Art beat in November

Ice-skating cartoons

Disney on Ice, the ice show featuring figure skaters dressed as Disney cartoon characters, will return to Shanghai. The performances, deriving their music and plots from various Disney films and properties, have been very popular with children in Shanghai. Disney on Ice: Treasure Trove is the latest production from Feld Entertainment. The show integrates stories from eight Disney films and 50 characters, from its first feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarves to the 50th Tangled. The show toured successfully in Japan and Dalian in Liaoning province. It will move to Macao after seven shows in Shanghai.

7:30 pm, Nov 15-17. Mercedes-Benz Arena, 1200 Expo Avenue, Pudong New Area, Shanghai. 021-5150-9199.

Movie soundtracks on piano

American jazz pianist Bill Mays will perform Piano Recital: Bill Mays Hollywood Classic Soundtrack in Beijing. The 69-year-old musician started learning piano at 15 and eventually became a fixture in Hollywood recording studios more than 40 years ago. He will perform soundtracks from Superman II, Julie & Julia and The Ice Storm.

7:30 pm, Nov 15. Forbidden City Concert Hall, West side of Tian'anmen Square, Xicheng district, Beijing. 400-610-3721.

Pop veteran returns to spotlight

Taiwan pop singer Terry Lin, who is known for his soprano voice, will hold a concert in Beijing, titled One Take. Lin, 47, entered the music industry in 1983 as a member of a ukulele duo, which won a Golden Melody Award. Lin went solo in 1996 and released over 25 studio albums. Thanks to his performances on I Am A Singer, a popular TV show on the Hunan Satellite TV Station, he returned to the limelight and is working on his new album.

7:30 pm, Nov 16. Mastercard Center, formerly Wukesong Arena, No 69, Fuxinglu, Haidian district, Beijing. 400-610-3721.

Thibaudet in concert

World-renowned French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet will collaborate with the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra to stage Dvorak's best known work, New World Symphony, and American composer Leonard Bernstein's two scores - the overture of opera Candide and The Age of Anxiety Symphony - at a concert in Guangzhou on Nov 17. Known for his poetic performing style, Thibaudet was given the lifetime achievement award at the French music award "Music's Victories" in 2007. Lin Daye, the conductor, will give a one-hour lecture before the concert starts to guide the audience to appreciate the symphony.

8 pm, Nov 17. Symphony Hall, Xinghai Concert Hall, 33 Qingbo Lu, Ersha Island, Yuexiu district, Guangzhou. 020-8735-3869.

Treasures on display

A hundred rock paintings from the Ningxia Hui autonomous region will be on display in a special exhibition at China Museum of Art Shanghai. The exhibition is part of a series of events introducing culture and art from Ningxia at the Shanghai International Arts Festival that opened on Nov 6 and runs until Nov 12. Ningxia is in Northwest China, in the transitional area between the Loess Plateau and the Mongolian Plateau. Archaeologists have found artifacts of ancient civilization there that dates back to the Paleolithic period. The rock paintings reflect the life, culture, religion and ideas of the primitive people.

9 am-5 pm, Nov 6-18. China Art Museum, Shanghai, 205 Shangnan Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai. 400-921-9021.

Retrospective show

Chinese Academy of Oil Painting is presenting the retrospective exhibition of Chinese artist and scholar Zhong Han. Born in 1929, Zhong witnessed the revolutionary years during adolescence before entering the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1955. The solo exhibition features more than 370 of Zhong's oil paintings and sketches, as well as about 100 pieces of his literal works.

9 am to 6 pm, until Nov 18. Art Gallery of Chinese Academy of Oil Painting, 1704 Wenhuayishu Xinjie, Gaobeidian, Chaoyang district, Beijing. 010-8773-9327.

Theater festival opens

Adapted from the classic Chinese legend The Butterfly Lovers, drama Butterfly Lovers 2013 will open the First Beijing Small Theater Festival. Produced by the China Zheteng Culture Company and People's Arts Theatre of Shaanxi Province, the drama tells the ancient tragic love story from a modern angle by using conversations and stage settings from everyday life. According to the director Li Yaolin, it also employs multimedia and improvisational plots, bringing humor to the sad story.

7:30 pm, Nov 19 to 21. Oriental Pioneer Theater, No 8-2 Dongdansantiao, northeast corner of Oriental Plaza, Dongcheng district, Beijing. 400-610-3721.

Art of figures

The National Art Museum of China is presenting Reality and Transcendence - the Chinese figure painting exhibition of artist Lu Shufeng. Born in 1963, Lu has been nurtured by the rich culture of Chang'an art school and Huangtu art school developed in Shaanxi province. His works combine reality and imagination, using contemporary ink art to express the flavor of the times. The exhibition features more than 80 ink paintings and illustrations Liu created during the past 30 years, including his major series such as The Miners and Tibet.

9 am to 5 pm, until Nov 21. Hall 8 and 9, National Art Museum of China, 1 Wusi Dajie, Dongcheng district, Beijing. 010-6400-1476.