This concert marks the Orchestra’s second project selected by the prestigious National Arts Fund StageArt Creation Fund Project—following Trail of the Blue Dragon—and it is also a major programme of the Chinese Culture Festival 2025 and Asia+ Festival 2025.

Inspired by the Silk Road, this concert focuses on the pipa, the foremost plucked string instrument where similar forms have been found across different regions that eloquently recount the histories and stories of their lands.

Throughout history, plucked string instruments played in a “cradled” position have flourished across diverse cultural landscapes, giving rise to a burgeoning musical repertoire that communicates the sights and sounds of different locales. This Chinese orchestral suite is structured in seven movements, highlighting the expressive qualities and tonal characteristics of the five-stringed and four-stringed pipa of China, the satsuma-biwa and shakuhachi of Japan and the oud of Turkey respectively. Together they weave a colourful musical tapestry tracing back to the cultural heritage of the Silk Road.