China Daily - 22.08.2019

MOSAIC

22 | Thursday, August 22, 2019 CHINA DAILY

What’s on

Tosca

When: Sept 11, 7:30 pm

Where: National Center for the

Performing Arts, Beijing

Tosca is an opera in three

acts by Giacomo Puccini to an

Italian libretto by Luigi Illica

and Giuseppe Giacosa.

It tells the story of opera

singer Florio Tosca, painter

Mario Cavaradossi and a

corrupt police chief, Baron

Scarpia.

The drama involves political

prisoners, deceit, murder, and

Tosca’s fiery defiance and

rebellion, protecting the free-

dom and autonomy she holds

dear in the face of Scarpia’s

lust for her.

While working on the church

of Sant’Andrea della Valle in

Rome in 1880, the painter

Cavaradossi agrees to assist a

political prisoner, Cesare Ange-

lotti, in his efforts to escape.

The chief of police, Scarpia,

whose political ambitions thinly

disguise his unparalleled cruel-

ty, is on Angelotti’s trail and

quickly discovers Cavaradossi’s

involvement.

The Wilderness

When: Sept 20 and 21, 7:30 pm;

Sept 22, 2:30 pm

Where: Great Theater of China,

Shanghai

The Wilderness is a classic

masterpiece by Cao Yu, one of

the most outstanding drama-

tists in the history of modern

Chinese literature. The play is

highly praised for its original

and vivid depiction of Chinese

village life.

By telling a tragic story of

revenge, the author profoundly

demonstrates the confusion of

life and draws on philosophical

reflections.

Andrea Chenier

When: Sept 24, 7:30 pm

Where: National Center for the

Performing Arts, Beijing

Andrea Chenier is a romantic

opera created by Italian com-

poser Umberto Giordano in

1896. Set against the backdrop
      of Paris in the second half of
      the 18th century, the opera
      introduces the famous poet
      and politician Andre Chenier’s
      life story.
      Chenier falls in love with
      Maddalena, the daughter of
      Conutessa. Gerard, a servant
      who joined the revolution, also
      secretly loves Madalena.
      After the French Revolution
      breaks out, Maddalena and
      Chenier live a dangerous life,
      and Chenier is monitored by a
      Jacobin spy. To trap Maddale-
      na, Gerard arrests Chenier. She
      offers herself to him in
      exchange for Chenier’s free-
      dom. Gerard is touched by her
      noble love and swears to save
      Chenier, but Chenier is sen-
      tenced to death.
      Maddalena decides to die
      together with her lover. She
      bribes a prison guard, and puts
      on the garb of a female prison-
      er sentenced to death. Finally,
      the lovers go to the guillotine
      amid impassioned music.

Bob Dylan, Retrospectrum

When: Sept 28-Jan 5 (closed

on Monday), 10 am-6 pm

Where: Modern Art Museum,

Shanghai

Bob Dylan, Retrospectrum —

the largest traveling collection

of the singer and songwriter’s

art in the world, is coming to

Shanghai.

The collection of more than

300 items, dating from the

1960s to present day, includes

manuscripts, sketches, oil

paintings, sculpture works and

image data and reveals Dylan’s

multiple talents.

Dylan, one of the most influ-

ential and groundbreaking art-

ists in the 20th century and the

first Nobel prize winner musi-

cian, has long been honored as

a postmodern bard for “having

created new poetic expressions

within the great American song

tradition”. He has been also

fond of painting since child-

hood, and extended his artistic

creation to visual arts since

1960s. His art has been on dis-

play at museums such as Brit-

ain’s National Portrait Gallery

and Museum Gunzenhauser in

Germany.

The Sound of Music

When: Oct 18 to 27, 2:30 pm

and 7:30 pm

Where: Yunfeng Theater,

Shanghai

Based on the memoir of

Maria Von Trapp, the musical

telling the story of the Trapp

family singers features many

well-known songs, such as

Edelweiss, My Favorite Things,

Climb Ev’ry Mountain, Do-Re-

Mi and the title song The

Sound of Music.

The original Broadway pro-

duction, starring Mary Martin

and Theodore Bikel, opened on

Nov 16, 1959.

The show has enjoyed

numerous productions and

revivals since then.

It was adapted for a 1965

film musical starring Julie

Andrews and Christopher

Plummer that won five Acade-

my Awards.

The Sound of Music was the

final musical written by Rodg-

ers and Hammerstein.

La Bayadere

The Czech National Ballet

When: Oct 25 and 26, 3 pm

Where: Shanghai Oriental Art

Center

The grand romantic ballet

set in India features spectacu-

lar sets and virtuoso perform-

ances. It tells the story of a

beautiful Indian temple dancer

and has been frequently staged

at leading dance venues world-

wide.

The story of ill-fated love is a

real treat for those with a pen-

chant for grand classical works,

as well as a great challenge for

the Czech National Ballet.

Titanic Dance

When: Nov 15 and 16, 8 pm

Where: Shenzhen Grand Thea-

ter, Guangdong province

Step aboard one of the

world’s most famous ships.

Titanic Dance tells a gripping

love story as the great ship

makes its maiden and doomed

voyage across the Atlantic.

This epic tale is enacted by a

cast of 24 of the world’s top

Irish dancers and six of Ire-

land’s leading musicians, mak-

ing the dance an unmissable

spectacular of live music and

song, along with amazing cos-

tumes and set design.

The original choreography is

sure to set your feet tapping

and emotions running high as

the story unfolds.

On Aug 22, 1992, the Kunshan Eco-
nomic and Technological Develop-
ment Zone was approved by the State
Council, China’s Cabinet, as a State-
level economic development zone.
Lying in the southeastern region of
Jiangsu province, Kunshan covers
931 square kilometers. It is 55 km
from Shanghai to the east, and 35 km
from Suzhou to the west.
Its development dates back to 1984,
when the Kunshan county govern-

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Editor’s note: This year marks
the 70th anniversary of the found-
ing of New China.

Herdswomen in
traditional costume
find their inner
strength, at a
punishing altitude
of 4,300 meters,
during a tug of war
in Damshung
county in the Tibet
autonomous region
earlier this month.
LI XIN / XINHUA

Candid

camera:

Highly

strung

zones, Suzhou’s GDP hit 1.86 trillion

yuan ($263.69 billion) last year, a

year-on-year increase of 6.8 percent,

ranking first among the cities in

Jiangsu province and seventh in

China.

ment issued a plan to establish a

3.75-sq-km industrial and commer-

cial zone in Yushan town.

In 1996, it established a service cen-

ter for foreign enterprises to provide

one-stop services in customs, envi-

ronmental protection and taxation,

as seen in the item from China Daily.

Now, it has attracted more than

1,000 companies from over 40 coun-

tries and regions.

Kunshan’s rapid development

reflects how the city, Suzhou, has ris-

en as an economic powerhouse.

Suzhou has eight national-level

development zones, including the

China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial

Park, and the Taicang Port National

Economic Development Zone.

There are also two national high-

tech districts and two bonded zones,

which all make important contribu-

tions to the city’s

economic develop-

ment.

The China-Singa-

pore Suzhou Indus-

trial Park, set up in

1994 under the

collaboration of

Chinese and Singa-

porean govern-

ments, has

attracted more than

4,400 overseas pro-

jects from more

than 70 countries

and regions.

These include 156 projects initiated

by Fortune Global 500 enterprises

and about 30 world-class educational

and research institutions operated

jointly with foreign universities.

Thanks to these development

This Day, That Year

years

on

When I first visited the famous

Mogao Caves in Dunhuang 10 years

ago, the beauty of the ancient

Buddhist art was not the most mov-

ing part of the experience.

Instead, the

emptied Cave 17,

known infamously

as the “Library

Cave” because of

the priceless fres-

coes, sculptures,

scrolls, books and

other artifacts that

were stolen by for-

eigners from at

least five countries

in the early 20th

century, spurred me enough to call

for the rightful of the treasures to

China, which is now fully capable of

preserving them for posterity.

The first grotto near the Silk

Road oasis in Gansu province is

Alexis

Hooi

Second

Thoughts

Shake Shack to open second outlet in Shanghai

New York burger joint

Shake Shack

announced on Tuesday

that it would be open-

ing its second outlet in

Shanghai in the com-

ing months. The new

outlet comes on the

heels of its first China

outpost which opened

in January in the tour-

ist hotspot of Xintiandi.

Shake Shack, which had previously worked with artist Bruce Cui

to create an art installation for its first outlet, said that it has col-

laborated with another local artist Judy Kai for the art mural fea-

tured on the hoardings of the second location. In keeping with its

company mission to “stand for something good”, it said that it will

be working with local partners to present a unique menu in the

new outlet.

Buy a car from vending machine in LA

A unique kind of vending machines is

turning heads in Westminster, Los Ange-

les. But instead of snacks, this vending

machine dispenses cars. The eight-story

tall, all-glass building is fully automated.

There are no salespeople on site and

everything is done online. The concept is

meant to drive sales traffic in a different

direction than traditional car lots. If you

qualify to buy, you can test-drive the car

for seven days.

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Society: Hotels lose

five-star ratings

The five-star ratings of five

hotels in China have been

revoked due to issues found

during on-site investigations by

the Ministry of Culture and

Tourism. The investigations

found that the hotels had

severe hygiene and fire safety

problems and provided sub-

standard services. The five

hotels are the Tianjin Yan Yuan

International Hotel (formerly

the Sheraton Tianjin Hotel), the

Holiday Inn Binhai Tianjin, the

Eton Hotel Pudong, the Hilton

Chongqing and the Days Hotel

and Suites Dianya Chongqing.

Another 11 hotels were told to

fix their shortcomings within 12

months.

Culture: Orchestra hits

high note in Edinburgh

The 140-year-old Shanghai

Symphony Orchestra wowed

spectators on Monday night

with a stunning concert in Scot-

land. It marked the debut of a

Chinese orchestra at the Edin-

burgh International Festival.

The concert featured both Chi-

nese and Western music,

including the opening piece by

leading Chinese composer

Chen Qigang’s Wu Xing (The

Five Elements) and Dmitry

Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5

in D Minor. The concert ended

with Beautiful Night, a tradition-

al Chinese arrangement. The

festival, which was first held in

1947, will last until Monday.

Heritage: Silk ball craft

is revived in Shanxi

Liu Yunfang in Xiangfen county,

Shanxi province, spent more

than a decade learning the art

of making xiuqiu (a ball of silk

strips) from her mother-in-law.

Once she mastered the art, she

trained women in her village.

The craft has been listed as a

provincial-level intangible cul-

tural heritage and Liu has been

designated as an inheritor of the

skill. The silk ball, with twelve

petals, has become a local cul-

tural brand, generating an annu-

al output value of nearly 1 million

yuan ($141,600). The silk ball,

traditionally in red, yellow and

green, is a token to express love

and when given signifies an

intention to marry.

Rankings: Lenovo tops

PC market-share list

Chinese PC manufacturer Leno-

vo topped the global PC market

share in the second quarter this

year, according to research and

advisory company Gartner. Mar-

ket share for Lenovo stood at 25

percent with shipments of 15.77

million units, followed by 22.2

percent for HP, 16.9 percent for

Dell and 5.9 percent for Apple.

Visit our website to find out

more about the top PC vendors

this year.

The newspaper and beyond

On our Sina Weibo On chinadaily.com.cn

believed to have been carved out in

AD 366. In the following millennia,

the site grew to become of the

world’s finest repositories of Bud-

dhist art whose influence continues

to be felt beyond the religious, cul-

tural and historical fields.

The Library Cave used to contain

more than 50,000 manuscripts and

documents dating from AD 406. But

a decade after the grotto was discov-

ered in 1900, foreign explorers made

off with the findings.

Briton Aurel Stein is said to have

taken at least 7,000 complete manu-

scripts and 6,000 fragments, includ-

ing the Diamond Sutra (the world’s

oldest dated, printed book), while

French rival Paul Pelliot apparently

stayed in the cave to choose by can-

dlelight the most valuable works

because he could read the writings.

Today, a fraction of the original

pieces from the Library Cave are

said to remain in China.

Many people may also be upset by

these events, especially when they

see Mogao for themselves. But when

I returned to the iconic site in July,

most of the tourists and staff mem-

bers exhibited none of the anger,

bitterness or sense of loss stemming

from the notorious looting.

Researchers at the Dunhuang

Academy, which manages and stud-

ies Mogao, as well as visiting schol-

ars from across the world drawn to

the caves, seemed singularly

focused on sharing its rich cultural

heritage with future generations at

home and abroad.

In the past few decades, through

international collaborations,

advanced technology and sheer

passion, the academy has success-

fully preserved Mogao’s relics.

It is suitably proud of those

achievements and is even applying

its expertise to heritage sites in

developing countries such as Cam-

bodia’s Angkor Wat temple. Acade-

my researchers have traveled to

India, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and

Afghanistan to enhance more cul-

tural interaction and understand-

ing. The academy also uses state-of-

the-art imaging and archiving

technology in a major digitization

move to allow the world to enjoy

the art of Mogao. Nearly half of the

492 caves containing important

Buddhist artifacts have been digi-

tally archived, with 30 cave render-

ings made available online.

Its scholars are also studying how

the historic role that Dunhuang

played in the ancient Silk Road as a

hub of East-West economic and cul-

tural exchange continues to be rele-

vant today, in line with the China-

proposed Belt and Road Initiative

global infrastructure and develop-

ment drive.

All these are a clear reflection of

how Mogao has looked beyond the

ravages of time and damage it suf-

fered, to build bridges of common

understanding and share its cultur-

al heritage with the world.

Contact the writer at

[email protected]

Mogao Caves look beyond past to focus on cultural heritage

Restoration work at the Mogao Caves. ALEXIS HOOI / CHINA DAILY