The 2023 China-Spain Year of Culture and Tourism kicked off on Monday with a concert at Spain’s National Auditorium of Music in Madrid.

The inauguration concert was jointly presented by China National Traditional Orchestra, Jingju Theater Company of Beijing, and the Orchestra and the Flamenco Band of the Community of Madrid.

Highlights from the concert included I Love You China sung by a Spanish soprano, Spanish Bullfighter March performed with sheng (a Chinese reed wind instrument consisting of bamboo pipes) and accompanied by an invigorating Flamenco dance, and Rose Tango performed by famed Chinese pipa (a four-stringed plucked instrument) artist Zhao Cong and the Spanish orchestra.

Hu Heping, Chinese minister of culture and tourism; Gloria Elizo, vice president of the Spanish congress of deputies; ángeles Moreno Bau, Spanish state secretary for foreign and global Affairs; and Qu Xun, charge d’affaires of the Chinese embassy in Spain attended the inauguration concert along with about 2,000 guests from the political, economic, cultural, tourism, think tank, media and other circles of both countries.

Hu said in his speech that on March 9, Chinese president Xi Jinping and King of Spain Felipe VI exchanged congratulations on the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries. Both leaders spoke highly of the development of bilateral relations and stated the significance of co-hosting the China-Spain Year of Culture and Tourism and a series of other celebratory events.