Art beat in October

Famous teahouse to host Beijing-Taiwan exhibition

Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn

The first Beijing-Taiwan Folk Art Exchange Exhibition kicked off on Thursday in Beijing's Lao She Teahouse.

The month-long exhibition showcases Taiwan wood sculptures, tea, pottery, as well as traditional handicraft from Beijing.

Folk artists will be on hand to perform their craft including those classified as an intangible culture heritage - Xishui's ink stone carving, and Yixing's clay teapots.

Sponsored by the Chinese Youth Entrepreneurs Association and the Beijing Federation of Taiwan Compatriots, it also includes seminars, tea parties, and the launch of a book on traditional Beijing culture.

Taiwan woodcarving and Yixing clay teapot artists will be available to talk with visitors.

Lao She Teahouse is a major venue for tourists from Taiwan, and has hosted figures such as Lien Chan, former chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang.

until October 26, Bldg 3, Zhengyang Market, Qianmen Xidajie, Xicheng district, Beijing. 010-6303-6830

Paintings to go under hammer

Beijing auction house Wenjinge will present an exhibition of five Chinese art connoisseurs. The group Xie Zhiliu, Qi Gong, Xu Bangda, Yang Renkai and Liu Jiu'an were founded in 1983. They spent eight years and traveled thousands of miles all over China, making systematic studies of surviving ancient paintings and calligraphy. This is the first time their own creations are presented in one exhibition and then auction. The exhibits will be auctioned at the Westin Hotel Jinmao in Beijing on Nov 19.

10 am-10 pm, Oct 26-27, Xinghua Hotel Shanghai, 1226 Huashan Road, Changning district, Shanghai. 021-6226-0123.

Exhibits from a writing career

Chinese literature icon Wang Meng jokes that he considers writing his lover. He is among the few writers honored with an exhibition at the National Museum of China. The exhibition is arranged in five sections, according to the writer's milestones. With photos, videos and manuscript pages, it tells about Wang's trials with literature during his youth, his influential works, his difficult days in Xinjiang and the period he served as the country's minister of culture. One highlight is the manuscripts of Wang's first novel Long Live Youth, which have been well preserved since the book was written in the early 1950s.

9 am-5 pm, until Oct 27. South 8 exhibition hall, National Museum of China, No 16, East Changan Avenue, Beijing.

Purple pottery exhibition

He is widely known as the master of purple clay pot art. His pots are sold for more than 10 million yuan ($1.6 million) by auction houses. He is Gu Jingzou, China's master of pottery art. To show their respect for Gu's art, his apprentices, including pottery artists Li Changhong and Wu Yaping, are bringing more than 80 artworks of purple clay teapots to Beijing. The pottery artists combine Chinese traditional ink painting and calligraphy with teapot making and create different styles and sizes of the purple clay artworks. On display are pottery artworks of Gu Jingzou and his three apprentices.

9 am-5 pm, until Oct 27, no admission on Mondays. Capital Museum, No 16, Fuxingmenwai street, Xicheng district, Beijing. 010-6337-0491.

Watercolor show

The National Art Museum of China continues its celebration of the 50th anniversary of founding with a new exhibition focusing on Chinese watercolor paintings. On show are works by established artists including Yang Taiyang, Gu Yuan and Ha Ding, and many paintings are making their public debut. The paintings on display are all from the museum's collections, including Gu's Along the Songhua River in which Gu depicted the breadth and tranquility of the mother river of Northeast China, and Yang's Rain, in which the artist infused languages of art of the East and West.

9 am-5 pm, no entrance after 4 pm, until Oct 28. National Art Museum of China, 1 Wusi Street, Dongcheng district, Beijing. 010-6400-1476.

Boys' choir in China debut

The Dresdner Kreuzchor boys' choir, with a seven-century history and now boasting about 150 members aged between 9 and 19, will make its China concert debut. The choir will present its repertoire of early baroque, the early 19th century and modern works.

7:15 pm, Oct 27, 28. Concert Hall of Shanghai Oriental Art Center, 425 Dingxiang Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai. 021-6854-1234.