Southwestern China's Pengzhou city in Sichuan province will host a French classical music festival for the third year from Sep 16 to 20.
The event, in the Bailu township of Pengzhou, will include eight themed activities, including opening and closing ceremony concerts, the China final of the Nice International Piano Competition, music salons and outdoor art shows.
Top performers from home and abroad will be invited with 218 musicians from 15 provinces and cities around the country taking part in the China final of the piano competition. Some 15 will be chosen to compete in the world final next month.
Located about 70 kilometers north of Chengdu, Bailu is a town of 10,000 in an area of 78 square kilometers. Many buildings in the town, rebuilt after the 8.0-magnititude Wenchuan earthquake in 2008, are of French style.
The small town has a close relationship with French culture spanning more than a century. About 110 years ago, Gubulan, a French missionary, built Shangshuyuan, a Roman Catholic college in the town. The campus became an architectural landmark and is listed as a cultural relic under State protection.
