Fourth Guangzhou Triennial will begin on Sept 22 at Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, and last three years.

The triennial will be divided into three parts, with a launch exhibition on the theme Back to the Basics on till Nov 27, a series of project exhibitions planned from May to September, 2012, and a themed exhibition, The Unseen, that will run from October 2012 to the end of January 2013.

The exhibitions will be accompanied by three forums in Guangzhou, Beijing and New York City, co-organized by the host museum, the International Center for Critical Theory (ICCF)-PKU at Peking University and ICCF-NYU at New York University.

Novice star directors get fresh talent to work with

Three young people with no previous acting experience will star in seven short films directed by some of the most famous actors in China.

The newcomers to the industry got the chance by winning an acting contest held by Sohu.com, which sponsors seven A-list actors to direct their own films.

The seven new directors include Liu Ye, star of Zhang Yimou's Curse of the Golden Flower, and Huang Bo, a beloved comedian. The finished works will be shown on the video channel of Sohu.com.

Online English learningtool makes a mark

UP&UP English, a Beijing-based training school, has launched an original online learning platform, targeted at students between 9 and 18.

It will complement the students' one-on-one tutoring once a week at the training school.

The platform employs simple and popular computer games to deliver the lessons. A study by the Graduate School of Education of Peking University shows the online platform has enhanced students' interest in English, with every student willing to spend an hour on it everyday.