[Photo provided to China Daily]

An act of defiance

A Chinese play, Lin Zexu, which tells the life story of the Chinese scholar and Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) official, will be staged by the National Center for the Performing Arts. Commissioned by the NCPA and premiering in 2019, the play will feature veteran actors, including Pu Cunxin playing the title role. Lin was sent by the emperor to Guangzhou, Guangdong province, to stop the illegal import of opium from Britain in 1838. He launched the destruction of opium in Humen, a port town, in 1839. About 1,400 tons of opium, confiscated from foreign traders, was destroyed within 23 days. The incident triggered the First Opium War.

7:30 pm, Dec 11 to 22. National Center for the Performing Arts. No 2 West Chang'an Avenue, Xicheng district, Beijing. 010-6655-0000.

[Photo provided to China Daily]

Reflecting on the past

Mirrors are not only a common apparatus of daily life. The object also reflects techniques, aesthetics and lifestyles. Vintage mirrors form a large category in the collection of the National Museum of China in Beijing, the oldest dating back to the late stage of Neolithic Age. Mirrors of Eternity, an exhibition at the National Museum of China, which runs through March 24, offers a glimpse of the richness and diversity of bronze mirrors made in ancient China. On show are more than 260 of the finest objects in collection of the National Museum, to not just review the progress of bronze melting and casting techniques over the centuries, but also show the cultural implications and moral beliefs embodied in mirrors, as well as exchanges between ancient China and the world.

9 am-5 pm, closed on Mondays. Reservation needed. 16 East Chang'an Avenue, Dongcheng district, Beijing.010-6511-6400.