Hunan folk music shine at United Nations

A concert of traditional Chinese Instruments—A Panorama of Hunan Province—was staged at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland on April 23 local time. The outstanding performances ignited a surge of excitement during the United National Chinese Language Day Programme celebrations.

Nearly 400 Geneva-based diplomats from more than 50 countries such as Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Brazil, and Iraq, as well as officers of international organizations and institutions, were present. 

The United National Chinese Language Day, and the 4th China Media Group (CMG) Overseas Chinese Language Video Festival, were jointly run by the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations Office at Geneva and other International Organizations in Switzerland, the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), and CMG. 

Ambassador Chen Xu, also permanent representative of China to the United Nations Office at Geneva and Other International Organizations in Switzerland, Tatiana Valovaya, director-general of UNOG, and Shen Haixiong, CMG chairperson, attended and addressed the concert. 

Under the banner of "Youth Together for a Shared Future" for the UN Chinese Language Day this year, the music played at the concert was created with a theme of "poetry and music and labor and development". 

All the audiences were intoxicated in a friendly and harmonious atmosphere, listening to the interpretation of every piece of music carefully and applauding enthusiastically. 

Ambassador Chen Xu, also permanent representative of China to the United Nations Office at Geneva and Other International Organizations in Switzerland, Tatiana Valovaya, UNOG director-general, and Francesco Pisano, chair of the Cultural Activities Committee at UNOG, took photos with the performers and spoke highly of their performances. 

Alessandra Vellucci, director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, is an Italian speaker. The excellent instrument and folk song performances on the Chinese Language Day were heart-touching, he said.  

An Armenian diplomat excitedly commented the concert as a "wonderful scroll painting of the Belt and Road Imitative".