Art beat in October

Young and creative plays

A series of theatrical creations by young artists will be staged at STA Theater from Oct 19 to 26. They have been commissioned by Shanghai International Arts Festival, as part of its initiative to support young creativity. Cloud Gate from Taiwan, and Hou Ying Dance Troupe will present modern dance performances. Plays adapted from ancient Chinese fiction including Water-Born (pictured), A Golden Millet Dream and Thunder Man will be presented in different styles.

7:30 pm, Oct 19-26. STA Theater, 630 Huashan Road, Shanghai. 021-3428-2069.

Andy Lau lines up concerts

Andy Lau, a legendary Hong Kong artist who has been one of the most popular stars in Chinese-speaking regions in the past 30 years, will exert his charm on the stage in a series of four concerts kicking off on Oct 16. The highlight is a musical where Lau tells a time-traveling love story with his hit songs such as Ice Rain. The 52-year-old singer will also surprise the audience with his well-sculptured body and energetic dance moves including hip-hop, modern dance, jazz, Latin and moves spiced up by martial arts elements. Lau will also perform in Beijing from Oct 30 to Nov 2 where he will sing Peking Opera.

8 pm, Oct 16-19. Guangzhou International Sports Arena, 2666 Kaichuang Avenue, Luogang district, Guangzhou. 020-3209-1228.

Concert bids summer farewell

The Gulbenkian Orchestra from Portugal will perform on Saturday night, bidding farewell to the scorching Guangzhou summer. The first piece is the melodious string music by Luis de Freitas Branco, a big name in the history of Portuguese classical music. Then the orchestra will collaborate with Li Biao, a famous percussion musician from China, to stage a chic concerto for marimba and strings composed by Ney Rosauro. Beethoven's beautiful Symphony No 6 in F Major "Pastoral" will conclude the performance.

8 pm, Oct 19. Opera Hall of Guangzhou Opera House, Exit B1 of Zhujiang New Town subway station, the interchange of Line 3 and 5, Guangzhou. 020-3839-2888.

Young female talents on show

Six Chinese folk singer-songwriters will gather at Tiny Dream Music Festival in Beijing this weekend. They are all women born after 1980, keen on portraying their lives through folk music, and all rose to fame through the Internet. Headlined by A Si, Gao Shan and Wu Jialin, the music event, in its first year, aims to discover and introduce young female singer-songwriters in China to a wider audience.

11am to 9:30 pm, Oct 19 and 20. Post Mountain Art Space, Inside Modern MoMa, No 1, Xiangheyuanlu, Dongzhimenwai, Dongcheng district, Beijing. 010-8400-4774.

Zhangzhou cultural heritage event

Contemporary artist Chen Zhiguang created a stainless steel installation titled Old Opera Stage, sourcing inspiration from the long-standing theater traditions in his hometown Zhangzhou in Fujian province. The huge stage is on display at the National Center for the Performing Arts, on which folk artists will perform the Gezai Opera and hand puppetry that are popular in Zhangzhou. Meanwhile in an exhibition hall opposite the stage, there are pictures and demonstrations introducing Zhangzhou's other cultural heritage, including paper-cutting, carving craft of puppets' heads and cotton painting.

9 am-5 pm, performances at 11 am and 1:30 pm, until Oct 20. 1/F, NCPA, 2 West Chang'an Avenue, Xicheng district, Beijing.

Antique musical instruments

Life Hub@Jinqiao is hosting an exhibition of ancient Chinese musical instruments. Besides the traditional string, percussion and pipe instruments, the exhibits also include original creations by modern artists, such as a flute made out of a whole bamboo plant. Ju Percussion Group, a band from Taiwan led by Ju Tzong-Ching, will give two concerts at the end of the exhibition.

Exhibition:10 am-10 pm, until Oct 20. Concert: 7 pm, Oct 19, 20. 1F Lobby, Life Hub@Jinqiao, 3611 Zhangyang Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai, 021-5038-8378.

Green stones on show

People in New Zealand and China share the love for jade articles. Pounamu, also called green stone, which came into being 2 million years ago in the Southern Alpines of the South Island, has been regarded by aboriginal Maori people as a sacred stone. They make the green stones into tools, weapons, accessories and sacrificial vessels. Altogether 216 such precious jade relics are on display in Guangdong Museum. Many exhibits are what Maori people call "hei tiki", a kind of jade pendant shaped like a human figure.

9 am-5 pm, daily until Oct 20 (closed on Mondays). 2 Zhujiang East Road, Zhujiang New Town, Tianhe district, Guangzhou. 020-3804-6886.

5 days of Verdi

To celebrate the bicentennial of Giuseppe Verdi, Beijing Music Festival will launch a mini Verdi Festival next week to present five concerts and semi-staged opera versions of the composer's most popular works. The series feature vocalists from the composer's home country Italy, Coro Lirico Veneto and Orchestra Regionale Filarmonia Veneta. On Oct 22, they will give a multimedia concert, singing Requiem. On Oct 24, they will sing popular arias selected from Macbeth, Un Ballo in Maschera, Nabucco, Aida and La Traviata. On Oct 25, they will perform the full-length Rigoletto; Il Trovatore on Oct 26 and the final performance, La Traviata on Oct 27.

Related: A country at the opera

7:30 pm, Oct 22, 24-27. Forbidden City Concert Hall, inside Zhongshan Park, west of Tian'anmen Square, Xicheng district, Beijing. 010-6559-8285, 010-6507-1833, 010-6507-2833.

Korean violinist returns to China

Korean violinist Chung Kyung-wha has launched a concert tour in China after a long break caused by a finger injury in 2005. The 63-year-old "queen of violin" will put her skills to the test on her comeback tour, and is ready to showcase her enriched understanding of music. Chung will pair with American pianist Kevin Kenner, who achieved second place at the International Chopin Piano Competition in 1990, to perform violin sonatas composed by Beethoven, Grieg and Faure. The concert will begin with the famous sonata Spring by Beethoven.

8 pm, Oct 22. Symphony Hall, Xinghai Concert Hall, 33 Qingbo Road, Ersha Island, Yuexiu district, Guangzhou. 020-8735-3869.

German classics performed

German violinist Julia Fischer together with the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra will stage a concert in Guangzhou on Oct 22. The night will celebrate the classical music of Germany. The concert will include a prelude of Wagner's Tristan & Isolde and Brahms' violin concerto of pastoral style and Symphony No 4 in E Minor with the most vibrant and dramatic movement the composer wrote. Fischer won first prize in the junior category of the international Yehudi Menuhin competition at the age of 12. She was named Artist of the Year by The Classic FM Gramophone Awards in 2007 when she was 24. The violinist and the orchestra will also tour Hong Kong.

8 pm, Oct 22. Opera Hall of Guangzhou Opera House, Exit B1 of Zhujiang New Town subway station, the interchange of Line 3 and 5, Guangzhou. 020-3839-2888.