Concert serves as prelude to more cultural exchanges

By MO JINGXI | China Daily | Updated: 2024-05-17 06:57 A concert marking the opening of the 2024-25 China-Russia Years of Culture and the 75th anniversary of the establishment of China-Russia diplomatic relations is held on Thursday at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing. FENG YONGBIN/CHINA DAILY Together with nearly 1,000 audience members from both countries, President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin enjoyed a concert in Beijing on Thursday afternoon, marking a high point of the first day of Putin's two-day state visit to China. The concert, presented by Chinese and Russian musicians with instruments such as China's erhu, a two-stringed, bowed instrument, and Russia's bayan, a button accordion, was also the opening ceremony for the 2024-25 China-Russia Years of Culture. Fedor Guryev, a senior student majoring in flight vehicle design and engineering at Beihang University in Beijing, said in fluent Chinese that he was excited during the concert to hear the artists skillfully blending the Russian song Moscow Nights with China's Song of Horse Herding. During the 2024-25 China-Russia Years of Culture, residents in 51 Chinese cities and 38 Russian cities will be able to appreciate more than 230 art events, such as film festivals and exhibitions, at their doorsteps.