On a luminous summer night along the Grand Canal in Beijing's Tongzhou District, the thousand-year-old waterway was transformed into a theater without walls.
Eight themed boats glided across the rippling surface, each serving as a floating stage.
Choirs from three continents lifted their voices above the water, while lights shimmered across the ancient canal.
This was the setting for a distinctive concert on the water recently held in Beijing - the "Super Weekend, World Harmony" water concert, Beijing's first canal-borne choral gala of the summer.
As the voices of the Seychelles National Choir swept across the water, a cultural resonance spanning mountains and seas began to unfold.
The ensemble has returned to China many times, and rearranging Chinese songs has become one of its signatures. But performing from a moving boat on the Grand Canal was a first, even for veteran tenor Julien Alexis.
"Music is universal, and it doesn't matter which language you are singing. I expect it to be a very emotional moment, and I expect everybody will like [the moment of] unifying," said Alexis.
The gala brought together professional choirs from countries including Seychelles, Bulgaria, Russia and China. Along the banks, audience members raised their phones and sang the melodies back across the water. Preliminary figures put the live audience at more than 74,000.
"I really love the Grand Canal concert tonight. Every choir and every song are just a classic," said an audience member.
"This water concert gathered eight top professional choirs from home and abroad, alongside artistic forces and public culture lovers on the same stage. We use music to build a bridge for cultural exchange and awaken new vitality in the Grand Canal as a UNESCO world heritage site through a cross-border musical feast," said Zhang Yan, director of the Culture and Tourism Bureau of Tongzhou District.
Beijing’s Grand Canal turns into open-air stage for world choral gala
A powerful earthquake that struck western Colombia on Monday has forced the temporary suspension of operations at several airports across the South American country, leading to massive flight cancellations and delays.
At Bogota's El Dorado International Airport, the country's busiest hub, hundreds of passengers were left stranded as travel plans were thrown into chaos.
Long queues formed at check-in and rebooking counters, with many travelers anxiously scanning flight information displays for updates. According to the departure board, multiple flights to western cities such as Pereira and Cali which are closer to the epicenter had been either canceled or indefinitely delayed.
"We are waiting for them to get us another flight to Medellin instead of Pereira. Our booked flight was supposed to leave at 11:50, but it's canceled. We have another one for Wednesday, but we can't take it because we don't know what the situation is like in Armenia or Pereira," said a traveler.
"We have just arrived from Madrid. We just got here and heard the news of the earthquake. We planned to travel tomorrow to Pereira and stay in Colombia for 15 days, but have to look for an alternative to our original route. The earthquake has disrupted our plan," said another traveler.
The death toll from the magnitude 7.5 earthquake that struck western Colombia on Monday has risen to 132, with more than 570 others injured, the Colombian government said in its latest update.
According to the preliminary report, 32 cities across the country have been seriously affected, while five departmental capitals -- Pereira, Cali, Quibdo, Manizales and Armenia -- remain under red alert. Pereira reported 60 deaths, followed by Cali with 15, Quibdo with eight and Manizales with four, the report said.
Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella said earlier that the government had declared a state of national disaster to respond to the impact of the earthquake.
Colombia's deadly earthquake causes widespread flight disruptions
