China Daily

Building dreams amid nature

2020-01-22 00:00:00

An island getaway, a home in the country, your own private paradise, is a dream too far for most people. But architect Mu Wei has laid the foundations, literally, for such a dream for his family and himself on an island on the outskirts of Wuhan, Central China's Hubei province.

"Everything was dreamy here when I first saw it, with weeds, a tree and a vast spread of water," says Mu, 38, who was born and bred in North China's Hebei province.

The island covers an area of 20 hectares and was rented by a friend of Mu's more than a decade ago, mainly for sustainable agriculture development.

"It was great to find a place like this near the city to allow my children and myself to escape from urban life for a change," he says.

Mu began to build houses on the island with some of his friends in 2017. The whole project took a year, and now four houses, each with particular features, stand testament to his vision.

Mu's own house covers an area of 60 square meters and resembles a big "X".

"It was built of logs and bolts, at low cost, and blends into the natural landscape," he says.

The house was built to have a life span of at least 40 years. Mu explains that usually the land lease can be renewed after the old one expires.

Because of the shape of Mu's house, the many corners present a different vista of the water-and-mountain scenes. The glass frontage gives the house a reflective mirror-like quality so you see the surroundings even with your back turned to them as you approach the building.

"I tried to make it as something that's one with nature," Mu says.

The idea is to let the house blend into its surroundings. One surprising feature is that the house doesn't have designated bedrooms which means the multipurpose rooms can be adapted at a moment's notice.

"My children can roll around on the floor, barefoot," Mu says.

The weekend hideaway, with plentiful fishing on offer, rabbits frolicking and pheasants dropping in, is just 90 minutes from downtown.

Mu says he wanted his 7-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son to sample the wonders of nature up close and personal.

Mu first considered a country life in 2005, the last year of his architecture studies at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan. He joined a program hosted by celebrated Taiwan architect Hsieh Ying-chun, along with more than 40 architecture students, to build cheap housing for the disadvantaged.

Mu worked with other volunteers to carry steel joists, reinforcement bars and bags of cement for the project in rural Hebei.

The experience provided a valuable lesson in how to turn abstract ideas into brick-and-mortar buildings. He realized the beauty of working the soil for the foundation and turning architectural drawings into something, well, concrete.

"It suddenly dawned on me what architecture is and what architecture I want to do," Mu says.

After graduation, Mu went to work at architectural firms in Spain and Norway to enhance his talent and to gain valuable experience in cultures different from his own. The European experience gave him a taste of nature.

He enjoyed living in a wood cabin, nestled by the sea, in Norway. "Seagulls flapped around before my window, waking me up every morning."

He also got insights into human interaction with nature from an unlikely source.

"All Norwegian kindergartens, even in the depths of winter, have their lunch break outdoors," Mu says. "They value the formative powers of the natural environment, and do not fear the cold or heat."

He was particularly impressed by how children under 5 years of age would sleep next to one another in the fields in freezing weather. He also admired how the children were taken on long hikes in the forest and learned how to set up tents, light fires and make furniture out of branches. It also reminded him of the beauty of his own childhood, when he enjoyed hunting with his father and diving into the sea.

He returned to China in 2010 and was determined that nature would play a role in his career.

In 2013, Mu launched his first project at Wuhan's Tangxun Lake, where more than 30 families have since established homes.

Mu drew sketches, made models and discussed possible plans with them, and then called up parents to actually help construct the homes.

Children got to learn about architecture while giving free rein to their imagination in the process, and parents realized the benefits of hard labor, Mu says.

"We found more parents, especially fathers who wanted to get involved and bond with their children."

Mu launched similar programs over the years. He showed people how to build houses with ropes in forests near Wuhan and held art camps for children during a Sino-French architectural festival.

Mu's activities have attracted increasing attention and admiration and he then got the opportunity to build a theme park, Wiki Tribe, with Sunac China and other institutions. The purpose of the project in Zhejiang province's Huzhou is to allow children and parents from the city and countryside to design and build public buildings.

Mu believes his appreciation of the benefits of nature is making inroads.

"Nature is a very important destination for us, so it should be an integral part of architecture," Mu adds.

He says he hopes his practice can help return architecture from machines to everyone's own bare hands again.

Youngsters team up to construct houses in the Wiki Tribe theme park in Huzhou, Zhejiang province. CHINA DAILY

Families work on new houses by the Tangxun Lake in Wuhan, Hubei province, in 2013. CHINA DAILY

Architect Mu Wei built close-to-nature houses on an island on the outskirts of Wuhan along with some of his friends in 2017. CHINA DAILY

More than 30 families establish their homes by Wuhan's Tangxun Lake during Mu's first project in 2013. CHINA DAILY

CHINA DAILY

Program offers natural response to office stress

2020-01-22 00:00:00

Three numbers entered the online lexicon of workers last year. They denote stress, tension and overwork and are often, but not solely, in the so-called creative industries. You don't have to be a psychologist to know that a lack of sleep impairs creativity. The online phrase "996" refers to the common 12-hour work schedule in the technology industry from 9 am to 9 pm, six days a week.

The expression has aroused controversy and widespread discussion among Chinese youth in cyberspace. It can be summed up by the question: Do I have to pick between living a life or working too hard?

Mounting living pressure on residents in the metropolises, especially people born in the 1980s and 1990s, has unleashed an avalanche of complaints. But help is at hand. Say Hello to Life, a reality show, which first aired on China Central Television in December, may help inspire people to reevaluate their work lives.

The 37-year-old host, from the Uygur ethnic group, Negmat Rehman, also known by his English name Ethan, has made a mark as producer and director.

"This is an era in China that calls for people to work hard," Negmat says. "However, how many of us have seriously thought: What am I working hard for?

"Life deserves our love."

In the 12-episode series, a new one every week, the host leads a group of celebrities touring around China and experiencing a period of leisure time as they stay in home inns and get away from the hustle and bustle of urban life.

They take on different tasks, far removed from their offices. They try their hand as market vendors, hikers, mountaineers and horse riders.

They sometimes embrace nature and just gaze at the starry sky.

They may be masters in their respective fields, but when faced with a garden, these urban residents realize they cannot tell the different varieties of plants.

"In the adult world, many things become invisible, and few people care about questions like 'What is the most beautiful flower in the world?'" says Sa Beining, a TV host who is a guest in the program.

According to Sa, you may get defined by numbers when people keep asking you questions such as about your monthly salary.

"If the world is just materialized, people's mentality will lack appreciation. Pursuit of happiness is beyond making money," Sa adds.

Many viewers left comments, describing Sa as "the Little Prince", the romantic figure from the French novel by Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

And sometimes the guests just sit around dining tables to enjoy good but plain food and chat about their life, as if with a close friend.

Their concerns and ambitions, childhood dreams, romance, difficulties faced when they first came to big cities resemble those of the viewers.

They talk of the hard work and persistence needed to pursue their careers, and discuss how to take care of their aging parents.

All this strikes an emotional resonance among young people.

Negmat says in the show that everyone can leave cities like Beijing or Shanghai for smaller cities as lifestyle choices evolve, but escaping in itself is not enough, he adds.

"I would leave when I choose another way of life."

Talking about romance, Sun Yizhou, a leading actor from popular sitcom Apartment of Love, says healthy relationships require give-and-take and understanding.

As seen in the program, the guests reveal that hometown thoughts can strike unexpectedly, such as when they eat a piece of food that brings back memories. This then leads to what propelled them to start pursuing their ideals in the first place.

Consequently, the show can seem like an arthouse film full of dialogue, which changes from one scenario to the next and occasionally gets philosophical, like US director Richard Linklater's highly praised production Before Sunrise.

"The show aims to talk with young Chinese people," Negmat says. "We sit down together to solve the puzzles brought by life. No one can be fed a so-called right answer because there is no blueprint in life.

"When people share their stories from different perspectives, we can explore more possibilities.

"No one is entitled to tell you: That is how a good life is like, and you just follow it.

"For someone who has taken their life seriously, the best life is not full of grand pictures, but the one highlighting inner peace …and only when you take life seriously, can you become the unique one."

In the show, Say Hello to Life, the host Negmat Rehman (second from left) and his friends sample a relaxing life together. CHINA DAILY

Young actors take center stage

2020-01-22 00:00:00

In the best possible sense, the 9-year-old was caught in a trap－a Von Trapp to be precise. For Ai Liya, now a stage veteran, it all started when the hills came alive with The Sound of Music.

She went to see the premiere of the famous Broadway musical's Chinese remake at Beijing's Poly Theatre in 2016. On stage, the strict Maria Rainer was teaching the music scale to a couple of children of the Von Trapp family. The rest, as they say, is history and known the world over－When you read you begin with "A-B-C", when you sing you begin with "Do-Re-Mi"…

At that moment, the idea of joining the cast grabbed Liya and didn't let go.

She turned to her father and said: "I want to play a part in the show one day."

The story of how Rainer becomes a governess in the home of a widowed naval captain with seven children had captured her heart.

After attending intensive sessions of singing, dancing and acting－and enduring several failed auditions in the following three years－she finally got to star as one of the Von Trapps. She has performed in the show around 20 times.

Liya's father, Ai Changjiu, found out that immersion in the musical world has not only allowed his daughter to sparkle onstage, but also boosted her personality and given her a confident and optimistic outlook on life.

To give more youngsters a creative immersive experience, a winter camp centered around musicals is to be held for nine days in Beijing. It is organized by Seven Ages Investment, a company specializing in the production of Chinese remakes of top musicals.

Some 120 children have applied to take part in the camp, according to Fan Weijian, the education department director of the company.

Musicals are a team effort that require particular individual skills and a large dose of determination. Liya's father recalls that one day, after she failed an audition, instead of seeking comfort from others and wallowing in self-pity, she told her family with steely resolve that she wouldn't give up. She was convinced that no matter how old she was, she could always find a suitable role to play in the musical as it involves characters from varied age groups.

"I suppose some of the credit for her persistence and positive attitude to life should go to the values of honesty, kindness and decency upheld by the musicals she learns from and enjoys, including Les Choristes and Man of La Mancha," says her father.

Ai himself is also a frequent theatergoer. To him, what's special about musicals is that they are a fusion of multiple art forms that allow each individual performer to leverage their own strengths onstage through the expressive power of words, music and gestures, which in turn helps build up their confidence.

He mentions that Liya's younger sister, also an aspiring actress, who has been learning gymnastics, once wowed an audience by doing somersaults in a musical.

"Although she's not the best singer or dancer in the cast, she still got a chance to display what she's adept at on the stage," says Ai.

Ai realizes that every single character which the children portray requires them to develop the ability to understand human behavior, which is excellent for their future development.

Liya adds that she relishes throwing herself into the character she plays.

"When tackling different roles, I am also encouraged to explore more about life's possibilities and find out more about myself," she says.

As if, well, on cue, enter stage right, Liu Lesi is another young actress setting the stage for success.

The Grade 8 student at the Canadian International School of Beijing gave an outstanding performance two months ago, and the rapturous applause after the staging of a musical-comedy at the school on Nov 23 was well-merited.

The 13-year-old starred in the usually male lead role of Buddy, a human who is adopted and raised by Santa's elves. The story－adapted from the hit film Elf－is about how Buddy goes on an adventure to meet his biological father while also spreading Christmas cheer in a world of cynics.

Lesi says she feels extremely proud but was quick to point out the esprit de corps of stage life and the moments of humor.

"I know that if I mess up, there's always somebody to back me up. Somebody needs to help you work through mistakes so that none of the audience would even notice," Lesi says. "I also like the little funny moments that we've shared together, such as the insider jokes we come up with during practice and rehearsal."

Besides, she thinks that as a member of the group, especially in the main role, she has a lot of responsibilities to support her colleagues and ensure, as best she can, a high-quality performance.

CISB has a drama club called Stage Cats which regularly organizes dramatic activities for students to take part in and produces several stage shows every semester.

Li Jiayi, a Grade 7 student who joined the club last year, says that the time she and her schoolmates spent together was actually lots of fun and again stresses the team element.

"The key for a good show is to have energy!" says the 11-year-old, who adds that she and her friends memorize lines together, and they prepare set pieces, design costumes, and do transitions to set the stage for each new act. All this has helped them build good friendships and a great team spirit.

Although more and more international schools and public schools in China have begun to use theater and stage performances to help students develop a wide range of abilities and skills, musical-related education is still in its early stages.

Seven Ages Investment has been exploring approaches to cultivate musical performers via courses and immersion camps since 2017. It has by now offered musical classes to about 3,000 children, according to Fan.

Fan says the company has also helped kindergartens, primary, middle and high schools in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and other major cities in China to set up musical clubs and musical-related curricula.

He points out that China's musical education providers should figure out a well-rounded curriculum featuring solid course content. They also have to overcome barriers like lack of musical teachers and platforms to display children's talents while staging musical works.

"We hope that more Chinese parents and their children will get to know musicals and develop an emotional attachment to the art form," Fan says.

Liu Lesi (front left) and her schoolmates from the Canadian International School of Beijing perform a junior version of the musical Elf in Beijing on Nov 23. CHINA DAILY

Ai Liya, a 12-year-old musical enthusiast, sings during a rehearsal with other young performers in Beijing. CHINA DAILY

A group of kids stage a musical at Shanghai Culture Square in September 2019. CHINA DAILY

A contest where intelligence is the real winner

2020-01-22 00:00:00

For almost half of her life Wang Yuchen lived in a land where the solemn ritual is to proudly stand for the Stars and Stripes, but now the ensign that flutters high above her head is the Five-Starred Red Flag.

On Jan 12, as if to confirm her allegiance to that flag, Wang became an unofficial ambassador for her country, as one of the five champions at the Miss World China Finals in Foshan, Guangdong province.

"I'm not here for the title but for a chance to make a contribution to building my country's soft power," Wang, 23, says in an interview with China Daily after her win, which means she may be chosen, from the five champions, to represent China in the Miss World contest in Thailand in October.

Wang, who is now back studying in China, was among 81 young women from 21 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, many of them college students, who qualified for the Foshan finals.

Wang left China at age 12 and studied in a private school in Boston before graduating with a degree in international political economy from George Washington University in 2019, and came back to study at Tsinghua University. Her academic specialty is the link between sea surface temperatures and salinity and El Nino and La Nina.

Her time overseas gave her a profound insight into how others see China, a grounding that may serve her well in her duties as an unofficial ambassador.

"In my 11 years overseas I encountered some ridiculous, irritating misinterpretations of China, but I didn't know how to change them other than by doing well in my studies," Wang says. "I became aware of how critical it is to have a say in global dialogue. The older I get the more connected I feel to my country. I'm still passionate about changing cultural stereotypes."

Not long after she came back to China she was selected to take part in the National Day parade with 3,513 other students and teachers of Tsinghua University.

"For the first time in my life I stood on the earth of my motherland with so many of my compatriots and was overwhelmed by a strong sense of belonging that brought me to tears."

In contrast, she had never felt any connections with the Miss China contest before, she says, until she learned it is the only official national contest that sends representatives to the Miss World contest.

"This world stage calls for a Chinese face who truly understands different cultures to represent the image of a modern China. I have a competitive edge here, and I should live up to it. I grew up between Chinese and Western cultures, and I regard this as my mission."

Another mission for her is the combat against climate change and the fight to protect the environment. In 2018 she, with a team of 30 others, sailed 4,400 kilometers from Tahiti to Hawaii, crossing the equator, the focus being nautical science and oceanography. The trip brought home to her the urgency of tackling global warming.

In November, as a postgraduate representative of the Global Alliance of Universities on Climate, she gave a speech on how youth can contribute to sustainable development.

"I regard Miss China as a representative of the spirit and sense of responsibility of Chinese youth," Wang says. "The contest is about much more than being tall and beautiful. With or without makeup I am the same person. ... I hope I can make a difference by combining the mission of Miss China with mine."

Another contestant in Foshan intent on breaking stereotypes was Zhao Yulin, 28, of Hubei province, a PhD student in astrophysics at Peking University, who conducts research on supermassive black holes and their host galaxies of quasars.

"The contest slogan 'Beauty with a purpose' touched me," she says. "Many people think women with a PhD are charmless nerds, and I want to prove them wrong."

Challenging social conventions "is a habit". She has a second-degree black belt in karate and once hitchhiked 1,500 kilometers from Rome to Berlin. She also teaches in charity education programs for children of migrant workers supported by the Institute of Physics. During the early rounds of the event in Beijing, she found that this was "not just another beauty pageant". Zhao says: "A lot of importance was attached to my talents and my charity experience, and as I grew in confidence I behaved better in training and became more and more content with my inner self."

Su Wenbin, chairman of the event's organizing committee and executive director and general manager of the New Silk Road (Beijing) Model Management Co Ltd, says: "A lot of bewildering beauty pageants may have left people with the impression that appearance is all that matters in these contests. But for us, cultural confidence is important.

"We gauge contestants on talent, intelligence, team spirit and other things, through various tasks, such as movie shooting, striding down catwalks and group dancing, and endeavor to improve their artistic aesthetic taste. We are looking for representatives of China's youth."

The runner-up in this year's contest, Chi Lihan, 23, who studies accounting for a master's degree at Northeast Agricultural University in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, says: "The contest is going to be a turning point in my life. I found what I'm good at and passionate about, and saw other possibilities for my career."

Chi did a one-year part-time course in model training when she was 16, and was once keen on becoming a professional model, something her parents opposed. After obtaining a bachelor's degree in social work, she worked as a volunteer teacher in Altay, the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, and set up a course aimed at helping middle school students improve their bearing and gain a greater appreciation of aesthetic taste.

"In the future I want to do more charity work creatively with my passion for the fashion industry," she says.

Another of the finalists, Chen Xin, 19, who studies at Beijing Sport University, says: "I could never have gained so much confidence and friendship other than in this contest."

There were many surprises in this year's contestants, Su says. "It is not the contest that defines them, but they who decide exactly what Miss China means."

He Ying, a member of the Academic Advisory Committee of Tsinghua University's Institute for Cultural Economy, says: "As China's economic strength grows, soft power needs to keep abreast of it. Strengthening Chinese cultural confidence calls for these students to step forward. They epitomize China's modern young women and the power of China's youth."

Wang Yuchen (center) wins the East Champion award and the Most Popular Contestant title at the Miss World China Finals held in Foshan, Guangdong province, on Jan 12. CHINA DAILY

A group of finalists of the Miss World China Finals at the National Arts Studios in Foshan, Guangdong province. CHINA DAILY

Zhao Yulin (front), a PhD student in astrophysics at Peking University, in rehearsal before the final contest. CHINA DAILY

Wang Yuchen hosts a seminar on China's energy policies at Tsinghua University on Nov 17. CHINA DAILY

Chi Lihan, runner-up at the Miss World China Finals and a student from Northeast Agricultural University, performs a dance in the contest. CHINA DAILY

TikTok trend tantalizes teens in Uruguay

2020-01-22 00:00:00

MONTEVIDEO－According to the profile of the average Uruguayan internet user, which Radar consultancy prepares each year, young people's attention span for social media content is 1.7 seconds. It's hard to attract and keep their attention, but a Chinese application has managed to win over young people in Uruguay.

TikTok, a short-form video platform for smartphones, is no longer a well-kept secret among teenagers in Uruguay, as greater numbers of adolescents take to the user-friendly tool.

"I think that in 2020 it will take off in Uruguay," says Diego Barcia, manager in Uruguay and Chile of strategic social media communication agency Nicestream. "Some important brands in the world of football and entertainment are asking us for it."

Launched in 2016 in China as Douyin, TikTok allows users to create and share short videos with background music and edit them with time effects and filters－features that made it stand out worldwide.

"It's a super cool app that lets you share ephemeral content. That's what is attracting youth the most," Barcia says.

Among those interested in incorporating TikTok into their social media strategies is the Uruguayan Football Association, Barcia says. "We have a team at Nicestream working on it," he says. "We are looking at what type of strategy can have the most traction, because we are all new to the app.

"The struggle to retain users watching your content is great. It's quite the challenge for social networks and it's evident (that) TikTok is doing that well, because it is making progress in a fish tank full of sharks."

In October, Uruguay's national soccer team partnered with TikTok. Without promotion and with little content, the team succeeded in gaining 11,000 followers in just a few months, which is an "auspicious beginning", says Martin Sarthou, communications manager of the team. "We are not exploiting it yet and there is a very good base."

The team has so far produced little "native language" content on the platform, Sarthou says, but that should change this year with the incorporation of a platform specialist, who is also a "fan" that understands the team.

Noel Nuez, general director of TikTok for Spain and South America, described the incorporation of the national team as "a great opportunity to connect Uruguayan football with a global audience on the platform", which reaches around 150 markets in 75 languages.

Claudio Facelli, 26, is Uruguay's top user on the platform, with about half a million followers, and promotes a group called Urutokers that gathers popular local users of the app. Facelli is also known online as Claudinio.

The group has become more active, Facelli says, and "lots of things have started happening and brands are approaching us", proving the power of the popular social platform.

Xinhua

Near feeling of distant space

2020-01-21 00:00:00

An immersive exhibition inspired by the Three-Body trilogy, China's best-selling science-fiction novels, and seen as "rendering for audiences the true feeling of being surrounded in the re-created scenarios in the books" by Hugo Award-winning author Liu Cixin, made its global debut in Shanghai on Jan 10.

Shi Fei, board chairman of Shanghai Zun'an Tongheng Cultural and Creative Development, the exhibition's organizer, says the show is dedicated to re-creating some scenes from the books with the help of technology following a year's preparation with 27 curators and artists from different countries.

"We strove to present the fabulous experience that the magic and magnificence of the trilogy renders for its readers in a spiritual world, with multidimensional senses－combining visual, audio and video interactions," Shi adds.

The exhibition replicated six iconic scenes in the trilogy, the first book of which, The Three-Body Problem, won the Hugo Award in 2015. The trilogy presents an extraordinary story, describing a vast universe where civilizations rise and fall and also present infinite possibilities.

"It was very exciting to experience the exhibition, and it was like browsing through the trilogy spanning 18.9 million years within minutes," says Shi.

Unlike exhibitions related to paintings or sculptures, the Shanghai show is an attempt to turn pure imagination into something physical and arouse people's emotional resonance through a creative atmosphere, says Xu Chuan, one of the curators.

Liu, the books' author, is impressed by the scenarios presented at the show, including water drips, planets, severe winter and distant space, saying they are close to what he had in his mind while writing the novels.

"I am also impressed by the curators' creative, interactive and diverse ways of presenting the words from the books. I feel the words have come alive, empowered by technology and art," he adds.

There are various ways words from the books are presented in the exhibition. For example, when visitors stand in front of a large screen that looks like the books' pages, they can turn the "pages" by swinging their arms. And in front of another screen, a signature sentence from a book flows to the ground, character by character, in its original Chinese, like a running stream.

The trilogy has been published in at least 25 languages and has sold over 20 million copies worldwide. Celebrity fans include former US president Barack Obama and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

Yang Yuanfei, a woman born in the 1990s, who visited the exhibition, says the trilogy "provided a utopia beyond real life on Earth".

"Someone said that any book could be turned into a movie, except the Three-Body trilogy, the first masterpiece in Chinese science fictions to attain international acclaim. It also seemed hard to reveal the vast outlook in the books through an exhibition, so I really looked forward to it," she adds.

The exhibition covers an area of nearly 2,000 square meters, spanning three floors of Shanghai Tower, the world's second-tallest and China's tallest building, situated in the Lujiazui Finance Area of the metropolis.

"The 132-story Shanghai Tower also shows magic of engineering. Its size is equivalent to the waterfront buildings along the Bund (in Shanghai), and it's a vertical city that has the capacity to accommodate 35,000 people," says Gu Jianping, general manager of Shanghai Tower Construction and Development.

The exhibition will run through February 2021. Other Chinese cities, such as Beijing, Shenzhen, Taiyuan, Xi'an, Wuhan, Shenyang and Ningbo, as well as Tokyo and Osaka in Japan, have approached the organizers to invite the exhibition to tour their cities, Shi says.

"The popularity of the novels shows people's common interest in exploring the infinities of space and time through our lives. I encourage people to look at our lives, the past and the future from a higher perspective," Liu says. "As a science-fiction novelist, I keep reminding myself to not get trapped by pressures of trivial, daily life and to maintain curiosity about things from afar."

A pyramid-like display in the exhibition depicts the "three-body game", which is based on common laws of the survival and development of civilizations throughout history, from Liu Cixin's book, Three-body Problem. CHINA DAILY

Visitors stand in an interactive zone in the exhibition that depicts "at the end of time" from Liu Cixin's book, Three-body Problem. CHINA DAILY

Writer Liu Cixin visits the Shanghai show. CHINA DAILY

Artist draws heartfelt lessons from the world

2020-01-21 00:00:00

In a world facing increasing conflict and instability, a Chinese Canadian is sending messages of love and peace through his artwork.

William Ho, 60, who arrived in Canada from Hong Kong 42 years ago, teaches Chinese brush painting at his art gallery in Unionville, Markham, a suburb of Toronto.

He is known as a goodwill ambassador of love and hope, and founder of One Heart Beat, a global initiative to help needy people and vulnerable children through art, culture and relief work.

The United Nations invited Ho to exhibit his art and his masterpiece, also called One Heart Beat, at its headquarters in New York in 2006, and he then became a global partner of the UN.

"This one heartbeat that all humanity shares has been demonstrated by a single stroke in Chinese ink, symbolizing the simple truth that we, as one global family, are all interconnected by the common heartbeat," he illustrates.

His one-stroke painting One Heart Beat is currently on display at the UN headquarters, the Canadian National Museum of Civilization, Beijing University and cities across the world.

Ho has been doing Chinese art and Chinese brush painting for more than 50 years and teaching for more than 30. He has over 3,000 students from around the world.

"I actually started with Western art when I was younger, working on pencil drawing, oil painting and water color. However, after I encountered Chinese brush painting a couple of years later, my eyes and mind were enlightened," Ho recalls.

Chinese brush painting has utilized almost all the colors going back at least 2,000 years. In many instances, Ho says that it is Western painting and artists learning through or being influenced by Chinese painting. Monet and his Water Lilies series is one good example, Ho says.

Chinese and Western artists should respect, appreciate and learn from each other, Ho says. "Self respect and mutual respect are the keys for real cultural exchange and global harmony."

Ho's artworks embody his philosophy that every life is non-replaceable and precious; people of different races, religious affiliations and beliefs should all be respected, as global harmony is rooted in global and local mutual respect.

That is a reason he emphasizes that "lives can be the most beautiful masterpieces of art, and art can be living".

Ho says one of his passions and missions is to bring Chinese culture "back" to the center stage of the world, as it had been for thousands of years.

"Being of Chinese descent, on one hand, we're very proud of our 5,000 years of history and civilization. On the other hand, we have a painful history marked by weaknesses and humiliation more than a century ago," Ho says.

A principle of ancient Chinese wisdom has been: "Don't overstate ourselves; don't understate ourselves".

"Non-Chinese people, particularly Western people, often misunderstand other cultures, particularly Chinese culture," Ho says. "They prefer to self-believe and they think they understand when, in fact, they have half-knowledge or half-understanding."

One of the themes in Ho's speeches delivered at the UN headquarters, the Canadian parliament and Beijing University was "position well China, and position well the world".

Ho says that some countries demand special treatment from the world or the international court in the name of democracy and freedom.

"This mentality is sick, selfish and bad. The people of the world and Mother Nature are saying no to the greedy. In fact, the whole world cannot afford these types of demands. We as a global family wouldn't allow this to happen.

"The double standard behavior may violate basic human rights, human standards, equality, democracy and freedom. The truth is everyone in this world is born equal and should be treated equally, fairly and with mutual respect," Ho says.

Contrary to greed, Chinese culture believes that "less is more".

"We create paintings not only through the expression of the look or form of the subjects, but more importantly, through the void, emptiness and nothingness－spaces of imagination," he says.

From his perspective, there are three pillars of Chinese culture: Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism, with Confucian thinking predominant. But in Chinese brush painting, Taoism has more influence.

"We respect, treasure and learn from nature as our teacher. Nature, in general, includes human lives, landscape, animals and plants, (which) have been our traditional subject matter in art and painting," he observes.

Ho believes that a true Chinese outlook consists of wisdom, principles, freedom, romance and creativity.

William Ho and his masterpiece of One Heart Beat exhibited at the United Nations. CHINA DAILY

Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations in US city

2020-01-21 00:00:00

CHICAGO－Chicago will celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year citywide from Friday to Feb 9 with cultural performances, colorful parades and special events to usher in the Year of the Rat, according to organizers.

The celebrations will start with an opening event at the Chicago Cultural Center on Friday.

Following the Chinese New Year Concert that will debut at the Chicago Symphony Center on Sunday, jointly presented by the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra and the Zhejiang Shaoju Opera Theater, the Aon Grand Ballroom in Navy Pier will be turned into a festive marketplace featuring decor, costumes, music and dance performances, and traditional Chinese food and crafts. Two parades will be held in Chinatown and the Uptown neighborhood, when marching bands, colorful floats and lion dances will convey the festive mood of Lunar New Year to local residents.

The Art Institute of Chicago will host a multigenerational event to celebrate the Year of the Rat, featuring creation, music, games, an art demonstration, a performance about the animals of the Chinese zodiac, and gallery talks in English and Mandarin.

The Chinese Fine Arts Society will host a lantern procession through Millennium Park to Maggie Daley Park, followed by more activities, such as a lion dance, art creation and ice skating.

The Chicago Blackhawks will join the Chicago Bulls to celebrate Lunar New Year during its game with the Winnipeg Jets this year. Traditional Chinese lion and dragon dances will be staged during the game. Throughout the citywide celebrations, visitors to Fashion Outlets of Chicago and The Shops at North Bridge in downtown will receive red envelopes containing exclusive Lunar New Year offers from participating stores.

"Chinese New Year is the most important traditional festival for the Chinese people, embodying our cultural traditions and aesthetic values," says Chinese consul general in Chicago Zhao Jian.

Zhao says shows by Chinese art groups that have visited and performed in Chicago for Lunar New Year celebrations in previous years not only brought the opportunity to enjoy the glamour of Chinese culture but also "enhanced the mutual understanding and friendship between our two peoples".

"Chinese New Year is always a cultural highlight for the city of Chicago," says David Whitaker, Choose Chicago's president and CEO. "The festivities and celebrations that mark the Chinese New Year holiday are a great way to showcase the artistic excellence of the participating cultural institutions and celebrate our special relationship with both Chinese visitors and our local Chinese community that calls Chicago home."

Mark Kelly, commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events of Chicago's city government, says: "Chicago's Chinatown is one of the largest in North America. Chicago is a proud home of such a vibrant Chinese community that celebrates its rich culture (and) traditions with gusto."

2020 will be the seventh year in a row for the third-largest city in the United States to celebrate Lunar New Year, which falls on Saturday this year.

A visitor views artworks at a recent exhibition as part of a 2020"Happy Chinese New Year" program in San Francisco. XINHUA

Models present hanfu, or traditional Chinese attire, to audiences in San Francisco to celebrate the upcoming Lunar New Year. XINHUA

An Italian exchange

2020-01-21 00:00:00

China and Italy will join hands to launch more than 100 programs during their bilateral culture and tourism year of 2020.

The programs will cover performances and visual art, cultural heritage, tourism and creative design. It'll kick off in Rome on Tuesday and conclude in Beijing by the end of this year.

Top Chinese artists and symphony orchestras will give performances in Italy, and a China-Italy world heritage photography exhibition will be held to mark the opening of the culture and tourism year.

An important part of the yearlong program, the China-Italy tourism forum, will be held on Tuesday. More than 400 high-level government officials, international tourism organizations, educational institutions and think tanks will discuss tourism cooperation and management.

The Palace Museum and the National Museum of China will host exhibitions from Italy, while Chinese Terracotta Warriors will march to Italy.

Other highlights include a Chinese paper-art exhibition at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in the historical center of Naples, which will run until the middle of February, and a China pavilion at the Venice architecture biennale between May and November.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The yearlong event was jointly announced by President Xi Jinping and Italian President Sergio Mattarella during Xi's visit to Italy in March 2019.

The culture and tourism year aims to boost bilateral cultural exchanges, cooperation and people-to-people relations, paving the way for the further development of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Italy, says Zheng Hao, a senior official of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China.

The two countries have made important strides in cultural exchanges and cooperation over the years, including long-term exhibitions at each other's national museums and the twinning of UNESCO World Heritage sites.

"It all reflects the high-level and groundbreaking cultural cooperation between China and Italy," Zheng says, adding that it has injected impetus into the development of bilateral relations.

The two countries both abound in profound cultural heritage and tourism resources, including 55 UNESCO World Heritage sites each.

Now, several sites in both China and Italy are discussing the potential for making films and hosting exhibitions.

The twinning of World Heritage sites on both sides will be a main attraction, because it will mean more tourists and will boost cultural tourism, says Luca Ferrari, Italian ambassador to China.

There will also be a series of Italian concerts and exhibitions in China, he adds.

Ferrari believes there are many fields where China and Italy can work together.

"From the cultural point of view, I think there's an enormous amount of space in modern and contemporary art," Ferrari says.

He believes the new cooperation will be among talented young Chinese and Italian artists.

Ferrari says a lot can be done to increase bilateral tourism in both countries.

Italy has increased its capacity for issuing visas, flights and providing attractions for Chinese.

In 2019, the number of visas granted to Chinese tourists increased by 20 percent, and the country received more than 3 million Chinese travelers.

"Italy has become, as of the end of 2019, the No 1 tourist attraction in Europe to Chinese tourists," Ferrari says, adding that Chinese love Italy for its art and culture, friendly people and culinary delights.

The two countries' aviation bodies have also agreed to increase the number of weekly flights between China and Italy from 56 to 164, connecting China with more relatively smaller cities, including Venice, Bologna and Pisa, in addition to Milan and Rome.

Italy is working on attracting Chinese visitors outside the normal tourism seasons and to areas beyond the major art cities.

"We have a lot of resorts, and we have the beautiful Mediterranean Sea. There are plenty of attractions for Chinese tourism," Ferrari says.

The head of the China Tourism Academy, Dai Bin, believes the two countries have a lot to share and learn from each other.

"China and Italy are both ancient civilizations with the highest volume of the world's cultural heritage sites," Dai says.

"Italy has a lot to teach other countries in the field of cultural-heritage protection, inheritance and use."

China can draw on Italy's experience to protect its cultural heritage, such as the Palace Museum, the Great Wall and the Grand Canal, while better integrating culture and tourism, Dai says.

At the same time, China has successful experience in fast tourism development to share.

The country's digital and smart-tourism development, featuring big data, mobile internet and well-known online travel-service providers, such as Ctrip and Mafengwo, has drastically changed travelers' habits and consumption, Dai says.

Clockwise from top: Dubbed the "floating city", Venice consists of 118 small islands connected by canals and bridges. The Arch of Constantine is a triumphal arch in Rome built to commemorate Constantine I's victory at the Battle of Milvian Bridge in 312. Rome draws numerous tourists from home and abroad with its culture, history and UNESCO World Heritage sites. XU LIN/CHINA DAILY

Homecoming can be a journey of discovery

2020-01-21 00:00:00

The lure of the hometown remains strong for those who left, seeking opportunity amid pastures new. Visiting a place that we left can bring a kaleidoscope of emotions.

After staying in the capital as a beipiao (Beijing drifter), a term used for those struggling at the periphery, for nine years, singer Qin Hao announced on his Sina Weibo account on Dec 25 that he had moved back to his hometown in Southwest China's Chongqing city.

Like many who took the same journey, the 34-year-old has mixed feelings toward his hometown. He was once impatient to leave and applied to study, at 19, at Jilin Animation Institute in North China's Jilin province, far away from his hometown. He drifted in Beijing for nearly a decade.

In 2017, Qin went back to his hometown for a month to explore the relationship between himself and where he grew up. He put down his feelings on paper and took scores of photos, which are collected in a recently published book Dear Passersby.

In 2010, Qin who had tried various jobs, like illustrator, photographer and art teacher in several cities after graduating in 2009, organized a folk music band called Good Meimei with Zhang Xiaohou who worked as an engineer at that time. They then gave up their jobs and went full time into making the band a success. Their first album Spring Time, which cost only 2,000 yuan ($291) to make, sold 5,000 copies in 2012.

The songs of Good Meimei are melodious, soft and warm, a far cry from his upbringing.

"Qin sometimes recalls his childhood in an amusing tone, but nobody knows how many tears he shed and the sense of helplessness in his early life," says online message board Zhihu user Miao'er, a fervent fan. "I want to have a time travel and embrace the lonely boy."

He grew up with his grandparents in Chongqing before attending university. His parents got divorced when he was quite young. Then they formed other families and had more children, leaving them little time to take care of Qin. His mother passed away when he was 11.

His childhood memory in Chongqing is linked to uncomfortable physical feelings. "Being carsick and allergic were my abiding memories, and I always found things outdated there, which made me feel tired of the place."

The dislike may explain his unwillingness to speak in the local dialect. "Most Chongqing people are used to speaking in their dialect instead of Mandarin, but I was the one who insisted on speaking Mandarin at school and was often laughed at by others," says Qin.

After he chose to study in Jilin, his grandparents moved to Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province, where Qin's aunt lived. Qin went there to spend summer and winter vacations with them every year.

Unfortunately, his grandfather died in a traffic accident in Xi'an when Qin was a sophomore. His grandmother sold their house and bought another one in Xi'an to help her recover from the grief.

In 2015, Qin's band played in the capital's Workers' Stadium, attracting 40,000 people. It marked a huge stride in the band's development. "Since the concert, I began to seriously make music my career," says Qin.

The band went from strength to strength after the concert.

Qin could then afford to rent a larger house in Beijing, and his grandmother came to live with him.

During the 2017 Chongqing trip, Qin found his view of his hometown had developed. "Although I didn't like and left it at a young age, now I find it prosperous and beautiful. After drifting for 13 years, I suddenly want to be close to it."

He also finds traces of hometown in himself, like the choice of food or a habit of speaking fast.

He is willing to give it another go. "I try to gain a sense of ownership through having my own house there, a space of my own that can nurture my spirit. I cannot afford a satisfying one in Beijing. And my grandmother says she wants to return."

After the tour, Qin gained a new understanding of his relationship with his hometown. "We may not belong to a place forever, but we can become a regular visitor of the place. I was rebellious when I was young and left it, but now I feel grateful for its influence on me."

Qin's move to Chongqing marked a new starting point in his life. His band is also welcoming a beginning with its new song Primordial Color.

"Stepping into 2020, our band has now been established for 10 years. This song opens a new chapter in our development, and we will try to make songs with new styles," says Qin.

Singer Qin Hao, a member of Good Meimei band. CHINA DAILY

Dear Passersby, a book written by Qin Hao to explore his relationship with his hometown, Chongqing. CHINA DAILY

The plum blossom, our greatest 'friend' of the winter

2020-01-21 00:00:00

If anyone had ever told me as a child growing up in the United States that a flower could flourish in the coldest days of winter, a flower that bloomed straight from the bare branches of a tree, I would have thought they had a vivid imagination or a penchant for spinning tall tales.

Yet years ago in late February, while strolling the eastern shores of the West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, with my husband, Jun, I encountered a spray of brilliant pink petals cascading over tree branches, which looked as artfully windswept as a bonsai. That striking shade, more typical of spring and summer flowers, seemed utterly defiant against the melancholy gray of the overcast sky and the mournful silhouettes of other trees, their leafless limbs stretched upward as if praying for an end to the chill of the season.

I almost didn't believe my eyes at first. Surely flowers couldn't bloom like that, direct from the branch, without the usual green leaves? And how could they thrive in this weather, where temperatures that hovered just above freezing had led us to don our warmest down jackets and even hats?

After my astonishment, I felt a certain appreciation for this ethereal beauty before me, painting the otherwise dreary February landscape into such a gloriously hopeful hue, promising better times just around the corner.

That is the power of the plum blossom, one of the most distinctive and cherished flowers in China.

My initial encounter with the plum blossom would lead me to seek it out in subsequent winters in Hangzhou, longing for the heartening sight of its flowers in the deepest cold of the season in January and February. On one trail through Xixi wetlands just after snowfall, my husband and I encountered a grove of trees adorned with rows of creamy yellow plum blossoms. While not as splendid in color as those I first viewed beside the West Lake, these flowers perfumed the air in a beguiling fragrance full of optimism, even amid the bleak white scene all around us. I inhaled the scent with greedy breaths, knowing that these flowers would only remain a short time and the first blooms of spring still wouldn't emerge for weeks if not months.

In China, people have long known plum blossoms as one of the "three friends of winter", or sui han san you, along with the evergreen pine trees and bamboo. These "friends "retain a certain vitality easily forgotten in this most trying season of the year. Among the three, the plum blossom stands out as my favorite. There's a Chinese saying: The fragrance of the plum blossom comes from the bitterness of winter. Is there any more marvelous symbol for resilience than a flower that unfurls its aromatic petals despite the frigid temperatures and the snow? I have found great inspiration in remembering the spirit of the plum blossom－that even in the "winter" of life's challenges, we can find the strength to bloom and grow, displaying our own beauty to the world despite the hardships.

January and February bring with them the bluster of winter, which can overwhelm even the best of us at times and dampen our cheer. But nature has endowed the Earth with a trio of winter wonders that light our way through this season, and that includes the plum blossom. A tree, bereft of any signs of life on its branches, can still produce such a dazzling array of sweet-scented flowers as frost threatens the world around it, standing as a miracle and one of the greatest "friends" of winter.

Jocelyn Eikenburg

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