The Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra holds an online concert to mark the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the Philippines on June 9. [Photo/people.cn]
The Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra held an online concert to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the Philippines on June 9.
The event was sponsored by the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines and the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines to honor the friendship between the peoples of the two countries.
Famed conductor Fu Renchang led the chorus, performing a number of Chinese classics such as Me and My Country and Jasmine Flower (Mo Li Hua), adaptations of Filipino folk songs, and Beethoven's Symphony No 7.
The concert was broadcast on several Chinese and Philippine media platforms, including Xiamen Star, Chinaculture.org, Chinanews.com, and Chinese News TV, the only Filipino-Chinese lifestyle show in the Philippines.
According to incomplete statistics, 318,000 people watched the performance online or on television, and the live stream on Chinanews.com alone attracted 81,000 viewers.
The Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1998. It originally planned to visit the Philippines in June to give the performance, but the event had to be moved online due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
China has decided to extend its visa waiver policy to ordinary passport holders from Canada and the United Kingdom starting from Feb 17.
Forty-one new port-of-entry duty-free shops have been established nationwide, with Xiamen Xiang'an International Airport, Xiamen Wutong Passenger Wharf, and Xiamen International Cruise Center included on the list.
