For the Shanghai audience, a concert staged in the hall of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra on the evening of April 11 was a feast for their ears.

As one part of the 36th Shanghai Spring International Music Festival, a concert of The Silk Road Suite was organized by Gasu province, which sits alongside the Silk Road route - an ancient trade road connecting North China with Europe.

Created by the famed Russian composer Pleshka Viktor Vasilyevich, the symphony has nine movements to express the Chinese culture of the city of Dunhuang and the Silk Road in western musical form.

According to Zuo Xia, the executive vice president of the Chinese Musicians’ Association of Gansu Province, utilizing the western symphonic form is a way to boost cultural exchange with the countries involved in the Belt and Road. “The Dunhuang culture is popular at home and abroad due to its mystery. Such a combination of musical form and culture can better convey the story of Dunhuang,” said Zuo.