Artbeat: Shanghai

Han-Uygur drama

Visitors From the Ice Mountain is a new Chinese opera production by the National Grand Theatre. The story and music are based on a film of the same title released in 1963. The story is set in 1951, when China's northwestern borders were disturbed by spies and guerillas from neighboring countries. The film has enduring popularity as a showcase for the friendship between the Han and Uygur peoples, as well as the music of rich Uygur influence.

7:15 pm, Feb 11. Shanghai Culture Square, 597 Fuxing Middle Road, Xuhui district. 021-6472-6000.

4 New Year's reunions

Big Brother is an original Chinese play presenting the happenings in an ordinary Shanghai family on four New Year's Eves, from the 1970s to 2009. The life of Niu Peihua, the big brother in the family, is reflected in four episodes: how he has sacrificed for the family and experienced love, loss and reunion in the decades of drastic changes in society and values.

7:30 pm, through Feb 7; 2 pm, Feb 8. Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center－Art Theater, 288 Anfu Road Xuhui district. 021-6473-0123.