Sri Lanka promotes culture and tourism

The Embassy of Sri Lanka celebrated its national day and the 54th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations with China on Thursday with a gala at Grand Hyatt Hotel in Beijing.

Sri Lanka's First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa, who was visiting China at the invitation of the All China Women's Federation to attend the International Women's Day Reception on March 8, gave a speech on China-Sri Lanka friendship and social work.

It was Rajapaksa's fifth visit to China in the past four years. She has worked tirelessly to improve the condition of women and children of Sri Lanka through her NGO Siriliya Saviya.

The gala event, where a famous dance troupe from Sri Lanka performed folk dances and music, also focused on projecting the beauty of Sri Lanka and promoting its culture and tourism among Chinese.

Feng Shaofeng and Yang Mi reunited in TV drama

Feng Shaofeng and Yang Mi, who rose to fame overnight in the period drama Jade in the Palace, will play a couple once again in Legend of Tiger Tallies, a war story from 2,500 years ago. The two tiger tallies were made of bronze or gold. The emperor and the military commander were given one each. Only when the two pieces were put together could the troops be commanded.

The show's director, Guo Baochang, is best known for the 72-episode TV drama Inside the Big Door, about a family's ups and downs over five decades. It was one of the most successful TV series in China.

Grassroots performers in Guarding Home

Guarding Home was recently shown in Beijing, presenting traditional music and dance of more than 10 ethnic groups in China, including the Hani, Naxi, Miao, Oroqen, Pumi and Daur.

The performers were young farmers and villagers who have been studying traditional culture thanks to the Tufeng Project, a not-for-profit initiative devoted to the preservation of China's ethnic cultural heritage.

China's first Law on the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage was passed in February.

Estonian presents China's 'timeless landscape'

Photos taken by Estonian photographer Alexander Gronsky during his two-month China tour, themed Waters and Mountains, is on display in the rear lobby of the Kempinski Hotel Beijing Lufthansa Center, as part of the Kempinski Arts Support Program, established in 2009. The exhibition will last till March 31.

Graduating from the Tallinn Art School in Estonia, Gronsky has won several international awards, including the 2010 FOAM Paul Huff Award and the 2009 Silver Camera Contest Grand Prix. He is fascinated with filming landscapes because of the interaction between humans and the natural environment.

Gronsky's wish to record China's "timeless but constantly changing landscape" was inspired by traditional Chinese painting. Contemplating the wonders of water and mountains, the series of photographs shows a sense of getting lost in a space that refuses to fit in a single frame.

China Daily

(China Daily 03/16/2011 page20)