Sangeeta Ghose

Last December, I was invited to a beautiful concert at Shenzhen Concert Hall, organized by the Futian District Government.

Twelve Girls, an all-female Chinese band, performed amazing pieces -- Chinese and Western as well as fusion -- for some 1,700 audience members at the concert, which was named the "Sound of Friendship." The artists used traditional Chinese instruments such as the guzheng, or plucked zither, and erhu, or two-string fiddle.

My family and I had a great evening of music and we really appreciated the district government's efforts to make Futian a more international and friendly urban district. While living in Shenzhen for many years, I've seen Futian take up the responsibility to be a pioneering urban district in many aspects. It has taken the initiative to support many developing areas, such as the promotion of music and art.

The district has set up a special 100-million-yuan (US$16.28 million) fund to link big names and celebrities with its cultural fields. So far, Futian has invited a number of renowned scholars, musicians and artists in an effort to promote traditional Chinese culture. One of the big names is Fang Jinlong, a master pipa player. Pipa, also called the Chinese lute, has been played in China for more than 2,000 years. Fang has been honored as one of the Four Great Chinese Musicians and the "lyrical prince of Chinese music." He is known for giving powerful renditions of ancient and modern music, Chinese or foreign, using common and rare Chinese instruments.

The district government signed a cooperation deal with Fang in March, which was great news for traditional Chinese music lovers like me.

Apart from setting up a music studio and organizing a series of 13 concerts and four public music forums in Futian this year, Fang hopes to establish a folk music troupe in Futian, together with top musicians from around China. The district will also build a public musical instrument museum that will display Fang's collection of more than 700 musical instruments from home and abroad, including ancient and modern ones that he has collected over the past 30 years.

Just as I was sharing stories about Shenzhen's beauty with a friend, getting ready to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival on Sept. 19, I received an invitation to a concert by Master Fang and his team of musicians at Shenzhen Concert Hall. The Futian District Government again was hosting the event. It was yet another performance that stole my heart.

A government leader, in a welcoming speech that night, said the concert was a gesture to unite Shenzhen with the world. On the occasion of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the concert offered a chance to embrace traditional Chinese music and forwarded positive energy to all people living in the city, wherever they come from.

The talented team of Master Fang brought exotic, ancient instruments and played impeccably. The fusion pieces also were amazing. At one point, when they were playing "The Camel Bell Rings" with traditional Chinese instruments and Indian and Arabic percussion, I was reminded of our common ancient background. It was very heart-warming.

Sangeeta Ghose is a published author from India and writes for a few expat magazines. She has worked and lived in many metropolitan cities -- New Delhi, Mumbai, Shanghai, Amsterdam and Hong Kong, and has briefly visited for work in New York, Sydney and Berlin -- but thinks Shenzhen is the most cosmopolitan city she has seen because of the embracing capacity it has for all immigrants. Having lived in China for seven years, she feels inspired by the country's art and culture, and proudly calls China her second home.