ChinaDaily[980322-8]

[Chinese News]

China Daily

98 / 03 / 22 /

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1. Leaves wither, tourists dither
2. Travel Notes (Page 5, Date: 03/21/98)
3. What's on (Page 6, Date: 03/21/98)
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Leaves wither, tourists dither
TO middle-aged restaurant owner Lu Qing, last autumn was a curse.
Located near the Fragrant Hills Park in western Beijing, his
restaurant suffered an all-time low in business. Even during the
Red Leaf Festival last October, when local tourist businesses
expected to reap big bucks, customers stayed away in droves.
The destruction of their hopes could be laid at the door of one
culprit -- a plant disease named verticillium wilt that caused the
red leaves on the hundreds of smoke trees in the park to wither
and droop.
Hearing the news, Beijing residents and tourists from other areas,
who would otherwise have chosen the Fragrant Hills as their
primary destination for an autumn outing, turned elsewhere.
As a result, the number of seasonal visitors plunged. During the
one-month-long festival, there were only 700,000 visitors -- 30
per cent down from the peak reached in 1996.
Local entrepreneurs running tourist establishments around the
Fragrant Hills Park felt the effect immediately.
After years of scrimping and saving, Lu finally had enough money
to rent the restaurant from one of his friends early last year. He
hoped for an auspicious autumn.
Unfortunately, his dream turned into a nightmare.
Lu feels somewhat relieved now that some of his competitors have
erected a "To Let" notice outside their establishments.
However, he is worried about autumn this year. "I'll almost
certainly go out of business if the wilt epidemic continues to
plague the smoke trees this year," he said.
Located about 40 kilometres from central Beijing, the Fragrant
Hills Park was once a royal garden. Its history can be traced back
to 1186 at the time of the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234).
The heavily wooded hills were a hunting ground for emperors.
The park opened to the public on May 1, 1957 and has been a boon
to the local economy since it began to be featured on tourist
brochures in the early 1980s.
In particular, the annual Red Leaf Festival has become a "must"
for Beijingers and non-natives alike.
The number of visitors grew year by year after the first festival
in 1979 to reach 1 million in 1996.
Before 1979, the residents in the neighbouring hills mostly earned
their living from farming, with an annual per capita income of 500
yuan (US$60).
As tourism in the Fragrant Hills developed, they began to start
their own businesses.
Before 1980, there were less than 10 privately owned
establishments in the vicinity. Income from taxes was about 20,000
yuan (US$2,400) in 1985.
Now more than 500 stores and restaurants have sprung up at the
foot of and along the roads to the Fragrant Hills, contributing
300,000 yuan (US$36,000) in tax income every year.
Great changes have taken place in the locals' lives. Once-humble
earth houses have been replaced by elegantly decorated and
well-equipped villas. A number of newly rich even have cellular
phones and cars.
"The smoke trees and maples on the Fragrant Hills brought us hope
and fortune," said Yang Anli, 60. He has lived at the foot of the
Fragrant Hills all his life and now runs a souvenir store with his
son at the edge of a parking lot.
The wilt epidemic last year dented the locals' expectations.
But the repercussions have a far wider impact. The loudest grumble
has come from the Fragrant Hills Park.
"The disease hit the smoke trees more swiftly and severely than
expected," said Gan Changqing, director of the Fragrant Hills Park
Administration.
The verticillium wilt began to threaten the smoke trees on the
Fragrant Hills last spring.
Experts from the Beijing Association of Gardens, the Beijing
Garden Research Institute, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and
other botanical societies rushed to rescue the diseased trees
after the park management made emergency calls to the
organizations.
They were shocked by what they saw: The leaves were mottled with
yellow and black stains. The disease had infected a large
proportion of smoke trees. In the most severely hit area, there
was hardly a healthy tree left.
The verticillium wilt, smoke trees' biggest enemy, is no stranger
to the Fragrant Hills.
It was first detected in the park in 1980 and has wiped out
several hundred trees every year.
The park management department has taken a number of measures to
deal with the epidemic. Experienced staff have formed a "red
leaves commando" to curb the contagious disease from spreading to
more smoke trees.
In the past three years, the commando has experimented with a new
way of dealing with verticillium wilt. This method has proved
effective.
Last year's outbreak of verticillium wilt was caused by several
factors.
Most of the smoke trees are already 70 or 80 years old and
vulnerable to adverse conditions such as disease.
Flea beetles, wood lice and powdery mildew are also threats to
smoke trees, especially in the spring and summer.
Experts believe the serious drought -- a result of last year's El
Nino -- has reduced the trees' ability to withstand pests and
epidemics.
In view of the plant epidemic, the Beijing public has offered
constructive suggestions and advice to the park management.
Gao Quanrong, a 65-year-old horticulturist, joined the experts'
"rescue operation" last October. Gao, nicknamed the "chrysanthemum
king," has a garden at the foot of the Fragrant Hills.
He said tourists and pedlars who snipped off the branches and
leaves of smoke trees to keep or sell as souvenirs are in fact
hurting the trees and helping to spread the wilt epidemic.
Chen Zixin, an expert from Beijing Garden Research Institute,
urged the Fragrant Hills Park to plant more varieties of foliage
as an alternative to smoke trees and maples.
As spring arrives, the park commando is preparing for the coming
rainy season. The staff have been assisted by other concerned
institutions which have sent planes to spray pesticide over the
smoke trees.
The park administrators admit that it will take a long time before
the commando can control the spread of the verticillium wilt, as
only about 30 people are involved in the task.
The Fragrant Hills shouldn't expect to attract huge numbers of
tourists, according to the director of the Fragrant Hills
Industrial and Commercial Office of Haidian District, which
supervises the establishment of enterprises in the area.
Tourists are likely to head to other sites, such as Badachu,
Yingtaogou and the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall, where
gingkos and maple trees offer a beautiful combination of yellow
and red colours in autumn.
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_Date: 03/21/98_
_Author: Cui Yuemin_
_Copyright© by China Daily_

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Travel Notes (Page 5, Date: 03/21/98)
New tour offerings
SHIJIAZHUANG -- North China's Hebei Province has kicked off a
series of tour programmes for this year under the catch-phrase '98
City and Country Tours.
Twelve different trips are being offered, according to local
tourism officials.
Construction of facilities for skiing and hunting tours in
Zhangjiakou and Chengde has begun and the facilities are expected
to be ready for use by the end of this year.
The province has also arranged the China Tourism and Art Festival
in Xianghe County in May, the Water World Holiday, the
Pleasure-Seeking Festival at Baiyangdian Lake, the International
Tourism Festival at Chengde in June, an international boxing meet
in Yongnian County in August, as well as a skiing competition with
the participation of at least 10,000 people in December.
In the meantime, the province will co-operate closely with Beijing
and Tianjin in exploring the domestic tourism market and will
promote more programmes closer to those two cities to attract more
overseas visitors.
Macao gets museum
MACAO -- The Macao Museum is expected to open in mid-April and the
preparation work is in full swing.
A press release from the Macao Government Information Office said
on Wednesday that the three-storey museum will feature exhibits
illustrating Macao's history and culture.
Built at a cost of US$17.5 million, the museum is located in
central Macao at the site of a 17th-century fortress. There will
be archaeological displays along with exhibits demonstrating
Macao's unique mix of eastern and western culturess.
The museum is the largest in the region, where there are already a
number of specialized museums such as the Wine Museum, the Grand
Prix Museum, the Maritime Museum and the House Museum.
Tourism up
SHANGHAI --China's largest metropolis is attracting an increasing
number of visitors from around the world.
Shanghai hosted a record 1.65 million overseas visitors last year,
a year-on-year increase of 15.48 per cent, according to an
official from the Municipal Tourism Department.
Statistics show Asian tourists, most of whom came from Japan and
the Republic of Korea, accounted for 68 per cent of the total,
with the number of visitors from America, Europe and Oceania
growing by about 20 per cent.
Some 120,400 American tourists visited Shanghai during the year,
up 26.2 per cent from 1996, while the number of Australian
tourists rose by 78.2 per cent to 29,000.
The number of tourists from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the
Philippines continued to rise despite the financial turmoil in
Southeast Asia, according to the official.
Grasslands visitors
HUHHOT -- The grasslands with their folk customs in China's Inner
Mongolia attracted 150,000 foreign visitors last year -- an
increase of 25 per cent from the previous year's figures.
The region was also visited by 960,000 domestic tourists, up 13
per cent from a year earlier.
Local travel services earned 32 million yuan (US$3.85 million)
from the domestic sector and US$1.04 million from the overseas
sector.
The Hulun Buir Grasslands are considered an ideal summer resort
area with their cool climate and beautiful scenery. There are also
10 ports of entry on the 1,600-kilometre-long border between Inner
Mongolia and Russia and the Republic of Mongoliaa great help to
tourist development.
The virgin forests in the Daxinganling Mountainous Area afford
visitors a unique look at the primeval forest home of the local
ethnic hunting culture.
(Xinhua)
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_Date: 03/21/98_
_Author: _
_Copyright© by China Daily_

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What's on (Page 6, Date: 03/21/98)
American violinist -- Leila Josefowicz, acclaimed universally as a
"Contemporary Heifetz," will display her consummate skill in
Beijing.
The young American violinist has a stage style full of American
freshness and enthusiasm. She has skillfully, gorgeously and
thrillingly expressed her musical maturity time and time again.
Based in Philadelphia, where she continues her musical education
at the Curtis Institute of Music, Josefowicz has toured North
America, Europe and Japan for recitals and concerto appearances.
Her Beijing recital features Beethoven's "Sonata No.6 in A major,"
Franck's "Sonata in A major," Falla's "Suite Populaire Espagnole,"
Kreisler's "Sicilienne and Rigaudon" and "Caprice Viennois," and
finally, Sarasate's "Introduction and Tarantella."
Time: 7:30 pm, April 11
Place: Beijing Century Theatre, 40 Liangmaqiao Lu, Chaoyang
District
Tel: 6495-1005, 6495-1004
German Conductor -- Johannes Goritzki, a renowned German conductor
and cellist, will perform with the China National Symphony
Orchestra at the Beijing Concert Hall on Saturday night, March 21.
His band will present a classical programme of Haydn's Symphony No
85 in B Major Flat, Mozart's Symphony Jupiter in C Major and
Telemann's Concerto for Two Horn Soloists in F Major.
Time: 7:30 pm, March 21
Place: Beijing Concert Hall, 1 Beixinhuajie, Xicheng District
Tel: 6605-5812
"Eight Eyes" Band -- A concert of the Russian and former Soviet
Union's "Songs from the Birch Forest" will be presented by the
"Eight Eyes" vocal quartet.
The quartet was founded in 1990 by four singers from the Central
Orchestra of China, which was the predecessor of the China
National Symphony Orchestra.
The programme includes songs such as "An Evening at the Outskirts
of Moscow," "the Hawthorn Tree" and "Song of the League Member"
which are familiar to Chinese people.
Time: 7:30 pm, March 28
Place: Beijing Theatre, Asian
Games Village Area
Tel: 6491-0516, 6491-1228
Voices of the Volga -- The Chorus of the China National Symphony
Orchestra will present a concert of famous songs from the former
USSR, including "Salute to Great Times," "Song of Harvest," "Song
of the Communist League," "Spring Tide," "Night of the Port" and
others.
Wu Lingfen will conduct.
Time: 2:00 pm, March 21
Place: Beijing Concert Hall, 1 Beixinhuajie, Xicheng District
Italian folk songs -- Adriana Bruni, acclaimed as the most
authentic interpreter of Neapolitan melodies, will perform in
Beijing early next month.
Bruni, who has benefitted a great deal from her father Shegio
Bruni, well-known as the king of Neapolitan folk songs, has
devoted herself to the study, collection and performance of
Neapolitan music. She is also an outstanding actress and has
appeared solo in many famous operas and televised programmes.
Fausto D' Angelo, a celebrated Italian guitarist, will accompany
her.
Time: 7:15 pm, April 3
Place: Haidian Theatre, Haidianlu, Haidian District
Tel: 6405-5512
Traditional music -- Musicians from the China National
Conservatory of Music are to hold a concert of traditional Chinese
music.
They will play "Green Bamboo Forests," a dulcimer solo depicting
Yunnan customs; "Harmony," a Tibetan-flavoured guzheng solo;
"Jasmine Flower" and "Colourful Clouds Chasing the Moon," a piano
piece accompanied by a band of traditional instruments.
Time: 7:30 pm, March 27
Place: Beijing Theatre, 10, Area 10, Anhuili, Chaoyang District
Tel: 6491-0516, 6491-1228
Choral concert -- The Chorus of the General Political Song and
Dance Ensemble will present a concert of world famous choruses.
Pieces will include "Blue Danube" and "Radetzky March" by Strauss,
"Night on the Outskirts of Moscow" and more.
Zheng Jian will conduct.
Time: 7:30 pm, March 27
Place: Beijing Concert Hall, 1 Beixinhuajie, Xicheng District
Tel: 6605-5812
Rock'n'roll in heaven -- The Heaven Star Disco in the Beijing
Chang'an Entertainment Castle invites Beijing rock'n'roll bands,
famous or otherwise, to perform every weekend.
Jazz and country music performances are also held every Wednesday
and Friday. Lucky draw prizes are held on the weekends.
Place: Basement 1 of Chang'an Great Theater, 7 Jianguomennei
Dajie, Dongcheng District
Tel: 6510-1155 ext 3100 or 3101
One-man art show -- The Qin Gallery is holding Cui Tiecheng's solo
show of traditional Chinese paintings.
By blending Western and traditional Chinese approaches, Cui has
explored some new ways of creating traditional Chinese paintings.
His works feature Beijing's ancient architecture, urban scenes
with local flavour and portraits of people as they lived in the
first few decades of this century.
Time: 9:30 am-6 pm, through March 27
Place: Qin Gallery, Ritan Dongyijie, east of Ritan Park
Tel: 6507-4062
Children's art exhibition -- The Beijing Research Institute of
Traditional Chinese Paintings is holding a grand art show for
children, by children.
On display are more than two hundred paintings and Chinese
calligraphy works by children aged 4-12.
The exhibition, sponsored by Haidian Culture Administration and
Giant Cultural Development Co Ltd, gives the children in Haidian
District a chance to show their talents in art creation.
Time: 9 am-4 pm, until March 29.
Place: Beijing Research Institute of Traditional Chinese
Paintings, Zizhuqiao Nanlu, Xisanhuan, Haidian District, Beijing.
Tel: 6841-1369.
East blends with West -- More than 30 representative paintings of
Austrian artist Max Weiler are on display in Beijing.
Austria's most famous contemporary painter, Weiler has travelled
extensively in Europe and America to design frescoes for
world-renowned structures, and to hold or participate in more than
30 painting shows. He has won numerous prizes and honorary titles.
This is the first time his works, which have been deeply
influenced by the philosophy and landscape painting of the Song
Dynasty (960-1279), have been shown in China.
By successfully blending Chinese landscape painting techniques
into his creations, Weiler's works are sought by people in China
and in the West.
The current 31 paintings on exhibit were completed between 1983
and 1992.
Time: 9 am-5 pm, until April 7
Place: China National Art Museum, 1 Wusi Dajie, Dongcheng District
Tel: 6401-2252
"Mondrian in China" -- The Beijing International Art Palace is
hosting an exhibition, entitled "Mondrian in China" until March
29.
Piet Mondrian (1872-1944) is the leading exponent of the Dutch
abstract art movement known as de Stijl, whose work exerted a
profound influence on 20th century art, architecture and graphic
design.
His early works followed the prevailing trend of Dutch landscape
and still-life painting. After experimenting with Cubism, his
mature "neoplastic" style emerged around 1920. The style was
intended to be a purely objective vision of reality based on the
simplest harmonies of straight lines, right angles and the primary
colours, plus black and white.
The exhibition, featuring documents on the life and works of this
artist, is complemented by 30 original works of five Chinese
artists whose works share some common characteristics with
Mondrian's work.
Time: 9 am-6 pm, until March 29.
Place: 44 Wangfujing Dajie, Dongcheng District
Tel: 6513-3388 exit 1207
Mesmerizing works -- The Red Gate Gallery is hosting an exhibition
of Zheng Xuewu's richly assimilated mixed media works on paper.
Based on his early studies at the Central Academy of Arts and
Design in Beijing, Zheng's early works have evolved into a mature
combination of traditional Chinese aesthetics and contemporary
language and motifs. When seen from a distance, the strong
contrast between coloured shapes leads viewers to appreciate the
deeper intricacy of his art.
Zheng Xuewu was born in northeastern Harbin in 1964 and graduated
from the Harbin Normal Teachers College in 1990. He now lives in
Beijing.
Place: Red Gate Gallery, Level 3, China World Trade Centre, 1
Jianguomen Wai
Time: 11 am-6 pm, until April 8
Tel: 6505-2266 ext 6821/5729
Original "Giselle" -- The Paris Opera Ballet, one of the world's
earliest ballet groups, will perform the romantic ballet
masterpiece "Giselle" in Beijing.
Founded in 1661, the ballet has been enriched by many successive
layers of dance history. The troupe has witnessed the flight of
sylphs and other ethereal creatures of the Romantic age before
being swept up by the tempestuous magic of Serge Diaghileys'
"Ballet Russe." Over the centuries, the group has developed its
own style of French ballet.
Their Beijing performance will stage a 1841 version of "Giselle"
using a new set design. The 130-member group will be joined by 80
dancers from the Central Ballet Group of China.
Time: April 11, 12, 13
Place: Great Hall of the People, west of Tian'anmen Square
Tel: 6554-2731, 6554-2730, 6616-8540
Peek-in opera -- Located in an ornate former temple, painted and
draped in a manner fit for royalty, Zhengyici Theatre may be worth
a visit just for a peek inside.
Better yet, stick around until the show gets rolling with live
Peking Opera packaged in short programmes for foreign audiences.
Each excerpt includes an explanation in English.
You'll see at least one lively acrobatic or fighting scene, and
there are snacks, tea and ice cream during intermission.
Place: 220 Xiheyan Dajie, Xuanwu District (behind Hepingmen Roast
Duck Restaurant)
Time: 7:15 pm, daily
Tel: 6303-6233, 6303-6234
Indian song and dance -- At the invitation of the Culture Ministry
of China, the India International Rural Culture Centre will stage
Indian classical and modern dances and performances of Indian film
songs on March 23 at the Beijing Theatre.
The art troupe will also perform in Changchun and Harbin until
April 5.
Time: 7:30 pm, March 23.
Place: Beijing Theatre, in the Asian Games Village area.
Tel: 6405-5512, 6407-3534, 6407-3532.
"A Doll's House" -- The Central Experimental Drama Troupe presents
Norwegian playwright Ibsen's "A Doll's House" -- one of the most
frequently staged plays in China's 90-year-history of modern
drama.
The new production take a decidedly Chinese approach, as the story
is set in 1930s China rather than in Norway. Norwegian actress
Agnete will play the heroine and speak both English and Chinese.
Musicians of traditional Chinese melodies and Peking Opera will
also take part in the performance.
Time: April 1 to April 11
Place: Small Theatre of the Central Experimental Theatre, A45
Mao'er Hutong, Di'anmen
Tel: 6403-1109, 6403-1009
Dreamy ballet -- The Los Angeles Classical Ballet brings
Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" to Beijing on March 26.
Produced and directed by David Wilcox and choreographed by
Christopher Tabor, both known for their successful production of
"The Nutcracker" in 1983, the play features a high caliber team of
ballet dancers which includes Leonard A Kun, Mario Alonzo, Melissa
Watson and Daniel Gwatkin.
The music of the dance drama is a combination of Mendelssohn's
"Dream" and Prokofiev's "Romeo & Juliet."
Since 1962, the comedy has been transformed into different ballet
versions, the most successful of which was said to be "The Dream,"
choreographed by Frederick Ashton of the Royal British Ballet.
However, LA Classical Ballet's strong presentation made "A
Midsummer Night's Dream" one of the top 10 ballets appearing on
the world stage in 1997.
One of the five major ballet troupes in the United States, the
LACB gives an average of 180 performances per year around the
world.
Guided by the belief that "everybody can understand classical
ballet," the LACB puts much effort into the clarification of the
plot with its dance language.
Time: 7:30pm, March 26-29
Place: Beizhan Theatre, 135 Xizhimenwai Dajie, Xicheng District
Tel: 6433-0481 ext 421, 6498-0369
Fantastic drama -- Beijing People's Art Theatre's new product
"Rain Over, Sky Clear" has opened.
Written and directed by Li Liuyi, the drama is a real "Made in
China" small theatre play.
The plot develops through dialogue between a traditional Chinese
opera actor and a make-believe woman. The dialogue touches on four
people's readings of works by Marx, Nietzsche, Hegel and
newspapers.
All characters in the play are looking for the honest side of
humanity through continuous self-denial.
The modern plot structure and use of montage technique mean that
the audience should not approach the play with traditional
preconceptions. However, the director does not pursue obscurity,
but rather hopes to create a light atmosphere.
While the story is not realistic, the living conditions of modern
people reflected in the play are all too real.
Time: 7 pm, March 21-29
Place: Small Theatre of Beijing People's Art Theatre
Tel: 6525-0123
Acrobatics -- The China Acrobatic Troupe is juggling, cycling and
tumbling every night at two separate venues.
The company's repertoire includes tightrope walking, martial arts
and traditional Chinese magic tricks.
Time: 7:15 pm, daily
Place: Chaoyang Theatre, 36 Dongsanhuan Beilu, Chaoyang District
Tel: 6507-2421
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_Date: 03/21/98_
_Author: _
_Copyright© by China Daily_

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