Guqin player Chen Leiji. [Photo provided to China Daily]

A guqin concert is a key highlight of this year's Shanghai Spring Music Festival that will be held later in the month.

A stringed instrument of the zither family, guqin is one of China's oldest, and has long been favored by musicians for its fine sounds.

But many ancient instruments and their playing traditions have been forgotten in recent years due to a rise in popularity of Western music in China.

The course is now being changed with hundreds of guqin studios opening in the country.

The concert will celebrate the 80th anniversary of Jinyu Society, a city-based association of guqin lovers since 1936, and is expected to feature maestro players, among the annual festival's other musicians.

Zhao Xiaosheng, a pianist and composer, will present adaptations of guqin music on the piano at the festival that will host a total of 51 concerts and dance performances this year.

If you go

7:30 pm, April 29. Sennheiser Shanghai Concert Hall, 523 Yan’an Road East, Huangpu district, Shanghai. 400-8918-182.

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