Shugyla Adepkhan and Bakhtiyar Adamzhan Became Artists of the Year

Images | A girl poses with Chenchen, Congcong and Lianlian (from L to R), mascots of the 19th Asian Games, at the Gongshu Canal Sports Park in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Nov. 9, 2021. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi)

Yucong," or "Jade Cong," which is a jade tube with a quadrilateral exterior and a circular inside, is an ancient ritual article bearing testimony to the existence of at least 5,000 years of Chinese civilization.

Yucong," which once made Liangzhu famous worldwide for its exquisite jade carvings, again takes a prominent position in the excitement and anticipation of the Chinese people as they eagerly await the splendid games to be hosted in their country.

Asian countries have shared a common cultural theme since ancient times and that is exactly what we want to convey through Congcong's design -- the sense of a shared future for humankind," explained Zhang Wen, chief designer of the mascots for the Hangzhou Asian Games.

The design of the medals is inspired by the jade, integrating its square outer shape with the circular inner shape of the medal. The coexistence of square and circle represents the practice of upholding unity in diversity and seeking harmony in differences," said Zhang Junjie, head of the School of Industrial Design at China Academy of Art.

At the very beginning, jade was merely an ornament. Later on, some sacred significance was attached to jadeware, associating it with power and belief, just like what we see in Liangzhu Culture," said Ma Dongfeng, executive director of Liangzhu Museum.

Through grand occasions like the Asian Games, I hope more people will get to know our fine traditional Chinese culture, while better spreading our Liangzhu stories and China stories to the world," Ma noted.

Images | Kazakh MFA

The deserts of Central Asia earn this global recognition by UNESCO as an outstanding example of a land ecosystem in extreme climate conditions and of the evolution of strategies for the survival and adaptation of plants and animals within dynamic ecological and biological processes. We are grateful to the members of the World Heritage Committee and the experts of the International Union for Conservation of Nature for their appreciation of the efforts of everyone involved in the preparation of this transnational nomination. We trust the new international status of Altyn Emel and Barsakelmes will draw additional attention to the importance of continuing in-depth scientific research into and efficient measures for the protection of desert ecosystems in Kazakhstan, as well as consolidating our country’s potential for the development of sustainable and responsible tourism," the delegation of the Republic of Kazakhstan at the Committee’s session noted.

Images | astanaopera.kz

Le Jeune Homme et la Mort is one of my favorite ballets. After all, here you can show your acting skills and give free reign to your emotions. Essentially, this ballet depicts the thoughts of a young man before committing suicide. It is very difficult to express through dance the state of a person under such stress, and this is why I like this ballet, it differs from others in its technique. The ballet is set to Bach’s music, but it only plays in the background because the action does not follow it precisely. That is why during the rehearsals we prepare for the performance without music. Now my colleague Anastasia and I are carefully working on the performance in the rehearsal studio. A few days before the premiere, we will prepare again with Luigi Bonino, who was Roland Petit’s assistant, and on the first performance day we will present our art to the Swiss audience," Bakhtiyar Adamzhan said.

Now my dream is for this ballet to be staged at our Astana Opera. I want Kazakh viewers to also get acquainted with this production, so that it will be a part of the opera house’s repertoire. Therefore, when participating in various performances around the world, I try to bring my colleagues from our ballet company with me to gala evenings taking place abroad. Because if the company has as many dancers as possible performing this ballet, there will be greater assurance that it will be staged at our opera house," the principal dancer added.

We will dance with Bakhtiyar Roland Petit’s one-act ballet Le Jeune Homme et la Mort. I will present the role of the Death, who comes to the Young Man in the form of a young woman. Renowned ballerinas perform this part, so of course it is exciting for me, even doubly so, as this will be my debut. I am very grateful and happy to try my hand at such a legendary production by an outstanding choreographer of his time, Roland Petit," Anastasia Zaklinskaya shared.

Images | Ministry of Trade and Integration

Today the "Made in Kazakhstan" sign is already recognized by Kazakh consumers as a symbol of domestic production. However, there are facts of its unfair use. In this regard, for the purpose of subsequent introduction of support measures on the shelf space, the Ministry initiated a pilot project, during which all issues will be worked out", - emphasized the Chairman of the Committee for Technical Regulation and Metrology of MIT RK Kuanysh Yelikbayev.

One of the pregnant women in labor was in the elevator being repaired after being stalled. Thanks to operative work of the midwife a boy with a weight of 3,460 gram was born with no complications," said in the medical facility.