On 14th December, the 2020 Dongguan New Year Lawn Concert was held, attracting more than 30,000 residents to participate. Art enthusiasts across the city enjoyed the combination of a warm winter, green grass and elegant music in this event which was also broadcast live online.

Directed by the People’s Government of Dongguan City, the Lawn Concert was hosted by the Publicity Department of CPC Dongguan Committee, the Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports Bureau of Dongguan City, and undertaken by the Dongguan Cultural Centre. At the concert, temporary seats filled the central square for residents who came to enjoy the concert. Many of them even sat on the grass.

The performance of the Lawn Concert was divided into three parts; “Ode to the Motherland”, “Charming Dongguan” and “New Year’s Music”. One of China’s top symphony orchestras, the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, was once again invited as the concert’s main orchestra. Three representative choirs from Dongguan also sang on the lawn. Several local Dongguanese music talents staged to perform for their hometown people.

Chen Jiayi, a young violinist and graduate student of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, participated in the New Year Lawn Concert in Dongguan for the first time.

Chen Jiayi, a young violinist and graduate student of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, has performed many times in front of her hometown fellows. This year, she participated in the New Year Lawn Concert in Dongguan for the first time. She believed that the concert is very novel and anyone can participate. “Many people may feel more restrained in the concert hall. This form is quite different. There will be more public participation and it’s closer to life.”

This is the second time that Dongguan has held a lawn concert before the New Year. Compared with last year, this year’s lawn concert is a grander event, with an expanded performance line-up, and increased audience capacity to enable more residents to enjoy closer contact with this elegant art form.