MTV video to help stop trafficking

The MTV End Exploitation and Trafficking (EXIT) program returned on Valentine's Day, with a new music video When Will I Feel Love by Best Coast lead indie queen Bethany Cosentino and her band Black Iris.

The music video, broadcast on Feb 14 via MTV Channel, shows a young girl being seduced with a ship made of gold and lipstick, but it turns out she is actually sold into slavery and prostitution.

The video has been available for download via iTunes since Feb 15. The profits will be used to help victims of human trafficking. It is MTV EXIT's fourth music video, after collaborations with Radiohead, Muse and The Killers.

Chinese netizens have also launched a program at Sina.com to help save children who are trafficked into begging.

Sohu launches first online serial

Web portal Sohu.com has come out with its first online serial that can be seen on the website's video channel.

Titled How Qian Duoduo Meets Her Mr. Right, the 22-episode show is a romantic comedy adapted from a popular online novel. The stellar cast includes mainland actress Liu Tao and Taiwan idol Baron Chen. It is screened at 12:30 pm, Monday to Friday.

The nation is seeing a growing trend of websites making their own serials or films in recent years. Sohu's future plans include Crazy Office, a comedy that is set to go online soon.

Chinese folk music orchestra in the US

The Anhui Philharmonic Orchestra will perform at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Feb 27 and 28. Organized by the China Arts and Entertainment Group, the show is part of the group's performance series in the United States.

The orchestra, founded in 1956, brings together traditional Chinese folk musicians such as renowned flute player Chen Huilong, pipa player Zhao Cong and erhu player Hong Mei.

They will perform popular Chinese folk songs such as Jasmine Flower and Blooming Flowers and Full Moon. Conducted by Zhu Xiaogu, the orchestra will also present United States classics such as Oh! Susanna.

Taking theater to the countryside

The National Theater of China (NTC) is reaching out to the country's small counties. Its touring show, Belief, featuring songs, dances, magic shows, cross-talks and comic skits, kicked off in Wuhua county, Meizhou city of Guangdong province, on Feb 12.

Performers include NTC's top-tier actors such as Liu Tiegang, Mo Yuanji, Gao Fa and Gao Baobao.

The theater's cast came together in 2009 and has staged more than 100 performances in the counties. In 2011, it is scheduled to perform in 10 counties in Guangdong and Hainan provinces.

Mei Lanfang actor finds a mentor

Veteran actor Feng Yuanzheng has agreed to mentor young actor Yu Shaoqun. Yu asked to be his protg during the shooting of the TV drama 100 Flowers Hidden Deep, which will be broadcast in May.

Yu, 28, rose to fame by playing the young Mei Lanfang in Forever Enthralled, a biopic on the Peking Opera master directed by Chen Kaige.

Feng, 49, is an accomplished actor who had a two-year stint in Berlin theaters. Now working in Beijing People's Art Theater, China's most prestigious theater, Feng also stars in TV series and films.