China-US symphony concert celebrates diversity among civilizations

Chinese and American musicians jointly presented a symphony concert on Saturday on the sidelines of the third Liangzhu Forum in east China's Hangzhou City, where international experts gathered to promote the safeguarding of cultural heritage.

Held for guests attending the forum, the "Light of Liangzhu" China-U.S. Symphony Concert was jointly staged by Zhejiang Symphony Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra, welcoming some 1,000 in-person and online audience members.

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China-US symphony concert celebrates diversity among civilizations

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China-US symphony concert celebrates diversity among civilizations

Through music that spans continents and centuries, it aimed to reflect the forum's theme, "Revitalization of Civilization: Cultural Heritage and Human Culture Diversity."

Chinese and Western musical works graced the evening, including "Picturesque Zhejiang", "Spring River and Flowers in the Moonlight," based on the Tang Dynasty (618-907) masterpiece by prominent Chinese poet Zhang Ruoxu, and Beethoven's 6th Symphony.

The musicians said the concert helped to promote cross-cultural exchanges, both among artists and listeners from across the world.

"We learn from each other by playing both Chinese and Western musical works. It's a great experience for our symphony orchestra," said Xu Hai, principal oboe for the Zhejiang Symphony Orchestra.

"What we've learned amongst ourselves, we want to share with people from many different countries, especially the people of China," said Ryan Fleur, executive director of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

The three-day Liangzhu Forum gathered over 300 global experts to explore cultural heritage and diversity, and spotlight China's growing role in world heritage protection.

Attendees included heads of cultural heritage protection and management institutions, museum directors, archaeologists and historians from more than 60 countries and regions.

Located in the Yangtze River Basin of Zhejiang Province, the archeological ruins of Liangzhu, dating back at least 5,000 years, reveal an early regional state with a unified belief system based on rice cultivation in the late Neolithic Period (around 7000-1700 BC). The archeological site is recognized as one of the earliest examples of Chinese civilization.

China's outstanding aggregate social financing -- the total amount of financing to the real economy -- reached 442.12 trillion yuan (about 63.4 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of 2025, up 8.3 percent year on year, central bank data showed on Thursday.

The country's aggregate social financing stood at 35.6 trillion yuan (about 5.1 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2025, up by 3.34 trillion yuan (about 479 billion U.S. dollars) from the year 2024, said the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank.

According to the data, the M2, a broad measure of money supply that covers cash in circulation and all deposits, increased 8.5 percent year on year to 340.29 trillion yuan (about 48.8 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of December.

In addition, outstanding yuan loans stood at 271.91 trillion yuan (about 39 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of 2025, up 6.4 percent year on year.