The Festival of Chariots is an amazing East-meets-West experience that offers opportunities to explore and appreciate a culture and lifestyle friendly to oneself, others and the environment. It also makes a fun day out for the whole family.

The highlight of the festival is a parade, where hundreds of festival goers from all over South Africa pull a 20-meter-long colorful wooden chariot bearing the figures of Hindu deities Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra down the streets of Seapoint. The procession is accompanied by melodious singing and dancing.

The Jagannath Festival of Chariots is a celebration dating back more than 5,000 years old, observed in the ancient holy city of Jagannath Puri in India, making it the oldest street festival in the world.

Date: Dec 29

Venue: Green Point Urban Park, Off Somerset Road, Cape Town

Website: http://eventful.com/capetown

CONFERENCES & MEETINGS >> IN CHINA

China Wedding Expo, Shanghai

A procurement event that provides customers with a one-stop shopping service.

Date: Jan 15-18

Venue: Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center

Website: www.chinaweddingexpo.com.cn

China Brew and Beverage Technology Innovation Congress, Shanghai

Focuses on development trends in the global brewing and beverage industry.

Date: Jan 17-18

Venue: Crowne Plaza Century Park Shanghai

Website: www.chinaexhibition.com

CONFERENCES & MEETINGS >> IN AFRICA

Alphen Antiques and Collectables Market

A variety of items — including jewellery, glass, ceramics, silver and paintings — will be on sale. Entry is free, there is ample parking and refreshments are available.

Date: Dec 23, Jan 13 and Jan 27

Venue: Alphen Centre, Main Road, Constantia, Cape Town

Website: http://eventful.com/capetown/events

CULTURE >> IN CHINA

Wang Shiran Piano Recital, Beijing

Awarded the first international prize at the age of 15, Wang Shiran ranks as one of the most promising young pianists of today.

Date: Dec 14

Venue: Forbidden City Concert Hall

Website: www.theatrebeijing.com

Yayoi Kusama: I Love Me Chinese Screening, Beijing

UCCA and Bazaar Art present a special screening of a documentary about Yayoi Kusama, the multi-talented artist who has earned the Japanese National Lifetime Achievement Award for her paintings, sculpture and novels.

Date: Dec 15

Venue: The Ullens Center for Contemporary Art

Website: ucca.org.cn

Returning Home on a Snowy Night, Beijing

The love story seeks to explore the eternal essence of life, the awakening of nobodies and their exploration of a desolate destiny. Date: Dec 15-23

Venue: Drama Theater of National Centre for Performing Arts

Website: www.theatrebeijing.com

Voces8 Lighter Repertoire Christmas, Shanghai

Performing a repertoire ranging from Renaissance polyphony to unique jazz and pop arrangements, the international award-winning octet Voces8 has been praised for exquisite singing and creating a sound that spans the entire range of vocal color.

Date: Dec 24

Venue: Shanghai Concert Hall

Website: www.shanghaiconcerthall.org/program

DIPLOMATIC POUCH >> WITH MIKE PETERS

Morocco’s Ambassador to China Jaafar Alj Hakim introduced a painting exhibition, Ibn Battuta: Inspiration After Seven Centuries, at a private showing in Beijing on Dec 6.

Ibn Battuta (1304-1368) was a Muslim renowned for his extensive travels, which over a 30-year period extended more than 75,000 miles, about three times the distance of Marco Polo’s journeys. He visited China and other parts of Asia as well as Africa and the Middle East.

The exhibition was co-organized by the ambassador and his wife, Nouria, Zhao Jiaqi, president of Beijing People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, and Li Ruohong, president of China World Peace Foundation.

Embassy staff from 91 countries — including Botswana, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Libya, Uganda and Zambia — showcased beautiful garments from their countries at the fourth annual Diplomats’ National Costume and Oriental Fashion Show in Beijing recently.

The event also featured a traditional Chinese costume show, during which diplomats were invited to present qipao-like evening dresses and formal suits featuring red patterns of peony flowers and phoenixes. The garments were designed by the celebrated Chinese fashion designers Zeng Dan, Liang Zi and Zhang Wei.

The one-hour show, organized by the Beijing Chaoyang Commission of Commerce and the China International Friendship and Culture Festival Committee, aims to present well-made garments in a culture-crossing event.

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