String Dance Dream Lake Shines Mid-Autumn: China National Symphony Orchestra String Quartet Performs at Montreal Chinese Garden

Autumn is deep, and the moon is full. On the afternoon of September 27, in the Chinese Garden of the Montreal Botanical Garden, the shadows of the trees swayed and the music played gracefully. A Mid-Autumn cultural event themed 'String Dance, Dream Lake, Poetry Shines on Mid-Autumn—“Sharing This Moment Across the World” Mid-Autumn Concert' was held here. The Chinese National Symphony Orchestra String Quartet entered the Chinese Garden, using music as a bridge to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with guests from all walks of life in Montreal and visitors to the garden.

This event is jointly organized by the Chinese Consulate General in Montreal and the Montreal Botanical Garden. It is also one of the important activities of the China National Symphony Orchestra's 70th anniversary Canada tour, and is included in the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China's Mid-Autumn Festival project "Under the Same Moon." This is the China National Symphony Orchestra's first performance tour to Canada.

Chinese Consul General in Montreal Dai Yuming, Deputy Consul General Wang Hong, Director of the Montreal Botanical Garden Josée Bellemare, Deputy Leader of the China National Symphony Orchestra and Leader of the Canada Tour Yang Ying, along with local guests from all walks of life and many visitors, attended the event.

In a Chinese garden, celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival together

In his speech, Dai Yuming first extended a warm welcome and festive greetings, on behalf of the Chinese Consulate General in Montreal, to the guests, friends, and artists who came all the way from China to attend the event.

Speech by Chinese Consul General Dai Yuming in Montreal

He said that the Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most important traditional festivals of the Chinese nation, symbolizing happiness and reunion, and also embodies the "harmony" values cherished in Chinese culture.

To let the people of Montreal personally experience the peaceful and joyful festival atmosphere of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Chinese Consulate General in Montreal has cooperated with the Montreal Botanical Garden for three consecutive years to hold Mid-Autumn cultural activities. Dai Yuming especially thanked the director of the Botanical Garden, Josée Bellemare, and the staff of the Chinese Garden for their long-term contributions to promoting mutual understanding between the peoples of China and Canada.

This year’s Mid-Autumn Festival event was made extra special by the visit of the China National Symphony Orchestra.

Dai Yuming said that the world-renowned China National Symphony Orchestra was invited to tour Canada, and the consulate specially invited the orchestra's musicians to the Chinese Garden to perform a string quartet, giving the Montreal audience a wonderful fusion of Chinese and Western music.

He said he believes that the artists' wonderful performances will let everyone at the scene feel the warmth of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the charm of the culture, and the friendly ties between the people of China and Canada.

"Let's wish together that the friendship between the people of China and Canada is like the bright full moon of the Mid-Autumn Festival, accompanied by beautiful scenery and delightful music," said Dai Yuming.

A garden where different cultures meet

Josée Bellemare, the director of the Montreal Botanical Garden, in her speech explained the Mid-Autumn Festival's meaning of reunion and sharing from the perspective of a garden and a city.

Speech by Josée Bellemare, Director of the Montreal Botanical Garden

She said that the Mid-Autumn Festival is primarily a time for reunion and sharing. Autumn is also a season when many cultures celebrate the harvest, reminding people to pause and appreciate and cherish those who enrich their lives and communities.

And celebrating this holiday in Chinese gardens seems especially meaningful to her.

“Chinese gardens make us think about how nature and culture can respond to and enrich each other. They invite us to slow down, observe, and appreciate the beauty of simple things.”

Bellemare said what touched her most was seeing people from different backgrounds gather in the garden, spend time together, and open up to learn about a culture that has long added rich colors to Montreal.

In her view, the meaning of gardens goes far beyond natural beauty; "they also become places where different cultures meet, discover each other, and share."

The bright moon doesn't differentiate between mountains and seas, it conveys feelings through joy.

Yang Ying, deputy director of the China National Symphony Orchestra and leader of this Canada tour, said that this year marks the 70th anniversary of the orchestra, and the Canada tour is one of the key events to celebrate the orchestra's 70th anniversary.

She thanked the Chinese Embassy in Canada, the Chinese Consulate General in Montreal, and the China-Canada Cultural Development Association for their support of the tour, and said that as it was the China National Symphony Orchestra's first performance in Canada, the enthusiasm shown by Canadian audiences deeply moved the artists.

"The friendship between nations lies in the closeness of their people, and the closeness of the people comes from understanding each other's hearts," Yang Ying said. She mentioned that Montreal is an important cultural city in Canada and hopes that through music, a language that crosses borders, the understanding and friendship between the people of China and Canada can be further strengthened.

Holding this concert in the Chinese garden also has a unique charm.

Yang Ying said that the Montreal Botanical Garden prepared a beautiful venue for the concert, allowing Eastern melodies to harmonize with the trees and the breeze in the garden, "meeting and getting to know each other in nature."

With the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, she expressed blessings from Chinese artists with a rather poetic phrase:

“The bright moon does not distinguish between mountains and seas, we will express our feelings through music and send everyone beautiful wishes from China.”

From 'The Golden Snake Dance' to 'Chasing the Moon among the Clouds'

Musician in the China National Symphony Orchestra String Quartet

On that day, a string quartet was formed by four musicians from the China National Symphony Orchestra Chamber Ensemble—Yang Ying on first violin, Li Xi on second violin, Guan Ai on viola, and Chen Qizhao on cello.

The concert's repertoire mainly features classic Chinese music, with pieces that are lively and joyful, some that are gentle and lyrical, and others that capture the enchanting oriental mood in harmony with the Mid-Autumn moon.

The concert kicked off with Nie Er's "Dance of the Golden Snake," and the lively, cheerful melody quickly set the mood; then, Liu Tianhua's "Good Night," Liu Tieshan and Mao Yuan's "Yao Dance," and Ren Guang's "Colorful Clouds Chasing the Moon" followed one after another.

The gentleness of 'Good Night', the joyfulness of 'Yao Ethnic Dance', and the far-reaching feeling of 'Colorful Clouds Chasing the Moon' are reinterpreted in a string quartet, blending with the pavilions, trees of the Chinese garden, and the early autumn scenery of Montreal.

The violin concerto "Butterfly Lovers" by He Zhanhao and Chen Gang, based on a love story well-known in China, brings a touch of tender emotion to the concert.

When Qin Yongcheng's 'My Motherland and I' melody plays, the whole performance gains an extra layer of special emotional color. The orchestra also prepared the exotic and virtuosic 'Csárdás' as an encore, letting Eastern and Western music meet in a Chinese garden.

Recitation of 'Shui Diao Ge Tou: When Will the Bright Moon Appear'

A verse of 'Shui Diao Ge Tou', sharing the moonlight thousands of miles apart

This Mid-Autumn event isn't just about music.

Chinese classical poetry, traditional festivals, food, and cultural experiences are also cleverly integrated throughout the afternoon.

With the music playing, Su Shi's famous poem 'Shui Diao Ge Tou: When Will the Bright Moon Appear?' was recited in the garden.

“When will the bright moon appear? I raise my wine and ask the clear sky……”

A Chinese poem that has been passed down for nearly a thousand years was recited again in Montreal, far across the ocean. When the timeless line 'Wishing us a long life, we share the beauty of the moon even a thousand miles apart' was heard, it also echoed the theme of the day, 'Sharing this moment across the ends of the earth'.

As Bellemare introduced in the speech, the string quartet, recitation of 'Shui Diao Ge Tou', cultural experiences, and mooncake tasting together let the people of Montreal understand and feel the Mid-Autumn Festival from different angles.

The site also set up a variety of Chinese cultural experience activities. The Confucius Institute in Quebec and other organizations brought interactive activities like Chinese cultural handicrafts. Many visitors stopped to participate, experiencing traditional Chinese culture firsthand.

The concert is no longer just a performance to sit and listen to, but also a Mid-Autumn cultural space where you can watch, listen, taste, and even participate with your own hands.

A heartwarming highlight of the day happened during the mooncake-cutting session after the concert.

Guests cut the Mid-Autumn mooncake together

"Reunion" and "sharing"—two keywords that have run through the Mid-Autumn Festival for centuries, at this moment stepping from poetry and music into reality.

The event organizers also prepared mooncakes and Chinese tea, inviting both Chinese and Western guests on site as well as ordinary visitors to the botanical garden that day to enjoy them together.

After the concert ended, long lines quickly formed in front of the tasting area. People of different ages and cultural backgrounds held a small piece of mooncake and sipped a cup of Chinese tea. Some were trying this traditional Chinese festival food for the first time, while others tasted it and asked about the cultural stories behind mooncakes and the Mid-Autumn Festival.

The line twisted and turned, packed with people, becoming an extra lively scene in the Chinese garden that day.

For many visitors who happen to come to the botanical garden, this might have originally been just an ordinary autumn afternoon in Montreal, but because of a piece of Chinese music, a Chinese poem, a cup of Chinese tea, and a small mooncake, they had an unexpected and cozy encounter with a traditional festival from the distant East.

The bright moon does not distinguish between mountains and seas

Autumn in the Chinese garden is naturally a space full of Eastern charm in the Montreal Botanical Garden.

On September 27th, as the sounds of the violin, viola, and cello echoed among the trees and the breeze, when the Eastern melody of 'Colorful Clouds Chasing the Moon' met Montreal's autumn scenery, when the timeless lines from 'Shui Diao Ge Tou' were recited once again across nearly a thousand years, and when people from different cultural backgrounds queued up to share a cup of Chinese tea and a piece of Mid-Autumn mooncake—music, poetry, gardens, food, and human connection naturally came together in that moment.

The meaning of Mid-Autumn Festival may lie precisely in the word 'round'.

It is the bright moon in the sky, a mooncake on the table, and the circle formed when people sit together, gather, and share.

From China to Canada, from the China National Symphony Orchestra coming all the way to Montreal, to ordinary tourists pausing to listen in a Chinese garden, cultural exchange sometimes doesn’t need much language. A melody, a line of poetry, a cup of tea, a piece of mooncake — that’s enough to start getting to know each other.

The bright moon doesn’t care about mountains or seas, and music asks nothing about the East or West.

On this autumn afternoon, in the Montreal Chinese Garden, people express their feelings through music, make friends over tea, share mooncakes to celebrate reunion, and write down Mid-Autumn Festival blessings that span across mountains and seas.

The event was hosted by Gao Fei, the director of the Chinese Garden. Liu Wangchun, consul of the Chinese Consulate General in Montreal, Zou Runmin, director of the Education, Science and Culture Office, Yan Qian, director of the Political Affairs Office, and Yin Ling, chairman of Seven Days Media, attended the event.

A group photo of some guests attending the event

(Reported by Jiayin from Seven Days, photographed by Yin Ling and Ding Hongcheng)