The May Day holiday has something for everyone, from music and arts to the opening of the man-made Sea Park in Fengxian District. The May Day holiday, with the pleasure of art in the warm open air, offers the Shanghai International Jazz Week in Fuxing Park and an array of music, dance and the visual arts (not all in the outdoors) to appeal to virtually everyone.

Renowned architect and urban planner Yona Friedman convenes a two-week exhibition and urban planning workshop at 18 on the Bund to discuss how dynamic Shanghai could become an even better, more user-friendly city. He wants more citizens involved in urban planning.

From Tuesday through Friday, five cinemas will show the best of recent French films from the last two years, including romance, drama, thrillers, historical features and animation.

A museum-type gallery of Russian and Soviet-era art has just opened at the new Changning Library.

It is a magnificent rotating collection of a private Chinese collector, 150 of around 400 works will be continuously displayed.

Fan Jianxiang, who runs Chinese restaurants in Russia, may even consider sales of his precious art for the first time.

World-acclaimed Japanese painter Joji Yoshioka - who fell in love with color and studied in France - has opened his first solo exhibition at the Spring Gallery on Nanchang Road. Yoshioka loves seascapes and paints pink skies and golden seas; he also paints a colorful Bund and other well-known Shanghai scenes.

So, the May Day holiday is time to go out and explore. Enjoy yourself!

Pudong Shanghai International Music Carnival

Ten ensembles from around the world will stage live outdoor shows at the Century Park for the Pudong Shanghai International Music Carnival from today through next Monday.

The annual music gala features popular bands from Ireland, the United States, United Kingdom and China, such as Eclipse, Shae Laurel, Amanda, CLEA and Big Rain. The performing troupes include a traditional Chinese drum ensemble, the East Jiangzhou Percussion Band.

The park will be divided into three themed stages - a red stage for rock music, a blue stage for country music and an orange stage for pop music. Every stage is scheduled to run two shows every day. Audiences can sit on the lawn and appreciate continuous performances. There will be a corridor showcasing a variety of traditional Chinese instruments.

Date: May 1-7, 7am to 6pm (park open), 10am to 5pm (show time)

Venue: Century Park

Tickets: 50 yuan

Tel: 5093-9588, 5885-7248

Get Away at Fengxian Sea Park

To escape the forest of high-rises and the concrete jungle during the holidays, one doesn't need to take a long journey to breathe the fresh air and get closer to nature.

The "Sea Park" in Fengxian District is a good choice of getaways. Nearly 80,000 square meters of a man-made sandy beach, plus 47,000 square-meters of greenbelt can ease the nerves of any frazzled urban dweller.

Apart from swimming, the park provides motorized skis, motorboats and beach volleyball. Delicious fresh seafood is served at convenient restaurants.

According to the organizer, a special opening ceremony will be held tonight.

A huge seaside stage will be set up for singing and dancing performances.

In order to promote this new scenic spot in the city, a photo exhibition was held last month. Wang Rongjiang, a photographer at Shanghai Daily, was awarded first prize for his photo, "A garden of 100 birds."

For details on driving, please call: 5747-2529.

Shanghai Jazz Week

Brazil-born Japanese bossa nova singer Lisa Ono will kick off the Shanghai International Jazz Week with a concert in Fuxing Park. A stage, tent and 1,900 seats have been especially built for the week's events.

Ono will perform not only her most popular songs like "Take Me Home, Country Roads" and "C'est Si Bon" but also old Shanghai songs from early last century. 　　Jazz Week running from tomorrow to Sunday will feature 11 bands from eight countries and regions.

They will include Italian jazz queen Maria Pia De Vito, British jazz diva Carol Kidd, Swiss band BCONNECTED, Vienna jazz sax performer Tony Perez, Omar Sosa trio from Cuba, Japanese band TKY and several Chinese bands. The final event will be the show of the American band "The Bruknahm Project."

Date: May 2-6, 2:30pm-9:30pm

Venue: Shanghai Fuxing Park

Tickets: 150 yuan

Tel: 962-288

Berliner Philharmoniker principals concert

The heavenly brass winds of the Berliner Philharmoniker amazed Shanghai during their debut in 2005. Three principal brass wind musicians Olaf Ott, Stefan Jezierski and Tamas Velenczei will stage a concert with Shanghai Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Chinese conductor Chen Zuohuang on Saturday.

They will play Grondahl's "Trombone Concerto," Strauss' "Horn Concerto No. 1 in E Flat Major Op. 11," Hummel's "Trumpet Concerto (E-Flat Major)" and Respighi's "Pines of Rome."

Date: May 5, 7:30pm

Venue: Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, 425 Dingxiang Rd.

Tickets: 100 to 500 yuan

Tel: 6854-1234

Chinese traditional costume dance show

"Classics of China: Fashion Miniature of History" will show the gorgeous fashions of ancient China's Tang (618-907), Song (960-1279), Yuan (1271-1368), Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties.

Based on the popular show "Dances of the Dynasties," which premiered in 1987 and staged 1,000 performances in dozens of countries and regions, the 60-minute-long "Classics of China" will showcase 1,200 costumes and 600 props. Eighty dancers will perform in 40 scenes. If it is successful, backers plan to present the show year-round as a night program for tourists. The show will have English explanations of the costumes, periods and dances.

Date: May 1-13, 7:30pm

Venue: Shanghai International News Center, 1 Century Ave.

Tickets: 80 to 150 yuan

Tel: 5882-8888

Website: www.spomic.com