G20 Summit gala includes music, dancing and fireworks

Chinese Culture

G20 Summit gala includes music, dancing and fireworks

Visiting leaders to the 2016 G20 Summit were entertained with a spectacular artistic show Sunday evening.

After the welcome banquet held by Chinese President Xi Jinping, the visiting leaders to the 11th G20 Summit attended an evening gala entitled “Impression West Lake Show.” As one of the most renowned attractions in Hangzhou, the “Impression West Lake Show” painted a fabulous picture of the city for the participating government heads and state leaders.

The gala, created and produced by a team led by famed Chinese film director Zhang Yimou, was staged with the majestic West Lake as the background. According to Zhang, the live performances which lasted 45 minutes boasted nine programs with magnificent visual effects. It is the first symphony concert above the water China has ever delivered. Zhang said that elegant symphony is a world language acknowledged by people throughout the world.

The programs included the most prestigious ballet “Swan Lake,” piano performance of “Moonlight” by prominent French composer Achille-Claude Debussy, popular Chinese folk song “Jasmine Flower,” widely known Chinese zither melody “Mountain Stream,” and Ludwig van Beethoven’s enduring “Ode to Joy.”

Impressive as well as entertaining, the gala perfectly combined classic Chinese characteristics with Western elements through an ingenious integration of Chinese and Western arts.