Plucking their way to perfection

When harpist Wang Guan started a training program at Beijing's Forbidden City Concert Hall during the 2011 Gateway to Arts Summer Festival, only a few students signed up, none of whom knew anything about the instrument.

"I wasn't surprised because compared to other Western musical instruments, like the piano and the violin, the harp was less well-known in China," Wang says. "I can still remember that together with my colleagues, we had to start from zero to introduce it to the children."

Now, more than a decade later, the harp summer camp program has become one of the most popular organized by the annual festival, which is one of the capital's biggest arts festivals for children during the summer vacation.

On Aug 15, the four-day camp program concluded with a concert by students at the Forbidden City Concert Hall.

About 30 students performed pieces adapted from Chinese and Western compositions, such as Do Re Mi from The Sound of Music, and the lullaby Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.

"It's rewarding to witness the changes, and the growing number of harp students over the past 10 years," says Wang.

In addition to the harp, the festival also offers art lovers other mini summer camps centered on different arts, such as Peking Opera and percussion. Since it first began in 1995, the festival has developed a large fan base.