Starting on September 29, and lasting the duration of the Golden October Week holiday, Holland will come to China in the form of the Holland Village that will be set up at Beijing's Chaoyang Park.

There, visitors can find traditional Dutch streets with quaint little houses grouped around a square and see a 10-m high typical Dutch traditional windmill.

In the houses, visitors can enjoy typical Dutch handicrafts and taste traditional Dutch food. Throughout the day many different cultural events will be held at the Holland Village, which will also feature a life-size statue of the famous 17th century painter Rembrandt and live Dutch music that will go on even after it gets dark.

Everyday, a fashion show will be staged to highlight traditional Dutch folk costumes even as children will get to treat themselves to plenty of poffertjes, a sweet snack . The Holland Week will also have several cultural performances taking place on the Festival Stage in Chaoyang Park:

ISH

From October 1 to October 4, ISH will put up performances at 11 am and 3 pm and interactive workshops at 4:30 pm and 7 pm.

The first of these is the streetwise performance of ISH - a spectacular show that combines different disciplines of street theater and dance into a professionally choreographed stage show. They have performed all over the world including on Broadway and have drawn enthusiastic crowds wherever they have gone. More details at www.ish-events.com

2moveDanceCompany

On October 6 at 3:30 pm, the 2moveDance Company will perform in Chaoyang Park. The concept for 2moveDance Company comes from the need of talented young choreographers to concentrate on the creation of new works without spending their time on administration, publicity and production.

Their performances offer the public a better understanding of modern dance and will attempt to show what different choreographers can do with the same material - two men. More details at www.2movedancecompany.com

Living Statues

In the Holland Village, you are welcome to see Rembrandt live - performed by Living Sculptures on a daily basis. This is a special performance where an actor acts as a "sculpture that is alive", or a "living sculpture". More details at www.livingsculptures.com

The Embassy of the Netherlands in China publishes a monthly digital Cultural Calendar that can be subscribed to at pek-pcz@minbuza.nl

(Shanghai Star September 28, 2007)