First Guzheng Beijing International Music Festival to open in late July

The first Guzheng Beijing International Music Festival, which will last for six days, will open at the National Indoor Stadium in Beijing on July 26. This is the first music festival China has ever held featuring one national musical instrument. Musicians and music lovers from Japan, South Korea, the US, Canada, Hong Kong and Taiwan will perform at the festival. At the opening ceremony, numerous young ladies will play large or strangely-shaped guzheng to deliver a novel music experience for the audience.

First Guzheng Beijing International Music Festival to open in late July

The first program at the opening ceremony of the festival will be presented by a large guzheng performance group featuring 1,000 people, named “Praises of China, Love for Dunhuang.” Dressed in costumes printed with the Chinese characters “Dunhuang” and other relevant patterns, the 1,000 performers will play the musical instruments together with performers of the "jinghu" (a small two-string bowed instrument), drums, martial arts, and singers and dancers to present the glamorous music of the Chinese nation. Following the opening ceremony, there will be 11 national concerts, with eight using the titles “Night of Dunhuang” or “Sound of Dunhuang.” Currently, guzheng musicians, performers, educators, composers and lovers from Japan, South Korea, the US, Canada, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong have registered to participate in this festival. The number of visitors to the festival’s website is expected to reach 10,000. This will be the largest guzheng event in history in terms of the number of participants, scale and comprehensiveness.

Guzheng, also called the “Qin zither,” is one of the oldest string instruments in China. It is pleasant to listen to and easy to learn, therefore, it is regarded as the “master of all sound and music.” As Wang Zhongshan, renowned guzheng professor and performer from China Conservatory, said, the guzheng is one of the few musical instruments which are truly ancient. With a history of nearly 3,000 years, it has developed into numerous schools and is called the “sound of harmony.” Since it is beautiful to look at, pleasant to listen to, and easy to learn, a growing number of people like it and start learning to play. Some young musicians also add guzheng elements into their works, like Jay Chou’s “Chrysanthemum Flower Bed.” Therefore, it is the perfect time to hold a guzheng music festival.