File photo: The Chenshan Grassland Music Festival is held within the Chenshan Botanical Garden in Shanghai. [Photo/WeChat account: csnbgsh]

The Chenshan Grassland Music Festival is an annual major cultural event held at the Chenshan Botanical Garden in Sheshan National Tourist Resort in Shanghai.

The two-day event, which consists of two concerts each day, is one of the biggest and most popular open-air classical music festivals in China. The event attracts more than 5,000 people each day.

The festival opened on April 22, 2012 with performances by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra that were led by Yu Long, becoming the first open-air large-scale symphony concert in Shanghai.

Since then, the stage has welcomed a number of renowned musicians and symphony orchestras from home and abroad, including the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, the Prague Symphony Orchestra, the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, the Bellini Opera Orchestra and Choir, the Russian St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra and the German Bamberg Symphony Orchestra.

The festival comprises Chinese and international classical music works that are performed to sold-out audiences every year.

For example, the "Voice of Russia" concert in 2017 showcased 12 Russian masterpieces, while the 2018 concert celebrated love with classic romantic music works. The 2020 concert commemorated the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth.

Finnish conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste, who conducted the "Voice of the Rhine" concert featuring German classical music works in 2018, said that the outdoor music festival differs from others in its atmosphere and environment. He added that he thoroughly enjoyed conducting amid the beautiful Chenshan scenery.

Visitors can not only appreciate the high-quality music performances but also enjoy the pleasant natural environment at the Chenshan Botanical Garden.

Finnish conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste conducts the "Voice of the Rhine" concert during the 2018 Chenshan Grassland Music Festival. [Photo/WeChat account: csnbgsh]

Russian ballet dancers dance to the music at the "Voice of Russia" concert during the 2017 Chenshan Grassland Music Festival. [Photo/WeChat account: csnbgsh]