Art beat ... finger on the pulse

Guangzhou

Change through Western eyes

Changes rippled across the country in the early 20th century. Visitors from the West captured the transformation with cameras, and these precious old photographers are on display at Fangsuo Commune in Guangzhou until April 3. The three parts of the exhibition feature photos of West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, by educator Robert Ferris Fitch (1873-1954); photos of craftsmen along alleys in Hangzhou by Sidney David Gamble (1890-1968); and photos of Guangzhou buildings by architect Ernst Boerschmann (1873-1949). Shen Hong, collector of these historic images, will tell the stories behind the photos at a public lecture in the commune on Saturday.

Exhibition: 10 am-10:30 pm, daily until April 3. Lecture: 3 pm-5 pm, March 9. Fangsuo Commune, TaiKoo Hui Shopping Mall, 383 Tianhe Lu, Tianhe district, Guangzhou. 020-3868-2327.

Feminist speaks out

French feminist and politician Fadela Amara is in Guangzhou to give a lecture on Friday. She will share how she has grown from the daughter of new immigrants in a shanty town to a torchbearer in the fight for rights for impoverished women. Amara was the secretary of state for urban policies when Nicolas Sarkozy was president. In 1989 she established the Women's Commission, to investigate the position of women in urban and suburban areas and register the demands of those communities. Amara left the government in 2010, and was named France's inspector-general for social affairs in January 2011.

7:30-9:30 pm, March 8. Fangsuo Commune, TaiKoo Hui Shopping Mall, 383 Tianhe Lu, Tianhe district, Guangzhou. 020-3868-2327.

It's time to laugh

If you loved the two short skits by comedy theater Mahua Fun Age at this year's Spring Festival gala, don't miss the chance for another good laugh in Guangzhou next weekend. While Rotation tells the story of a man's struggle for wealth and love, the dialogue also gives the audience a sarcastic, humorous rundown of hot issues in the past year, such as slow "fast" delivery services and advertisements of vocational schools that have bombarded TV.

8 pm, March 15-17. Friendship Theater, 696 Renmin Beilu, Yuexiu district, Guangzhou. 020-8666-8991.

Art beat ... finger on the pulse

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