Intl piano festival opens in Ningbo

The 2021 China (Ningbo) Grand Canal International Piano Art Festival opens in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province on May 5. [Photo/WeChat account: nbfb0574]

The 2021 China (Ningbo) Grand Canal International Piano Art Festival opened in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province on May 5, according to local media reports.

Since its inception in 2019, the festival, which is slated to run until May 10, aims to preserve and promote the Grand Canal culture and echo the central government's call to construct a cultural belt along the river.

Spanning more than 2,000 kilometers from Beijing to Hangzhou, the Grand Canal is a UNESCO heritage site and is the longest and oldest man-made canal in the world.

Zhu Guoxian, head of the publicity department of the CPC Zhejiang provincial committee, expressed hope that the festival could further promote the Grand Canal's cultural charm and scenery to the world through the beautiful melodies.

At the opening ceremony, world renowned pianist and UN peace ambassador Lang Lang, accompanied by 100 young violinists in Ningbo and performers from sub-venues in Hangzhou, Jiaxing, Huzhou and Shaoxing, staged an instrumental ensemble titled "An Ode to the Party".