Harmonizing culture and commerce: The musical evolution of Guiyang

Guiyang provides an ideal environment for music development. [Photo/Guiyang news network]

The 6th West China Convention of Symphony Orchestras was held in Southwest China's Guizhou province on Sept 6-14, kicking off a symphonic feast.

Renowned conductors such as Tan Lihua, Zhang Guoyong, Bian Zushan and Shao En led 12 symphony orchestras from Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia, Sichuan, Xizang, Chongqing, and other regions in a series of splendid symphony concerts that reverberated throughout the "city of music" – Guiyang.

Guiyang has earned the title "city of music" due to its top-notch professional symphony orchestra named after the city.

In 2009, the Guiyang Symphony Orchestra, the first privately-owned symphony orchestra in China, was established with government support and corporate funding, becoming the first professional symphony orchestra in the city and the first private funded symphony orchestra in China.

Since 2012, the Guiyang Symphony Orchestra has toured multiple times to showcase the cultural heritage of Guiyang as a "city of music". It has performed in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu and Shenyang, as well as in South Korea and Singapore, promoting cultural exchanges and opening a window for the world to appreciate Guiyang's culture.

With a commitment to "no admission fee, no distance and no commercialization" and emphasizing mass appeal, openness, and public welfare, Guiyang's roadside concerts, which debuted in July 2023, had been hosted over 200 times by late August this year, with a cumulative audience exceeding 2.27 million.

Statistics show that during the roadside concerts, various commercial districts experienced increased traffic, with the concerts becoming a key attraction for tourists and significantly boosting nighttime consumption in the city.

The development of Guiyang's roadside concerts has enriched the music culture in the city, with over 1,500 concerts, musicals, and livehouse performances held annually.

From January to now, Guiyang has organized 94 concerts featuring various themes such as rock and roll, electronic music, bel canto and ethnic music.