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China Daily USA | Updated: 2014-07-10 07:17

Han Han's film debut

The directing debut of blogger and author Han Han will be released on July 24. The Continent, or Hou Hui Wu Qi, literally translates as "We will not meet soon". Producer Fang Li says it will appeal to a diverse audience. "It's a movie about romance and adventure," he says. "However, it is filled with Han's sense of humor that we know from his writing." Han, 32, who is also a well-known race car driver, says he has a dream to make a movie about cars. "It's a complicated road movie, which combines humor and sadness, and it's hard to compare it with other traditional comedies," Han says.

Shang's boy band

Singer-songwriter Shang Wenjie aims to form a Chinese boy band that will be able to compete with popular boy bands from other Asian countries, such as Japan and South Korea. She selected 12 young men from a contest recently held in Beijing. The chosen people were born between 1990 and 2000, and were selected from among 50,000 applicants. They will receive training in singing and dancing before officially becoming a group. Shang, 32, rose to fame after winning the popular singing contest Super Girl on Hunan Satellite TV eight years ago. She now heads her own studio.

Badminton without borders

The Danish embassy hosted a friendly badminton tournament on Tuesday with the Danish Badminton Inspiration Team 2014, Chinese badminton fans from the embassy's social-media platforms and students from Beijing Sport University. The Danish team, with 12 players between 19 and 26 years old, is touring badminton clubs, universities and schools in China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. The goal is to promote friendly competition and people-to-people exchanges through sports ahead of the Li-Ning BWF World Championships 2014 that open in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Aug 25.

Celebrating Chinese culture

The 48th annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival closed in Washington on Sunday, attracting about 1 million people from all over the world. The two-week event had the theme "China: Tradition and the Art of Living", and visitors experienced the living traditions of the world's most populous country. Some 120 Chinese folk artists, including musicians, dancers, craftspeople and cooks, displayed how the Chinese, despite current changes and pressures, are working to preserve and adapt their traditional culture. The Smithsonian Folklife Festival, inaugurated in 1967, honors people from across the US and around the world and celebrates the diversity of cultural traditions.

Cycling fest in Yanqing

The third Beijing cycling culture festival will be held at Yanqing county, Beijing, from Sept 12 to 14. Organized by Haosi International Group and the Yanqing local county government, the annual event celebrates bicycle culture in the capital. "It's the most efficient, cost-effective, and enjoyable form of transport there is," says Li Xianzhong, head of Yanqing county, about 70 kilometers north of downtown Beijing. "It is also the best way to enjoy this fabulous countryside scenery around Yanqing." During the festival, the Beijing International Cycle Expo 2014 will also be held at Yanqing Badaling Exhibition Center, where 80 bicycle companies are expected to participate.

Guzheng prodigy

Guzheng (zither) player Lin Li, 22, recently gave a recital at the Peking University Hall to celebrate her graduation from the school. She played a dozen classical guzheng songs and rearranged a few pop songs. Lin started to learn guzheng, the traditional Chinese plunked instrument, at age 7 and won her first national award for a junior player at 9. She furthered her training with Zhou Wang and Zhou Zhan, two renowned guzheng musicians. Lin did not go to a music conservatory but studied at the School of International Studies of Peking University.