Best bets

"Recording treasure, inheriting civilization" - Guanzhong Shehuo Exhibition

Venue: United Nations

On May 25, photographer Sun Jinqiang's exhibtion "Recording treasure, inheriting civilization" - Guanzhong Shehuo opened at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Herman Cohen, former US Assistant Secretary of State cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony. Shehuo performances are traditional folk shows including dragon dances, stiltwalking, land boats and rural folk dances. Guanzhong Shehuo has accumulated a wealth of national memory, carrying the Chinese people's spiritual pursuit. Civilized dialogues with the international community can help promote the sustainable development of human society. This exhibition serves as a continuation of Sun's "My home My friend" series at the Milan Expo. Sun's photography collection "China's Guanzhong Shehuo" has just won the 2015 China's most beautiful book award.

Cavalia in Beijing

Date: June 4-June 19 - 2:30 pm/7:30 pm

Venue: Chaoyang Park Dong San Men Parking lot

Price: 120-1,980 yuan

Cavalia is a fresh mix of equestrian and performing arts, multimedia and special effects, innovatively integrating acrobatics, dance, aerial stunts and live music. Enjoyed by more than 4 million spectators, Cavalia is a lavish production involving 40 magnificent horses and featuring 40 riders, aerialists, acrobats, dancers and musicians from all over the world. A show unlike any other, Cavalia celebrates the relationship between humans and horses, virtually reinventing the equestrian arts.

The Royal Danish Ballet Napoli

Date: June 16-17 - 7:30 pm

Venue: National Center of the Performing Arts

Price: 160-880 yuan

In 1841, August Bournonville was compelled to take involuntary leave from the Royal Danish Theatre following a scandal in which he had violated etiquette one evening while performing the lead role in the ballet. Greatly emboldened by his friend Bertel Thorvaldsen, Bournonville travelled south, away from domestic squabbles. In Italy, Bournonville spent a month at the Santa Lucia quay in Naples, and his impressions of the local folklore and its fiery soul inspired him to create the ballet Napoli, which premiered the year after.

Ballet de Lorraine - Paris-New York-Paris

Date: June 4 - 7:30 pm

Venue: National Center for the Performing Arts

Price: 100-580 yuan

This triple-bill performance looks at an arc of history, starting with what could be considered one of the first "happenings", or as its creators deemed it, an "instantist" ballet: Relache, from 1924. Created by Francis Picabia and Erik Satie, the work also includes the surrealist film Entr'acte, a "cinematic intermission", by Rene Clair. We then continue on to the 1970's in New York, with Merce Cunningham's Sounddance. One of the ideas proposed in Relache was the notion of "here and now" in performance dramaturgy: the joy and interest of the moment with no need for a conventional story line. This introduces the idea of abstraction - an idea that Cunningham's work continually explored.

Vienna Chamber Orchestra

Date: June 7 - 7:30 pm

Venue: National Center for the Performing Arts

Price: 80-500 yuan

The Vienna Chamber Orchestra was founded in the year 1946. The former chief conductor Carlo Zecchi and the guest conductors Yehudi Menuhin and Sandor Vegh were special partners for the Orchestra. Hattori is one of the leading Japanese musicians of his generation and has enjoyed a very varied career as a musician, firstly as a concert violinist, an activity which has developed into directing chamber orchestras, conducting symphony orchestras and finally operas.

Song Joong-ki Asia Tour Fan Meeting in Shanghai 2016

Date: June 5-7:30 pm

Venue: Shanghai Grand Stage

Price: 380-1,080 yuan

Song Joong-ki is a South Korean actor and host. He rose to fame in the historical drama Sungkyunkwan Scandal (2010) and the variety show Running Man as one of the original cast members when it premiered in 2010. Song played his first TV leading role in the melodrama The Innocent Man (2012). He has also starred in feature films, notably as the titular character in the box office hit A Werewolf Boy (2012). After his mandatory military service, he took on the lead role in the massive pan-Asia hit 2016 drama, Descendants of the Sun.