BEIJING

Although the Rolling Stones canceled what were to have been their first-ever concerts in mainland Chinascheduled for the beginning of April in Shanghai and Beijingciting World Health Organization and U.S. Center for Disease Control reports, they say they will reschedule as soon as the health concerns posed by SARS have abated. Advance ticket sales had been brisk, and both concerts were expected to sell out completely. Not only is there disappointment because fans here won't be able to hear the Stones, but also because a percentage of the proceeds was earmarked to help handicapped artists in China. A $750 per person charity dinner to benefit the China Disabled People's Performance Art Troupe that had been scheduled to coincide with the concert has been postponed as well.

But health warnings have not stopped other entertainers from abroad from visiting China's capital. Beijingers are excited by what seems to be an Irish invasion: a late-March concert by the Irish Chamber Orchestra was sold out, and there is even greater anticipation over the coming of Riverdance, which will have a week-long run here at the end of April. Other performance news includes the Chinese premiere of Cats, brought here by Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group, Ltd. The show comes to Beijing on May 20, following a six-week run in Shanghai.

Qin Shi Huang Di, the man who united several kingdoms and thus became China's first emperor, is the subject of Zhang Yimou's new film, Hero. One could argue whether any of the main characters are truly worthy of being labeled "hero," but the film has done heroically at the box office in China, surpassing US$30 million so far, more than ten times what a decent Chinese film usually makes here. At least part of Hero's box-office success is due to the extraordinary lengths its makers went to in order to prevent pirated DVDs and VCDs from being sold before the film was released, the usual practice in China. More people have seen Hero than saw Titanic, and the audience has fallen into two main camps: the "It's not much of a story, but gosh, it's sure pretty!" fans, or the "This is a fantastic film! What a plot! Oh, and it looks good, too!" gang. Hero has just gone from wide to more limited release, and one of the main films scheduled to take its place, Rice (Da Hong Mi Dian), directed by Huang Jianzhongwhich was completed seven years ago but then shelved by censors for what was considered pornographic contenthas just been summarily tossed back on the shelf. As a result of the new ban, street sales of pirated Rice DVDs and VCDs are quite brisk.

With private car ownership soaringan additional ten thousand private cars thicken the already dense arterial traffic each montha greater variety of cars, and of car colors, are to be seen on the city's streets. New offerings include models from Fiat, Citroen, and Renault, and colors include metallic gold, teal, hot pink, and dozens of other choices, instead of basic black and the other conservative shades that used to be the norm. People are starting to jazz up their rides with stickers, neon lights, decals, air-brushed designs, and bits of whimsy that go against the it's-the-thumb-that-sticks-out-that-gets-squashed mentality of old. But lest one worry that stodginess has been completely abandoned, fear notnear Jianguomen, where many in the diplomatic community live, is what one hopes is the only Bentley dealership around.

Michael Patrick and Zhang Yilei

SAPPORO

During the World Cup matches hosted by Korea and Japan last year, soccer teams from Argentina, England, Germany, Italy, and Saudi Arabia, among others, faced off in the superbly futuristic Sapporo Dome. The huge stadium, completed in May 2001, is located on a seventy-five-acre site just five miles from the center of the city, and the Sapporo populace has proudly nicknamed it Hiroba, meaning open space. The Dome was the only indoor venue for the World Cup competition, and it is now the home of the local soccer team, Consadole Sapporo, which until the Dome was constructed, couldn't play "home games" at home for much of the year. The Dome, which can seat over forty thousand people, can be adapted to host many kinds of events, including baseball and live concerts, and can also be converted into an exhibition hall. In January, Bon Jovi became the first international group to perform there.

Sapporo, Japan's sixth-largest city, with a population of 1.8 million people, is a modern, bustling metropolis, with broad streets, numerous parks, and spectacular views of the nearby mountains, that comes alive in winter. The city's public transportation systems, roads, and underground shopping malls, which were all modernized when Sapporo hosted the Winter Olympics in 1972, continue to be updated and developed. In fact, March 6 saw the opening of the new JR (Japan Rail) Tower and shopping mall, which adjoins the already extensive underground shopping network at Sapporo Station. The complex includes a new Daimaru department store, a Nikko hotel, cinema complexes, boutiques, and, on the top floor, towering thirty-five stories above the city, restaurants. Sapporo is covered with snow for six months of the year, and from December through early spring, the city is inundated with millions of visitors who come to sample the champagne-powder conditions on the numerous ski slopes, to see the romantic White Illuminationslight displays that illuminate the city's main park, Odori Koenor to view the huge snow and ice sculptures that fill the park during the annual Snow Festival

Recently, one of the biggest crazes to hit the city's youth culture has been snowboarding. Mixing skateboard, punk, and hip-hop cultures, snowboarding's influence is unmistakable right now. Despite Japan's economic problems, Sapporo's youth spare little cash when it comes to riding the best boards and wearing the coolest gear. And due to the high quality of Hokkaido's snow, visitors from all over Japan, the rest of Asia, and, indeed, countries such as New Zealand and Australia come here to participate in the sport. There are a number of annual events that have placed Sapporo on the world's snowboarding map. One of them, the Toyota Big Air jump competition, this year saw such famous names as teenage prodigy Sean White and Olympic gold medallist Dany Kass, as well as the high-flying Stefan Gimple, David Benedek, Daniel Franck, and Roger Hjelmstadsuen, come to the city to compete for the US$50, 000 prize money. The Europeans took center stage, with Roger Hjelmstadsuen of Norway coming in first (on the very last jump of the competition) with an unbelievable 1080-degree spin. Alas, none of the Japanese competitors made it to the Super Final.

However, one area in Sapporo that winter can't dampen is the city's infamous entertainment district. Susukino, as it is known, is crammed full of bars, restaurants and other not so savory businesses, making it the true nerve ending of Hokkaido. All year round, its bright lights and pleasures take away the chill of winter and the pain of economic recession.

Jamie Edgecombe

ULAANBAATAR

The main feature of the last season was somewhat nostalgic: it was the staging, by the State Opera and Ballet Theatre, of B. Damdinsuren's Among Three Sad Hills, one of the most beloved national operas in its repertoire. Cast members from years ago were invited to perform, among them Dagvanamdal, always the favorite performer to play the character of Yunden, the noble-hearted herder, and Buted as his beloved, Nansalmaa. The production brought back to life the sound, color, and action of the opera the way it used to be performed some twenty years ago, complete with sets and costumes that have not changed much since socialist times. The opera is based on a play written in the 1930s by D. Natsagdorj, the father of modern Mongolian literature. Among Three Sad Hills, Mongolia's first opera, has been a favorite for four generations of Mongols, and its songs are sung by old and young alike.

The Academic Drama Theater has been busy with new productions, including Beyond One More Step, by writer and philosopher D. Uriankhai, which has scored high marks among critics and spectators. Performed by a cast of well-known actors, the play addresses the conflict between the humanist values of a traditional society and the wealth-centered values of modern life. An interesting twist is that the young couple believe in humanist values and traditional Mongolian cordiality, while their elders, as their antagonists, are trying to make personal gains on human pain and loss.

The film industry here has not lately been as successful in its mastery of genre and depth of content as theater has. Cheap, melodramatic, and teary stories have flooded the film market, and are quickly forgotten.

The season that leads to the Lunar New Year, called by the Mongols the White Moon and celebrated from the time of Genghis Khan, was packed with performances of folk songs, as well as satire and humor shows, which have grown popular over the last decade. The shows this time were quite socially sensitive, dwelling on acute social issues and re-examining our new identity. The number of satire and comedy groups has been increasing, due to an influx of more dramatic actors.

Performances by Pupo, an Italian pop star popular in Mongolia in the 1980s, added to the nostalgia of the past season. Three of his concerts attracted full halls of viewers. The recently constructed private concert hall in Ulaanbaatar has had a busy artistic life, with Mongolian rock and pop stars giving individual and joint concerts. Mongolian singers have also been busy releasing new albums and records. Although recording albums in Singapore was popular, recently bands have been using the services of several local recording studios and making their TV clips domestically.

The large fashion show of Mongolian designers that has taken place in Ulaanbaatar every winter since 1989 made another step toward greater finery and sophistication of style and creativity. This year's show featured new, talented designers and models, and fabulous fur, cashmere, and sheepskin designs characteristic of fashions in the coldest capital city on the earth.

Nomin Lhagvasureen