Beijing concert held to celebrate Spring Festival

On Feb 3, a concert was held in Beijing to celebrate the approaching Spring Festival, one of the biggest traditional Chinese festivals falling on Feb 10.

Initiated by conductor Lyu Jia,

the concert also kicked off a series of programs marking the 700th anniversary of the death of Marco Polo, a Venetian explorer and merchant from the 13th century, who embarked on an adventurous journey along the ancient Silk Road and is considered as a "bridge" between the East and the West.

Music works, including Winter from The Four Seasons by Vivaldi, Ravel's String Quartet in F Major, and arias from operas, such as Brindisi from La Traviata, Recondita Armonia from Tosca and Quando me'n'vo from La Boheme, were staged during the concert.

Lyu, who is the artistic director for the National Center for the Performing Arts, initiated the Global Arts Development Fund for Chinese, aiming at building up a platform for global Chinese nationals to share music and arts in 2018.

The programs marking the 700th anniversary of the death of Marco Polo are initiated by the fund.