Sound of music in tune with summer fun in northeast China

The French music festival Fete de la Musique was a real feast for the ears in Shenyang, Liaoning province, this summer.

The event was held in the city's K11 shopping and art center on June 12-13. It gathered musicians from the two countries and offered diverse acts, such as jazz, pop and rock.

The K11 center joined hands with French Consulate General in Shenyang and invited a Sino-French band, called Gemini. The band can work as musicians, visual artists, directors, writers, designers and producers and is popular for its diversified and avant-garde music style.

Gemini highlights pop, electronic music and rock and has integrated other elements such as rap, Chinese style and dance music. It is known domestically as one of the coolest bands for live shows. French pianist Pierre Pradat brought classic jazz to the festival.

He is a skilled performer of traditional jazz piano and has an open attitude toward different music types.

He is among the best French pianists that live in China and can often be seen at large musical events. In the past, he has cooperated with pop singers such as Li Yuchun and Zhang Liangying and noted directors including Feng Xiaogang.

A parent-child activity, named Future Artist, was held at the festival. Fifty children and five young artists painted with the theme of gauze masks on canvas bags, presenting them to medical workers who helped fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

The festival also set up a pop-up store and provided activities on the site, such a claw machine stocked with dolls and customized balloons for free.

Apart from the music festival, K11 hosted an art exhibition at the sculpture park on its top floor.

The park covers an area of 40,000 square meters and is full of plants and flowers, making it a popular destination for residents. The center offers an academic activity on the park's lawn, where figures from literature and art give lectures and discussions, on weekends.