Taiwan's Shu to partner with Liu in A Beautiful Life

Taiwan actress Shu Qi and mainland actor Liu Ye will partner again after their cooperation in Years without Epidemic in 2003, and Blood Brothers in 2007.

In A Beautiful Life, a tear-jerking tale about love to hit cinemas on May 20, Shu plays a Hong Kong girl who falls in love with a Beijing policeman, who gets Alzheimer's, played by Liu.

The star of numerous romantic films in recent years, 35-year-old Shu denies rumors that she is dating 29-year-old Taiwan actor Eddie Peng, saying she is old for him.

Chinese artists app is a worldwide success

The Chinese Artists' Work Collection app has been released in Beijing by Artdepot, allowing collectors to check out the works of Chinese artists.

So far, it features the works of 12 contemporary artists, in addition to supplying personal information, photos of exhibitions and studios.

As of press time, the app had been downloaded 30,000 times in 96 countries. The project aims to bring Chinese contemporary art to the world in a new, environmentally friendly and efficient way.

Imitation is the sincerest form of celebrity flattery

The China Millennium Monument in Beijing recently opened its Celebrities Sculptures Gallery. The first group of sculptures include Laotzu, Confucius, Qu Yuan and the architect Liang Sicheng, Peking Opera artist Mei Lanfang, artist Xu Beihong and writer Lu Xun.

Each of the bronze sculptures is some 20 cm taller than the real figure.

Liang's second wife Lin Zhu and his children, Mei's son Mei Baojiu, Xu's son Xu Qingping and family members, were among those attending the opening ceremony.

The China Millennium Monument plans to make the gallery a room for visitors to pay tribute to important cultural figures in China's history.

Forum focuses attention on copyrights for musicians

Our Voice - China Music Copyright Forum, hosted by rock singer-songwriter Wang Feng, is taking place in Beijing. A music copyright trade center for background music, the first of its kind, will also be launched.

Wang says the copyrights of music have been flouted in China for many years and the law does not protect musicians.

"Many great Chinese musicians cannot get the rewards they deserve, which is harmful for the development of Chinese music," he says.

"Copyrights should be respected and protected."

Kunqu Opera course develops interest in art form

Due to the optional course Traditional Kunqu Operas Appreciation at Peking University, The Peony Pavilion, an all-student version of the opera, was staged earlier this month for the first time.

The appreciation course is part of The Succession Plan of Kunqu Opera with Peking University, launched in 2009 to promote the old art form.

Scholar Bai Xianyong, who has devoted himself to the development of Kunqu Opera for more than two decades, decided to roll out the course at Peking University after his adapted version of The Peony Pavilion in 2005 was well received there.

With experts and performing artists as guest lecturers, the course has been popular since it opened in March 2010.

Kunqu Opera is endangered and its appreciation needs to be developed among the younger generation, Bai said.