More than 100 performers from China and Spain have come together for a concert to mark a half-century of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

"The Third China-Europe Music Festival and the Concert for the 50th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between China and Spain," hosted by China Media Group (CMG) was broadcast on CGTN on March 31. It features classical music and folk dances showcasing the long-standing cultural traditions of both countries. The concert's aim is to build a bridge of friendship between peoples and deepen mutual understanding.

2023 is the third consecutive year that China Media Group has held the China-Europe Music Festival. For the first time, artists from Franz Schubert Filharmonia Barcelona and China Oriental Performing Arts Group were brought together remotely to record their music from Barcelona and Beijing.

Barcelona's Palau de la Musica Catalana, famed as the pinnacle of architectural modernism, was filled with Chinese music. The Schubert Filharmonic Orchestra played four pieces of Chinese music including Symphonic Overture No. 1, Dance of the Yao People, Glowing Red Morningstar Lilies and Swan Goose.

Yang Tianwa, a Chinese violinist living in Europe, performed The Carmen Fantasy imbued with a Spanish flavor. Spanish guitarist Rafael Aguirre played Romance de Amor, Memories of the Alhambra and Liu Yang River.

Dance

The China Oriental Performing Arts Group represented its nation.

Dancers dressed in floor-length skirts performed the world-famous Spanish flamenco while twisting and flickering like summer flames. In the dance Jasmine, they melded the grace of Chinese dance with the fragrant and lingering image of the flowers, embodying a blessing for the friendship between China and Spain.

"I hope that through this concert, more of our friends abroad can learn about Chinese culture and fall in love with it," said Wu Yuting, a performer with the group.

Rafael Dezcallar, Spanish ambassador to China, thanked CMG for organizing the concert. He described music and culture as bridges connecting people from different countries. Only through mutual understanding can bilateral relations be enhanced, he added.

China cherishes its longstanding friendship with Spain and sees the anniversary as an opportunity to push the partnership to a new level, said Wu Haitao, Chinese ambassador to Spain.