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And this is Story in the Story.

Classical music is attracting greater numbers of young Chinese as more parents introduce their children to music. 

The National Center for Performing Arts (NCPA) in Beijing has attracted performances by a long list of top international artists and symphony orchestras since it was opened at the end of 2007. 

More than 9,600 performances have been staged at the venue in the past decade or so, and more than 900 were held there in 2018 alone. 

In a new drive to reach younger audiences in China, the NCPA has also launched free online broadcasting. At the same time, symphony orchestras are trying to break with convention by offering easy-to-listen programs. 

Today's Story in the Story looks at how these initiatives combined with parental influence are fueling renewed interest in classical music among young people.

(Photo: CGTN)

Chen Guangxian, director of the China Symphony Development Foundation, a nonprofit organization, was quoted as saying that the number of symphony orchestras in China has risen in recent years. There were about 30 professional orchestras four years ago, but by last year the figure had risen to 82. 

On a chilly Saturday last December, 10,000 people lined up outside the NCPA as more than 50 public programs were staged to celebrate the center's 11th anniversary. 

Among them that day was 12-year-old Beijing native Kang Ning, a big fan of Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki's animated films and their musical scores composed by his compatriot, Joe Hisaishi. 

The boy was eagerly awaiting a live performance by the NCPA Orchestra featuring music from Miyazaki's films, including Spirited Away and Laputa: Castle in the Sky. 

"The orchestrated versions of the songs are beautiful. It's a fun idea and it works. I want to listen to more music by the orchestra," he said afterward. 

A classical music performance often conjures up images of older concertgoers, the wealthy, and even formal attire, but the younger generation in China is now embracing the genre. 

The NCPA's slogan is "art changes life", which was the case with Beijing native Zhang Zhengchen when he was 13. 

In 2010, when the NCPA staged its production of French composer Georges Bizet's operatic masterpiece Carmen, auditions were held in the Chinese capital to select child singers. 

At the time, Zhang, a student at a Beijing Middle School, joined the audition as a member of his school choir. Zhang, who started to play piano when he was 4, stood out from his peers and got a role in the opera. 

Zhang later applied to the middle school affiliated to the Central Conservatory of Music and now, age 21, is a senior at the institution with a major in conducting. 

"It was a crazy idea,” he said. “I've always been interested in music, but I never planned to become a professional musician."

Zhang Zhengchen (center), a 21-year-old student conductor from the Central Conservatory of Music, and Wang Ning (left), director of the NCPA, greet an audience member at the celebrations. (Photo: China Daily)

Lyu Jia, music director of the NCPA and principal conductor of its orchestra and chorus, said: "It is such an encouraging environment for classical music to develop in China. The country has a healthy music education system and a large number of young people who are currently studying musical instruments, whether in schools or with private tutors. Most importantly, they remain passionate and exuberant." 

Since 2011, the NCPA’s online platform has livestreamed more than 100 classical music concerts, with each one receiving more than 1 million views on average. 

Shi Yingying, head of the NCPA's online classical music channel, said: "When we launched the platform, it was hard to build cooperation with streaming services. Classical music concerts only catered to a minority taste. For internet users, who are mostly young people, this was not a major draw." 

Ma Xiaojia, deputy principal of Lang Lang Music World, a training school in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, said, "We are meeting a deep need from young Chinese who are learning music, and who have the same enthusiasm for classical music as they have for popular movies and pop music. They perform mostly for their own pleasure." 

To change the way in which young people experience classical music concerts, symphony orchestras are also trying to break with convention by offering easy-to-listen programs such as Music in the Summer Air, an annual festival in Shanghai. 

Wang Xiaoting, director of artistic planning with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, said one-third of the audiences attending the concerts are traditional classical music lovers, and one-third are newcomers, especially young people. The remainder are college students, as the festival teams up with Shanghai universities to offer low-price tickets and recruit volunteers. 

"Young people are now listening to and are open to various musical genres online. With the special arrangement of programs, we want to attract people of different ages and from all walks of life," said Wang. 

(Produced by Nancy Yan Xu, Brian Lowe, Lance Crayon and Elaine Yue Lin. Music by: bensound.com. Text from Global Times and China Daily.)