Italian Renaissance Art on Display in Beijing

A collection of Italian art from the Renaissance period went on display on March 27 at the Capital Museum in Beijing. The exhibition “Art， Culture， and Daily Life in Renaissance Italy” features 102 works from 17 Italian museums and institutes including the Uffizi Gallery， the National Museum of Bargello， and Galleria Nazionale dellUmbria.

The exhibition includes paintings from artists such as Tiziano Vecelli （also known as Titian）， Sandro Botticelli， and Pietro Perugino， as well as a wide variety of other items from the Renaissance period， most of which are here in China for the first time， according to Federica Zalabra， curator of the exhibition. Some Roman sculptures and Byzantine paintings are also on display， allowing Chinese visitors to understand the evolution of Renaissance art， Zalabra said.

“The exhibition uses paintings to introduce architecture and urban planning in Italy during the Renaissance. Visitors can see how architects applied the golden ratio and geometric perspective in architectural design，”said Huang Xueyin， deputy curator of the Capital Museum. The exhibition will last until June 22.

Chinese Kung Fu Show in Greece

A group of Buddhist monks from Chinas Shaolin Temple showed off their Kung Fu skills to a Greek audience on March 30， demonstrating traditional Chinese martial arts. The monks， who impressed the world with their performance during the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing， performed at the Taekwondo Stadium， a venue of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

The performance， titled“Shaolin： The Legend，” is part of the program of the 2017 Greece-China Year of Cultural Exchanges and Cooperation of Creative Industries aimed at bridging the two countries and peoples through culture.

“We have been practicing for this performance for three months. Our aim is to show the legacy of the Shaolin culture through this show to audiences，” said Master Sun Fusheng. Shaolin Temple has been at the heart of Chinese martial arts for centuries.

The new production showcased the strength of the human body， and reminded the audience of many Chinese Kung Fu films like Crouching Tiger， Hidden Dragon， Hero， and House of Flying Daggers. The audience was amazed by the skills of the Chinese Kung Fu masters who flew through the air performing back flips， balancing on the tip of spears， and splintering wooden blocks with their bare hands.

Macao Orchestra Stages Performance in Myanmar

The Macao Orchestra from Chinas Macao Special Administrative Region （SAR） held its first ever concert in Myanmars Yangon. Held at the Strand Hotel on March 30， the concert was jointly organized by the Chinese Embassy and the Secretariat for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao SAR.

The concert was an important cultural exchange activity between the Macao SAR and Myanmar， which would expand ChinaMyanmar relations， said Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Hong Liang in a message to the event. The visit by the Macao Orchestra would also give new impetus to China-Myanmars people-topeople bonds， he added.

Alexis Tam Chon Weng， secretary for social affairs and culture of the Macao SAR government， also expressed his belief that the concert could bring peoples of China and Myanmar closer. He hoped that Macao and Myanmar could have more cultural exchanges and cooperation in the future. The group of musicians led by Lu Jia， music director and principal conductor， performed well-known masterpieces of Mozart.

Founded in 1983， the Macao Orchestra has become well known in Asia， performing Chinese and Western classics and playing a key role in the music and cultural life of Macao residents and overseas audiences. The orchestra has performed in at least 30 cities across China as well as in Austria， Switzerland， Hungary， Portugal， Spain， and the U.S.， etc.