安庆市第二届职业技能大赛决赛开赛

Under a balmy summer night sky, Yueran Times Square in Guanshanhu district, Guiyang, the capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province, was full of excitement as the opening notes of "The Moon Represents My Heart" filled the air. This song was not performed by a local artist, but by British musical actor Eugene Griffin, who is the youngest musician participating in the "My Music Paradise - China Europe Young Musicians Art Exchange Global Communication Initiative."

Aerial View of the Guanshanhu Roadside Concert. (Photo/Yang Qian)

"This is magical!" exclaimed Griffin after his heartfelt Mandarin song debut, touched by the crowd's spontaneous sing-along. "In London theaters, we perform for audiences. Here, we're creating with them, because music becomes this universal language that erases all distance."

The roadside concert was relatively informal with no tickets or barriers. This left a deep impression on Gwyneth Nelmes, a violinist. "I've never seen music so woven into daily life," she observed, watching families, couples, and students gather freely around the square. "Whether performing or listening, everyone owns this moment equally."

Musicians from Europe participate in the Roadside Concert. (Photo/Yang Qian)

A standout moment came when Chinese soprano Wang Beibei and British tenor Thomas Lidgley delivered an impassioned duet from Verdi's "La Traviata," transforming the urban plaza into an unexpected opera house.

"Opera's often seen as elite, but tonight proved great art needs no gatekeeping," noted Wang, touched by the crowd's rapt attention. Lidgley agreed: "When Violetta's aria echoed across this square, you saw strangers connecting through shared rhythm. That's music's true power."

As the final notes faded into the night and the crowds dispersed, the group's musical journey through Guizhou carried on. They will travel into Guizhou's ethnic minority regions where they will collaborate with intangible cultural heritage inheritors to reimagine traditional tunes through a contemporary lens.