Meet in Beijing Arts Festival grand opening unifies China and Canada talent

Mark Rowswell, a well-known Canadian scholar and TV host, who is better known as Dashan among Chinese audiences, delivers a recitation for the Ode to the Yellow River at the opening concert of Meet in Beijing Arts Festival on April 25, 2016. [Photo/meetinbeijing.org.cn]

Canadian soprano Katherine Whyte joined in the show, performing excerpts from the Romeo and Juliet opera and the Candide musical. She surprised the audience with three traditional Chinese songs: White Hair Girl, I Love You, China and Jasmine Flower.

Meet in Beijing Arts Festival is a large-scale international festival hosted by China’s Ministry of Culture, the Beijing Municipality Government and the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. The Festival is held annually from late April to the end of May.

In its 16th year, the festival brings together nearly 400 Chinese artists and more than 400 International artists from 25 countries, including the United Kingdom, Spain and France.