Moments in November
Nordic, Spanish cultures in the spotlight
The Wujiang Road pedestrian street turned into a mini Nordic town this month.
From November 7 to 11, a variety of activities related to Finland and Sweden were held on the road, which was decorated with Finland’s most popular cartoon figure Moomin, Sweden’s traditional carved painted Dala horse and other iconic features.
Nordic-style circus performances, a parade of Nordic cartoon figures and Nordic music shows featured. Products from both countries were on sale. A month earlier, Wujiang Road was filled with the flavor of passionate Spain, with flamenco dances, guitar concerts and stalls selling Spanish wine, delicacies and handicraft works.
Rare musical instrument
The goat-head fiddle, used by the Pumi ethnic group in Yunnan Province in southwest China’s Yunnan Province, is nearly extinct.
On November 4, Yang Wenjin, inheritor of the goat-head fiddle tradition, came to Shanghai and gave a lecture on Shaanxi Road N. to promote the traditional musical instrument, which is heritage-listed.
The goat-head fiddle features a wooden-framed sound box covered with goat skin, four strings and a top shaped like a goat’s head.
The Pumi, who number about 30,000, revere goats and play the goat-head fiddle at important occasions like weddings, funerals and festivals.
Yang said he learnt how to make the instrument from his father. he wants to recruit acolytes, but few young Pumi are willing to learn it. he said he hopes to keep the old instrument alive by promoting it outside Yunnan.
Cross-cultural reading event
More than 50 children took part in a cross-cultural reading event at the Jing’an Children’s Library this month.
Haakon Lie from Norway unveiled the Chinese version of his first illustrated book “What Jobs Would Animals have?” at the event, presenting a world of fantasy to young readers.
Lie lives in a forest in Norway and he has traveled around the world, trekking in jungles and swimming in waters to “befriend” different animals. In the book, he creates an animal society where elephants are fire fighters, birds are pilots and whale sharks are underwater bus drivers.
he said he hopes to introduce the great beauties and the living philosophy of the natural world to children through his book. he also wants to inspire children to develop curiosity and imagination.
Katrine Haukenes, deputy consul-general at the Norway Consulate General in Shanghai, attended the event. At the event, she presented 50 copies of “What Jobs Would Animals have?” as gifts to community cultural venues in Jing’an.
Snapping sculpture
Shutterbugs around the city have been taking part in a one-month photo contest for the best images of sculptures at three city sites.
Photographs, using a camera or mobile phone, are taken at the Jing’an Sculpture Park, Daning Park and Shibei High Technology Park as part of a biennial sculpture exhibition. The contest ends on Friday (November 30) and images can be submitted to http://www.photo233.com.
Prize money ranges from 1005,000 yuan (uS$725), and a selection of the best entries will be exhibited from December 20 to January 20.
According to Jing’an greenery officials, the aim of the contest is to encourage more people to get involved in the exhibition, which features 87 sculptures and runs through December 20.
Hidden roadside garden
The entrance to an underground substation has been turned into a popular roadside garden and “Internet celebrity” because of its unique, elegant design.
Close to the heritage-listed Yates Apartments on Nanjing Road W., the site has been turned into a visitor delight by Jing’an’s greenery authority. It’s become like a courtyard hidden in the downtown concrete jungle, surrounded by vertical green walls towering 5.5 meters.
The giant green walls are covered with vibrant colors, from red geraniums and pink begonias to white baby’s-breath and hardy blue flowered leadwort.
On both sides of the dark grey, volcanic rock ground, there are red-leafed maples, cut-leaf Japanese maples and red plum blossom trees.
A carpet of pink muhly grass perfectly matches lavender-colored perforated aluminum panels, which serve as a nod to Italian painting master Giorgio Morandi, who is renowned for his muted color palettes and quiet simplicity.
Traditional Chinese medicine
A New traditional Chinese medicine hospital will open to the public in 2020, health authorities in Jing’an said. The hospital will be built at the intersection of Pingxingguan and Yonghe roads. It will comprise 200 wards and recruit renowned traditional doctors, according to the plan.
