STAGE

The two-man band Secret Garden is comprised of Irish violinist Fionnuala Sherry and Norwegian pianist Rolf Lovland.

The duo's forte is neo-classical music. While Songs from a Secret Garden has a sentimental touch, White Stones is based on fairy tales, and Dawn of a New Century is an ode to sunlight and hope. Once in a Red Moon conveys the charm of classical and folk music. Other albums include The Ultimate Secret Garden, Earth Songs and Inside I'm Singing.

7:30 pm, Dec 30

Great Hall of the People, west of Tian'anmen Square

400-818-3333

The Chinese Festival Orchestra's New Year concert is entitled Chimes of Bell. It gathers more than 100 leading Chinese musicians from the top 50 international orchestras around the world. The upcoming concert, led by Lu Jia, will present Li Huanzhi's Spring Festival Overture and Liu Tieshan's Yao People Dance, as well as Western classics including J. Strauss's Die Fledermaus Overture, Beethoven's German Dance, Brahms' Hungarian Dance and Chopin's Grande Polonaise for Piano and Orchestra Op 22.

7:30 pm, Dec 31

National Center for the Performing Arts, west of Tian'anmen Square

6655-0000

The Peony Pavilion, the classic Kunqu Opera, is on at the Imperial Granary, a perfect venue for such a show. The Imperial Granary was rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), 600 years ago, at exactly the same time the Kunqu Opera was written.

6409-6477/6499

22 Dongsi Shitiao, Chaoyang district

380-1,980 yuan, including Peking Roast Duck buffet

The Chinese Acrobatics Group has toured more than 80 countries and helped foster friendships with them. Its performance includes traditional acrobatics, a circus show, magic and old Beijing folk plays. The show blends music, dance, local opera and martial arts.

7:30 pm, daily

Tiandi Theater, Dongsi Shitiao

6416-9893

Exhibitions

How does sketch drawing, an imported training practice from the West, affect Chinese artists? How were sketch drawing lessons taught in modern China's art academies? A grand exhibition entitled 60 Years of Sketch Drawing Practice at Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) may offer answers.

Divided into three parts, the exhibition at CAFA Art Museum features over 2,000 sketches from former art students, professors at the academy - China's top institute for art majors, several case studies on the relations between artists' sketches and their later creations, as well as old video footage showing sketch drawing classes decades ago in China.

10 am-5 pm, Dec 28- March 7

CAFA Art Museum, 8 Huajiadi Nanjie, Chaoyang district, Beijing

6477-1575

Occupying 17 exhibition halls, the ongoing Eleventh National Fine Arts Exhibition displays 3,700 selected works. They include traditional Chinese paintings, oil on canvas, engravings, sculptures, gouaches, lacquer works, ceramics, caricatures, New Year paintings and animated creations.

9 am-5 pm, until Feb 3 except Monday

National Art Museum of China, 1 Wusi Dajie, Dongcheng district