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Yan does it again

Veteran actress Yan Bingyan won best actress at the 13th Lily Awards hosted by CCTV Channel 6, or the Movie Channel on May 3. Yan has recently won best actress at the 3rd Beijing International Film Festival on April 23 for her same role in Feng Shui, an emotional drama about a woman's frustrated life. The film was the biggest winner at the Lily award ceremony in Beijing, garnering also best picture and best screenplay. Li Yixiang and Zhang Duo shared the best actor awards. The Movie Channel initiated the awards in 2001, which have been known for encouraging medium and small budget films.

Sails in the sky

About 160 expatriates - mostly foreign diplomats and exchange students - tried their hands at making and flying their own kites at the Old Summer Palace during the May Day holiday. The event is part of "Beijing Salon -Experience Beijing" program, launched earlier this year for expatriates in Beijing to experience Chinese traditional cultural hands-on. Sponsored by Beijing This Month Publications and Beijing Foreign Cultural Exchanges Center, the program had previously organized three other events related to Kunqu Opera, Chinese Lantern Festival and Chinese traditional music.

Night of stars

Nine Grammy Award winners will perform at a concert in Chengdu Sports Center, Sichuan province on June 8. They include Michael Bolton, Leo Sayer, Jody Watley and Richard Mark. The singers will perform their classics, which are popular among Chinese audiences. Directed by Chen Weiya and produced by Zhu Ha, the concert will also see Chinese musicians sharing the stage. Grammy President Neil Portnow and officials from the award committee will come to China with the nine Grammy stars. According to Ye Dan, general manager of Chengdu Performing Arts Group Company, the concert has been planned for over a year. Previously unseen video clips of late pop legends Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston will also be unveiled at the concert.

Cultural volunteers

The Ministry of Culture and the Central Guidance Commission for Building Spiritual Civilization of the Communist Party of China have jointly launched the "Year of Basic Level Service of Cultural Volunteers". In 2013, 167 cultural projects will be carried out as part of the program, including 500 performances, exhibitions and lectures. Fourteen national arts organizations will organize 2,100 volunteers to serve in 31 "national demonstration areas of public cultural service system" throughout China.

Green lung effort

Tibet aims to have more than 600 hectares of forestry, and has encouraged people to chip in. The China Environmental Protection Foundation and Lux have just initiated the "Green Hada" campaign. To achieve the goal, they are asking people to donate 1 yuan and to take responsibility for the environment of a 1-square-meter plot of land. "It's an accumulative effort," says Li Wei, secretary of CEPF, "but it will effectively change the ecosystem and local landscape for the better."

Short film contest

The first Wuhan Micro Film Contest kicked off recently, under the theme "the beautiful Chinese dream". It was jointly organized by the Wuhan government, China Film Association and the Beijing Film Academy. Contestants are called to submit short films of between 5 to 30 minutes that are produced this year. The deadline is June 30, when experts will shortlist 100 productions. The contest is then opened for voting by netizens in the following two months. The results will be unveiled in mid-September, with prizes ranging from 50,000 ($8,000) to 250,000 yuan.

Young designers' show

The China Graduate Fashion Week was held in Beijing 751 D Park recently, with more than 610 young graduates from 22 institutes showcasing their creations. The event aimed to provide a platform for young designers to present their collections. It included fashion shows, seminars and exhibitions. The fashion week also attracted international partners such as Australia-based Woolmark Company, which has a mission to inspire young designers to create new garments that utilize unique natural wool, a more eco-friendly material.

Calling all green talents

The Ministry of Environmental Protection and the world's largest brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev, announced recently the opening of this year's recruitment of green talents in Beijing. The project aims to look for students dedicated to environmental protection and match them with green companies. Three student groups presented their green ideas involving recycling of boxes used in delivery and trading trash for vegetables. A leader of water saving in the beverage industry, the brewer said investment in green talents equals investment in the future.