United States Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns had a tight schedule last month, traveling extensively from Shenyang in the country's northeast to Hangzhou farther south, while in between back to Beijing to present his credentials to President Xi Jinping.
It was a wonderful Sunday night for both the audience sitting in the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra Hall and the Shanghai Quartet on the stage as the internationally acclaimed string quartet was back where their chamber music legend started four decades ago.
China becomes destination of choice for young, foreign musicians, as symphony orchestras around the country welcome new members, many of whom were part of the first graduating class of Tianjin Juilliard School.