The Silk Road International Music Forum was kicked off in Beijing on July 26. Through October this year, opening ceremony, forums and concerts, will be held in Lanzhou, capital city of Gansu province in Northwest China and Dunhuang, a city of Gansu province famous for the Mogao Caves.

During his visit to Kazakhstan in September 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed that China and Central Asia join hands to build a Silk Road economic belt to boost cooperation. The idea has been widely echoed in Central Asian countries, becoming an encouraging blueprint for Chinese areas along the Silk Road that has linked Asia and Europe for more than 2,000 years.

Dunhuang was a major stop on the ancient Silk Road and is best known for its Buddhist caves with murals and sculptures.

According to veteran songwriter Yan Su, who is one of the consultants of the forum, music along the Silk Road is valuable and deserves much more attention. The 85-year-old also said that many of his works were inspired by the city’s scenery and culture when he went there to work.

Related:

He who calls the tune pays the piper

Traditional Tibetan costumes presented in Yushu, NW China