BEIJING, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- The following are some Chinese cultural news items in brief:
CHAIRMAN MAO ARTWORKS ON SHOW AT SHANGHAI EXPO
More than 50 masterpieces created by China's late chairman Mao Zedong were on display at the Shanghai Expo Thursday, marking the 34th anniversary of Mao's death.
The artworks, including his calligraphy, poems, and other works , were chosen from more than 300 items collected from all over China, said Liu Shi'an at the organization committee of the exhibit.
The show will last from Thursday to Monday at the International Development Information Network Association (DEVNET) Pavilion.
NE CHINA CARVES GIANT CHINESE CHARACTER ON MOUNTAIN
Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province has carved a giant Chinese character "Shou" (meaning longevity) on the mountain of Yanshou County.
The character, 38 meters high and 18 meters wide, is the largest "Shou" ever carved in China, said Xu Zuolin at the county's travel bureau.
Costing one million yuan (147,441 U.S. dollars), it was carved by more than 100 craftsmen and took over 100 days to complete. The mountain carving will be used to boost tourism in the county, Xu said.
TAO PRAYER CEREMONY HELD IN EAST CHINA
More than 150 Taoists from throughout the world have gathered in Mount Longhu in east China's Jiangxi Province, known as the "Jerusalem of Taoism", to participate in the largest Tao prayer ceremony since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.
The ceremony, scheduled to be held from Tuesday to Friday, will focus on praying for those people suffering from natural disasters, such as earthquakes, floods and landslides, said Ren Farong, president of the Chinese Taoist Association, which hosted the event.
Thousands of believers participated in the ceremony at the mountain, which has been recently included as a World Heritage site by UNESCO due to its "danxia landform", or reddish sandstone landform.