Happy New Year!

Happy Golden Pig year to you! Above, London's Oxford Street embraces Chinese New Year, another sign of the pull of China today, if you needed one. More on the capital getting all excited about CNY here .

nostalgia across continents

'Nostalgia' by Shanghaiese documentary maker Haolun Shu will be showing this coming week in Shanghai and London. It's a portrait of Shu's family home in one of Shanghai's old lanes just before its demolition. He returned to record life in the lane and to recall how it used to be. As he tries to capture what is being lost he also questions whether people are really enamoured with progress and what these changes are actually offering. It's a great film and a very touching insight into the changing nature of Shanghai, Chinese family life and community. If I remember correctly the Chinese name for documentary actually translates as 'Home Sickness' which I think is rather poignant - just what do you feel about your home town when your past there is obliterated?

Shanghai: MoCA Shanghai, 7PM, February 7th (Wed), English subtitles, it's free but you will need to book in advance: education@mocashanghai.org or call 63279900-124. Haolun Shu will be there for a discussion session after the screening.

London: Monday (5th), Odeon Panton Street at 6.30pm.