Popular TV idols return in film sequel

Eternal Moment, the film sequel of a popular 13-year-old TV drama, has grossed more than 100 million yuan ($14.7 million) since its premiere on Feb 12, despite the challenge posed by Hollywood blockbusters The Green Hornet and The Tourist.

The film follows two campus lovers after they break up in the 1998 TV series.

Li Yapeng and Xu Jinglei, who played the lead roles in the TV drama, come together again in the film directed by Zhang Yibai.

Comedy show tickles audience's funny bone

Comedy World, a weekly TV program shown on Beijing TV every Sunday night, featuring comedian Zhao Benshan and his protgs, has become the third most watched show of those aired at the same time in the country, according to the TV station.

The show, which kicked off on Jan 2 and tells a hilarious story through a short drama every week, features a regular cast comprised of Zhao's disciples, with Zhao joining in from time to time.

A veteran actor of 30 years, Zhao is best loved for his impersonations of ordinary people. He also stars in TV series and films.

Chinese ink art becomes class act

More than 100 Chinese landscape painters from across the country attended the opening of a grand exhibition at the Museum of the China Ink Landscape Painting Creation College at Songzhuang, an artists' village in Tongzhou district, eastern Beijing, on Saturday.

The college is aimed at promoting the century-old traditional Chinese painting genre in contemporary China, its president and veteran landscape painter Long Rui says.

20 artists win Golden Palm art award

The winners of the 2010 Chinese Contemporary Art Golden Palm Awards and 2010 Chinese Contemporary Art Golden Razzies were announced over the weekend in Beijing.

Ten Chinese artists, including Qiu Zhijie, He Yunchang and Chen Jieren, have won the Golden Palm Awards for the sharpness and depth of their works.

Meanwhile, 10 other artists, including Cai Guoqiang, Yue Minjun, Luo Zhongli and Zhang Huan, were given Golden Razzies "for their controversial works that have been criticized as being shallow and exaggerated", key organizer Xiao Ge says.

The awards are instituted jointly by the China Contemporary Art Foundation (Hong Kong), Art Time magazine, Studio-X of Columbia University and several other organizations in China.

Han Han lends his words to movie song

Mainland actress Fan Bingbing has joined forces with renowned writer Han Han and Taiwan singer Mavis Fan to create a theme song for her latest movie Buddha Mountain, which will hit theaters on March 4.

Han Han wrote the song's lyrics, and Mavis Fan composed its melody. Fan Bingbing, voted Best Actress at the 2010 Tokyo International Film Festival for her role as a pub singer, sings the song.

The song's dazzling music video was shot underwater by the film's cinematographer Zeng Jian.

The film, which also stars Taiwan screen veteran Sylvia Chang, tells the story of a middle-aged woman and three rebellious young people, and the lessons they learn about love.