The city of Beijing leans against a great desert in the north, overlooks plains in the south, borders on the Bohai Sea in the east, and spans across Mount Taihang in the west. As the capital city, Beijing holds the entire land in its arms and keeps watch over the whole world.

In this ancient capital, there is a unique urban central axis, which stretches from the south of the city - through the Yongding Gate, Zhengyang Gate, Tiananmen and Imperial Palace - to the north of the city at the Bell and Drum Tower, stringing together many palaces, towers, pavilions, altars, temples, alleyways and streets built in the Ming or Qing Dynasty, along a perfectly straight line. LIANG Sicheng, a great Chinese architect, praised this central axis by saying, “The magnificent order unique to Beijing came into being with the construction of this central axis.” He figuratively described the building complex on the central axis, arranged in picturesque disorder, as a “frozen but vivid cadenza”.


In 2018, the NCPA commissioned well-known playwright ZOU Jingzhi and renowned composers MENG Weidong and TANG Jianping to compose a symphonic chorus, Beijing Cantata, based on the historical buildings standing on the “Central Axis” and the surrounding cultural customs. Composed of the opening song Beijing, first movement Yongdingmen, second movement Temple of Heaven, third movement Tianqiao, fourth movement Tiananmen Square, fifth movement Drum Tower and Bell Tower, and finale Hopeful Beijing, it is a magnificent, easy-to-sing and popular symphonic chorus that displays the history, culture and folklore of Beijing, reveals its cultural connotation and contemporary spirit, suits both refined and popular taste, and boasts high artistic quality. Integrated into the symphonic chorus are not only various vocal arts, including solo, ensemble and recitation, but also distinctive traditional musical elements of Beijing, such as Peking Opera and Quyi, demonstrating the profoundness of Beijing’s history and culture.

On February 1^st, the China NCPA Orchestra and Chorus will join hands with soprano LI Xintong, coloratura sopranos ZHANG Wenqin and YANG Chenxiuyi, tenors LIANG Yufeng and WANG Chong, alto LIU Siman, baritone ZHANG Yang, young male role player of Peking Opera, WANG Chao, Xihe dagu artist ZHAO Ning, and reciter ZHAO Ling to once again perform Beijing Cantata under LÜ Jia’s baton in praise of the capital city.