Foreign guests make cameos at outdoor concert

Early summer is the perfect time to enjoy sunshine and blossoming flowers, as well as an awesome concert on the lawn. 

This year is the 10th anniversary of Greenland Classical Music Concerts at the Chenshan Botanical Garden in suburban Shanghai's Songjiang District. Some special foreign guests were invited to the concert last weekend.

The special guests have all appeared in the video series "Shanghai Through Our Eyes," which features stories about the lives of 100 expats in Shanghai, including scientists, scholars, sports stars, artists and entrepreneurs from 30 different countries and regions.

Australian Nusrat Marat, who is a Changning District volunteer and appeared in the sixth episode, said he feels very lucky to be in China during the pandemic.

"I sent pictures of Chenshan Botanical Garden to an Australian friend, who said it looks like I'm living in paradise."

Marat can speak fluent Chinese and prefers others to call him by his Chinese nickname "Lao Bai."

The theme of this year's concert was "French Night," and is presented by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. The repertoire included classic scores by French composers Georges Bizet and Maurice Ravel, and a new version of "Long March Song Cycle," which was written in 1965.

iDEALShanghai has explored the Chenshan Botanical Garden with the special guests. Click on the video below to check out the best attractions in the garden, and enjoy the classical music concert on the lawn.