22 | Friday, November 8, 2019 CHINA DAILY MOSAIC Gaining a ‘bird­watcher’s­eye view’ of the natural world When my husband and I spotted There, I encountered a bird home, tracing a mountain creek gettable, or easily confused with lives and the feeling that, even in a dusky brown bird bobbing on a perched on a rock near the cascad­ that cut through the valley. others? Or had the birds, after years familiar territory, we could always rock in a stream not far from the ing waters, and my hunch was later This brown dipper, as if taking of seeking refuge in wilder and encounter something new. family home in rural Zhejiang, a confirmed in the pages of the North the stream as a stage, didn’t disap­ more remote streams, quietly So next time you’re out in a park, feeling of excite­ American bird guide in my back­ point with its performance. It reclaimed their place in the village the woods or even just a country­ ment swept pack: I had seen an American dip­ “danced” before us on the rock and as the local environment improved? side village, keep an eye open for through me. per. The sweat slathered across my then flew off in a dramatic flourish, Whatever the reason, their dis­ those feathered friends flitting “That’s a dipper, brow as well as sore feet and legs belting out a rhythmic series of covery sparked the formation of our about. With a little patience — and I’m certain of it!” I seemed a worthy trade­off for a “bzzzzzzzt” calls that sounded like two­person “Rural Zhejiang Bird­ luck — you too can experience the whispered in his glimpse of the only aquatic song­ raspy, but adorable, whistles. Jun’s watching Club”. transformative power of having a ear, prompting bird in North America and one camera, meanwhile, kept clicking Together, we remapped the entire “bird­watcher’s­eye view” of the Jocelyn him to reach for capable of “flying” underwater, as a away with such a singular focus, landscape of Jun’s village with fur­ world. Eikenburg the camera draped nature documentary on TV had A brown dipper. reflecting how much he had also ther sightings of birds new to one Second over his shoulder revealed. It didn’t count as a rare PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY embraced this charming little bird. or both of us, from the jewel­like Contact the writer at Thoughts and snap a photo. sighting, since the dipper isn’t Why had Jun, who had long kingfisher and its rainbow of plum­ [email protected] The last time I endangered. where I grew up — all the more. known of my passion for bird­ age that shimmered in the sun to laid eyes on such a bird was in Still, the majesty of one of Ameri­ Never did I expect that, instead of watching, never mentioned the dip­ the nearly four­foot wingspan of a Yosemite National Park, while ca’s most picturesque national spending hours on a strenuous hike pers in his hometown? The answer large owl that catapulted out of the Online trudging up switchbacks that rose parks framed the moment, leading up the granite cliffs of Yosemite, I surprised me — he hadn’t seen bushes and passed above our aston­ Scan the code 300 meters from the valley floor to me to cherish this bird — one not only needed to venture on a short them before. Had their drab, brown ished faces. Each sighting added a to hear an audio the top of Upper Yosemite Falls. native to the Cleveland, Ohio, region walk from my husband’s family plumage rendered the dippers for­ fresh layer of fascination to our version What’s on Sutra their last few days of life. When: Nov 8 and 9, 7:30 pm; Rather than receiving treat­ Nov 10, 2 pm ment, 19­year­old Liu Bao Where: Shanghai International chooses to complete his bucket Dance Center list by doing things like giving a Few dance productions have concert, marrying his idol and made such an impact as Sutra. designing his own funeral. Since its premiere in early He hires a rebellious teenag­ 2008, the striking collaboration er, Yang Xiaoyu, who has previ­ between Belgian choreogra­ ously attempted suicide, to pher Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Brit­ help him. While keeping the ish sculptor Antony Gormley general structure of the original and 19 Buddhist monks from South Korean version, many the Shaolin Temple, has toured Chinese jokes are carefully the world, selling out to audien­ mixed into this version. ces in 33 countries. It’s a story of laughter, In Sutra, Cherkaoui explores instead of one of tears. the way that the monks, famous for their warrior skills, Le Nozze di Figaro relate spiritually to animals and (The Marriage of Figaro) the environment and how they When: Nov 24­30, 7 pm blend faith and physical Where: National Center for the strength. He manages to break Performing Arts, Beijing down Eastern and Western per­ Le Nozze di Figaro is a comic ceptions of each other and opera in four acts composed in proves that martial arts are 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus poetry in motion. Mozart, with an Italian libretto Sutra, taken literally, is a rope written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It or thread that holds things premiered at the Burgtheater in together. Metaphorically, it is a Vienna in 1786. The National rule, or set of rules, also bind­ Center for the Performing Arts ing. In Buddhism, the term was in Beijing produced Le Nozze di originally given to the sermons Figaro in 2016. of the Buddha. It is a fantastic farce, contin­ uing the story of the characters Ghetto from Il Barbiere di Seviglia. The XINHUA When: Nov 9 and 10, 7 pm couple, Rosina and Count Where: Suzhou Poly Theater Almaviva, are established in A moment in time: Ghetto is a play by Israeli their estate near Seville, Spain. playwright Joshua Sobol about Count Almaviva has become Tunneling to progress the experiences of Jews in the an aggressive, manipulative Vilna Ghetto during Nazi occu­ womanizer, and Rosina, the Workers clear rocks after blasting in a tunnel for pation in World War II. countess, has become It is inspired by an actual despondent and upset about the Luanhe River Diversion Project in 1982. theater which operated in the the state of their relationship. Completed in 1983, the project directs water from ghetto from 1941 to 1943. It Figaro is now employed as tells the story of the ghetto Count Almaviva’s personal but­ the Luanhe River in eastern Hebei province to theater during the Lithuania ler, but the count is actively Tianjin, ending the port city’s reliance on the salty occupation. pursuing Figaro’s fiancee. The The theater responded to count keeps putting off the Haihe River for drinking water. However, 22 despair with song, satire and wedding, finding ways to delay workers lost their lives during the project. With criticism of the Nazi regime, their union, even on the day of proving that theater can pro­ their planned ceremony. the use of modern boring machines, tunneling has vide courage and hope even made advances in safety procedures, as seen in the amidst a time of atrocities. Sam Tsui: The Gold Jacket Tour photo (right) at a site in Yunnan province in May. When: Nov 29, 7:30 pm Hong Kong Ballet: Where: Shanghai Mao Livehouse The Great Gatsby Internet celebrity Sam Tsui When: Nov 15 and 16, 7:15 pm will begin The Gold Jacket Tour Where: Shanghai Oriental Art this month in support of his lat­ Center est album Trust and new single YANG ZONGYOU / XINHUA Created by artistic director Gold Jacket. Septime Webre, Hong Kong Tsui debuted his own social Ballet premiered The Great media channel in 2011 and was The newspaper and beyond Gatsby early this year. featured on Britney Spear’s Written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, official website with the cover The Great Gatsby centers on an of the song Hold It Against Me. On our Sina Weibo On chinadaily.com.cn elusive millionaire called Jay Tsui is known for covering Gatsby. It presents a critical songs by popular artists includ­ Alipay opens to international travelers in China Culture: Smart Cinema survivors have died this year, tional boxing tournament — on portrait of the American dream ing Adele, Spears, Justin Tim­ From Tuesday, tourists visit­ launches in US according to the Memorial Hall Feb 2, organizers said on Tues­ through its portrayal of the berlake and many more. ing China were able to Smart Cinema, a movie screen­ of the Victims in the Nanjing day. The event will attract golden 1920s New York elite. By explor­ While studying at Yale Uni­ download and use mobile ing app backed by the country’s Massacre by Japanese Invaders. belt boxers from the World Box­ ing themes of wealth, class, versity, Tsui was able to utilize payment service Alipay top film regulator, officially The Nanjing Massacre took ing Organization, World Boxing love and idealism, the novel tools of the digital music age to during their trip. Visitors launched its North American place when Japanese troops Council, World Boxing Associa­ raises powerful questions about independently create a popular just need an overseas phone version in Los Angeles during captured the city on Dec 13, tion and International Boxing American ideas and society. channel and brand. number, a visa and their the 15th China­US Film and TV 1937. Over six weeks, they killed Federation during Spring Festi­ bank card to sign up for Festival on Sunday.