Serbia's Balkanopolis band brings harmony to China Cultural Center show

The Balkanopolis band is preparing for its next big gig at the China Cultural Center in Belgrade.

With Serbian multi-instrumentalist and composer Slobodan Trkulja at the helm, Balkanopolis is well established domestically and abroad.

They frequently perform in China and have even participated in major events shown on Chinese television. Over time, they've developed an extensive love for both the country and its people.

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"I was won over by the immediacy of kindness of the Chinese people," says bandmaster Trkulja. "I felt warmth, cordiality, love, a sense of understanding."

The group's sound engineer, Milos Dajic, has also been impressed by his experience of touring China.

"No matter where we perform, people come to watch because it's interesting for them. It's even more interesting for us to see how they perceive it, because they don't understand our language and we don't understand theirs," says Dajic.

"But there's obviously some kind of symbiosis, through the music, the whole performance by Slobodan, the musicians, and us who try to convey it to the audience."

In the Serbian city of Novi Sad, Trkulja has helped organize for several years now a festival of light to mark the Chinese New Year.

"In the next few years I hope to work even more on cultural exchanges between the two countries. Music shops, learning traditional Chinese music and instruments, but also presenting traditional Serbian music and instruments to China," he tells CGTN.

For years now, people like Trkulja and his band have acted as artistic ambassadors, promoting cultural ties between the two countries, proof that in today's globalized society, it is possible to wear away at cultural borders between nations.

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