Prize-winning works comprise exhibition

An art exhibition featuring prize-winning works of the first Shi Jingyi Cup Chinese Art Contest opened last weekend at the art gallery of the National Library in Beijing.

The Chinese ink art contest drew 8,174 entries, created by art professionals and amateurs from more than 10 countries.

The exhibition of some 100 selected ink calligraphic works and paintings will tour Taipei and Hong Kong, starting in late March. It will finally be shown in Foshan, Guangdong province, at the end of the year.

The Hong Kong-based Hon Wing Book Co Ltd has organized the exhibition and the contest, in memory of its founder Shi Jingyi (1916-2007), from Guangdong province.

Talks promote idea of 'world design capital'

A talk on architecture and the future of cities was held recently between two architects, Massimiliano Fuksas from Rome and Ma Yansong from Beijing, at 751 DPARK, in Beijing.

Fuksas, 67, is well known for directing the seventh International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale in 2000 and is currently working on Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport in Guangdong province. Ma, 36, is a graduate of Yale University.

The pair agreed that architecture shouldn't be an ostentatious part of urban planning. Rather, it should provide an open and unconventional space to connect different kinds of people.

The event, presented by the Embassy of Italy in Beijing and the organizing commission of Beijing Design Week, marks the 150th anniversary of Italian unification. It also shows the ambition of Beijing to become a "world design capital".

Society listening to voice of hearing impaired

Beijing Hearing Society (BHS) was founded with support from Beijing Tongren Hospital and Peking University Third Hospital to raise awareness of the importance of hearing care.

The society is committed to advancing hearing research and cultivating young scientists and the rehabilitation of professionals. It will also disseminate knowledge of hearing protection and the importance of infant hearing screening to young people.

China has a hearing impaired population of 27.8 million, with a 23,000 increase in the number of newborn babies who are diagnosed as hearing impaired.

Calligraphy and porcelain combine at solo show

Chen Wenzeng, a senior artist from Quyang, Hebei province, is holding a solo art show at the National Art Museum of China until March 10, juxtaposing his calligraphy works of self-composed poems and white porcelain pieces in the Ding Kiln style.

One of five famous Song (960-1279) kilns, Ding kilns, whose production sites are in today's Quyang, are famed for their off-white glazes. Chen has been devoted to the research of Ding Kiln technologies for more than three decades.

His ceramic works not only display the beauty of white porcelain, but also blends the grace of Chinese calligraphy and literature.

Charity fund celebrates 30th anniversary

Arguably, China's first non-profit charity organization, the Beijing-based China Children and Teenagers' Fund celebrates the 30th anniversary of its founding this year. With its mission to build a better future for children, the organization raised 1.83 billion yuan ($278 million) by the end of 2010, benefiting millions of ill and impoverished children and teenagers.

One of the latest donations came from Li Na, China's top woman tennis player, who donated prize money of $135,000 to the welfare of orphans in her hometown, Wuhan, capital of Hubei province.

The fund recently launched two major projects, the Spring Fund Project and Ankang Project. The former built more than 1,000 schools in rural areas and helped many girls return to school. It also provides job skills training to poverty-stricken women so they can support themselves and their families. The latter project promotes health and safety knowledge among children.

J-10 fighter makes its movie premiere

The China-made J-10 fighter jet will be presented on the big screen for the first time on Thursday, when Sky Fighters, a film about the aircraft and the people behind it will premiere.

The feature film focuses on the jet and the life of its pilots.

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force supported the filmmakers by letting them use real aircraft, including the J-10, Su-27 and II76.

Ning Haiqiang, a veteran director of military films and TV dramas, directs, while Li Guangjie and Huang Yi have starring roles.

Human resources vital to growth

The country's human resources service industry has progressed and now plays a bigger role in terms of the national economy, according to the 2010 White Paper for Human Resources Service Industry in China that took four years to research.

The paper was compiled by the Center for Human Resource Development and Management Research of Peking University and the Shanghai Foreign Service Company.

It notes that as many transnational enterprises have expanded their businesses in China, Chinese employees and employers are confronting cross-cultural issues, which requires the industry to provide more comprehensive services. Meanwhile, it analyzes the performance of college students in foreign-invested companies, and offers new approaches to the government to adjust its policies for human resources service providers to shift their service focus.

Art award winners announced

The Credit Suisse Today Art Awards 2010 were announced last weekend in Beijing.

The winning artists were Sun Yuan and Peng Yu, who have worked as an artist group since June 2005.

Established last year, the annual awards intend to "encourage emerging, young artists and to raise public awareness of contemporary Chinese art", according to Today Art Museum director Zhang Zikang, a key organizer.