CULTURAL EVOLUTION: In honor of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, China's Ministry of Health will be hosting an exhibition in Beijing on HIV/AIDS awareness. The free month-long show is being held at the Museum of the Chinese Revolution, and will feature more than 2,000 works by mainland artists and photographers. It could be the best show in town, with Tiananmen Square recently closed for renovations. Workers will be sprucing up the 4.4 sq km area in time for the 50th anniversary of the People's Republic next October, and the square is expected to reopen in May with new paving, brighter lights and a better public-address system. As the capital is also in an earthquake zone, officials are planning to spend more than $65 million to quake-proof local landmarks like the Beijing Hotel and the Agricultural Exhibition Hall. Meanwhile, the White Pagoda Temple northwest of the Forbidden City recently reopened after a year of restoration work. Built in 1271 at the bidding of Kublai Khan, it was declared one of China's protected heritage sites in 1961.