Ancient buildings alive with sound of music

In its third edition, the festival, supported by Beijing Municipal Cultural Heritage Bureau, runs until Oct 28, featuring 10 live performances at eight iconic historical buildings in Beijing, including the Drum and Bell Towers, the White Pagoda at the Miaoying Temple, Dajue Temple, and Zhenjue Temple, now called Beijing Stone Carving Art Museum.

Over 30 groups of musicians and artists are performing during the festival, including pianists Bao Huiqiao, Sheng Yuan, Kunqu Opera actress Shen Yili and the renowned Amber String Quartet.

Many audience members who attended these concerts had been touched by the works presented by modern musicians in these ancient architecture spaces. Among them was an audience member named Silver, who commented in the festival's official WeChat account, after watching the concert by Bao at the Zhenjue Temple on Sept 30, saying that "the octogenarian pianist Bao, with her passion and grace, created a unique contemporary symphonic piece together with the age-old Zhenjue Temple. The piano keys vibrated with the autumn breeze after the rain, accompanied by the rustling of ancient ginkgo trees. The cawing of passing crows seemed to join in the melodic ensemble".