The true face of China in Germany
January 20, 2012 Filed under Center Stage
By He Jianwei
In 2007, the three-year program “Germany and China – Moving Ahead Together” began a tour of six Chinese cities to promote economic, technological and cultural aspects of the European country in China.
Last April, a yearlong project called “The Enlightenment of the Art” opened at the National Museum of China, which helped artists and scholars from the two countries share ideas about the Enlightenment and its effects on cross-cultural communication.
But German-Chinese cultural communication has not been unilateral.
The Year of Chinese Culture begins in Germany in February. During this exchange, Chinese artists and scholars will work to help Germany understand the modern country through 150 presentations of music, opera, dance, literature, drama and fine arts.
The China Philharmonic Orchestra will perform in Berlin to open the Year of Chinese Culture in Germany on January 30. Photos provided by organizer
Yu Long looked tired last Thursday afternoon when he appeared at the press conference.
As the artistic director and chief conductor of China Philharmonic Orchestra, he and the orchestra had been practicing day and night. On January 30, he will lead the orchestra in a concert at the Konzerthaus on Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin to open the Year of Chinese Culture in Germany.
“Germany is the home of classical music. I feel both excited and worried. I’m trying to prepare a performance so impressive we’ll knock the audience dead,” Yu said.
“We decided to perform works by both German and Chinese musicians. It is a great opportunity to pay my respect.”
The concert will open with the overture from Richard Wagner’s Tannhouser. Following will be Butterfly Lovers’ Violin Concerto, composed by Chen Gang and He Zhanhao in 1958. The piece is based on a Chinese tragedy about Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, often likened to Romeo and Juliet.
Berlin’s Tresor club holds first party it town
September 29, 2010 Filed under Community
Beijing's first Tresor party attracted many beautiful young people who like dancing and electronic music. Photos provided by Tresor.Beijing
By Wang Yu
The steady rain and monstrous traffic jam last Friday could not keep dance fans away from 798 Art District’s Centre d’art Au Nom de la Rose. Tresor, the legendary underground techno nightclub and record label from Berlin, was holding its first party in town with the top German disk jockeys such as Pacou, Tobias Thomas and Hans Nieswandt in attendance.
“Tresor has actually already been in China for several months,” said Wang Pan, a staff member of Tresor’s Beijing office. “It took a lot of preparation to bring these top DJs to the party, but all the hard work is worth it,” she said.
The electronic music and accompanying videos began playing at 10 pm, but it wasn’t until midnight when the dance floor filled with dancers. The revelry would last until 6 am the next day.
Digitized urban life – Art exhibition analyzes man-city relationship
August 13, 2010 Filed under Center Stage
By He Jianwei
Every city has its symbols: the Brandenburg Gate is as iconic of Berlin as Tian’anmen is of Beijing.
But cities are about more than recognizable imagery.
Berlin artists are exploring the hidden and unseen of their city through digital art as they try to unravel its new relationship with its inhabitants in the Internet era.
Having attended this year’s transmediale, the international media arts festival in Berlin, the artists are bringing their works to Beijing’s Today Art Museum next Monday.
Schwelle/Threshold, videostill©Maria Vedder
Beijing guys hitchhike to girlfriend in Berlin
Gu took to a ride. His trip took three months of hitchiking. Photos provided by Liu Chang
By Li Zhixin
Two Beijing guys spent three and a half months hitchhiking the 160,000 kilometers across 13 countries to see a girlfriend in Berlin, Germany.
They were picked up by 88 rides, including tricycles, tractors and horse-drawn carriages. The journey was dubbed “the most romantic hitchhike in history” by netizens.
Liu Chang, 34, a documentary film director, and Gu Yue, 30, a global traveler, planned two years ago to visit Gu’s German girlfriend by hitchhiking. After mapping their route, they set out June 4, 2009.
They were first seen standing in the mists of Houhai thumbing for rides that June 8. Carrying super heavy bags, they convinced the visa officers of 12 countries they were “backpacking.” With a passport full of visas, they hit the road with a bit of cash, credit cardssleeping bags, a laptop, a camera and some clothes.
Trouble came as soon as they started for Hebei. They waited in vain for over an hour in Houhai, but nobody would stop to take them. Finally they got help from a driver who took them to the entrance of the highway leading to Hebei, where they continued to wait despite the rain. They were asked to leave by some maintenance workers, one of whom said, “Not many cars go to Berlin from here”
Gu Yue and his girldfriend.
It was far more difficult than they imagined. From Beijing to Berlin, they were turned down by more than 1,000 drivers. Often they had to wait hours before getting a hitch.
“The longest we waited was for two days at oadside when going from Hungary to the Czech Republic. We waited till midnight the next day before we got a lift,” Liu said.
“Countries like Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan don’t have the custom and we couldn’t speak their guage,” Gu said.
He had someone write a few cards in Russian: “We need to hitch ride to Germany from China,” “Could you give us a ride?” and “Excuse us, we don’t have money but we’ve got cigarette and smiles.”
Liu said the more they hitched, the more they loved it.
Meeting so many people was the biggest reward: a financial officer who was fired during the financial crisis; an easy-going CEO who drove a limo; a drunk driver in Georgia who played “speed” live; and an old fisherman living by the Caspian Sea.
The funniest experience happened in northern Iraq, where they got on a tractor and rode for 2 or 3 kilometers to a smoky village. They realized that the tractor was rushing there to help put out the fire, and they were brought there along.
When the fire was under control, the two were treated to dinner in an Iraqi home.
“Many peoplewho gave us a lift invited us to visit their home. So we had the chance to peer into strangers’ lives,” Liu saidLiu said the journey left them a pleasant impression of people from all 12 foreign countries they went through, especially Turkey.
“When we were ready to pass Turkey at the end of June, 2009, The Uyghur revolt at home was peaking. Our friends and parents tried to persuade us to not enter Turkey, which they were sure was ful of East Turkistan terrorists. But the people in Turkey were excellent, helpful and hospitable,” he said.
Three and a half months later, they reached Berlin where Gu’s girlfriend Ilka Seide, 32, lives.
“I followed th sunset for the last 3 months, because I knew Berlin was where the sun sets and that was where my beloved lived,” Gu said.
“Next time you want to see me, take the plane,” she replied.
Their journey was tagged “the best Valntine’s Day gift” by netizens.
Gu Yuan and Seide are currently on vacation in Thailand.
