Erhu solo. [Photo provided to chinaculture.org]

To celebrate the 65th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, China Cultural Center in Berlin and Beijing’s Central Conservatory of Music (CCOM) hosted music concerts in Germany from Sept 29 to Oct 3. On the evening of Oct 1, more than 250 Berlin residents packed the cultural center’s concert hall and experienced a festive, joyous event. An orchestra from CCOM performed a set of classical Chinese folk music for the audience.

On Oct 2, the orchestra drove 300 km to a small city in the Free State of Thuringia in Germany. The performance at a local church attracted nearly 500 people, drawing bursts of applause. The mayor and Chen delivered speeches before the performance to note China’s National Day.