It’s actually the recently-completed Harbin Opera House devised by the geniuses at MAD Architects.

The designers sought to pay tribute to the dramatic climate in the northern Chinese city by erecting something that represents natural landscapes hit by strong winter winds.

What they got is definitely a hit.

The venue houses a theater capable of captivating 1,600 people for a night of entertainment, as well as a cozier 400-person auditorium. The rooftop terrace offers a view of the Harbin metro skyline.

“We envisioned Harbin Opera House as a cultural centre of the future, a dramatic public space that embodies the integration of human, art and the city identity, while synergistically blending with the surrounding nature,” said MAD’s founding principal Ma Yanson..

More than 2,500 people together at Dambuk just 186 miles from the Chinese border at the southern tip of Tibet.

Here in Arunachal Pradesh state, thousands of soldiers are deployed due to regional instability and border tension. For one day in mid-December, however, they remained at ease and mingled with festival goers who enjoyed a night of live music, local rice wine and adventure sports.

The festival served as an excellent opportunity for India’s army to gain the trust of the local population.

Soldiers even had their own tent where they showcased their arms and locals explored their artillery.

“There was a friendly vibe between the army and locals that many here believe is unthinkable just across the border in Tibet,” according to BBC India.

The Sino-Indian border issue emerged as far back as 1914 when India’s former colonial ruler Britain signed a pact with Tibet, making the McMahon Line the de-facto border between the two countries. Beijing always has rejected this.

But, the party almost never made it to the festival grounds in its entirety.

A ferry carrying performers and equipment got stuck on a sandbank on the Brahmaputra River (which originates in Tibet as Tsangpo).

On a different stretch of the river, a bus carrying performers got stuck.

“The tires were submerged, and the water was just inches away from getting into the bus,” said Rakshit Tewari, a Mumbai-based musician who spoke with BBC India. “A local guy said that if it rained up in the mountains before the rescue team arrived, we could be washed away in the valley.”

After a few hours of being scrambled, a rescue vehicle found the bus and personnel evacuated passengers at dawn.

Hari Singh, who leads the logistics team of motor-sports professionals, went to rescue the people trapped on the ferry.

No doubt, an adventure from start to finish. And it went out with a bang.

Under a Himalayan storm, festival goers head banged to local rock hero Lou Majaw as he covered Bob Dylan’s classic “Knocking on Heaven’s Door” to close the festival..

The album comes after these performers wowed Greece with their recent performances at the Trianon Theater in Athens and the Boutari Winery on Santorini. At the Santorini stop, they also shared the stage with the famous world musician & Cretan Lyre virtuoso Ross Daly.

Chang caught the world’s eyes when she performed as a soloist as part of the Opening Ceremony at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

She also performed with the famous Greek musician Yanni before an audience of 7 million viewers during the 2013 CCTV Spring Festival Gala.

Known as “The Zheng Beauty”, Chang is applauded worldwide for her performance style which blends tradition and modernism in East and West. She is also the first Guzheng performer to combine vocal and musical performance.

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The free event at the Reynolds Performance Hall brought together several performers in addition to the Chinese orchestra for a day of American folk music; native Chinese tunes played on instruments such as the er-hu, pi-pa and the Chinese flute; and art demonstrations featuring calligraphy, paintings and more.

These art forms came together at several instances including one involving a Tai Chi performance paired with a pipe solo and a calligraphy demonstration paired with a pi-pa solo.

Because Nanjing University doesn’t offer a music degree, its orchestra brings together students from various disciplines including literature, philosophy, law, and business management.

The group has brought their music to audiences around the world including those in Germany, Russia, Japan and Korea.

Toward the end of its performance, the Orchestra incorporated American classics such as “Yankee Doodle” into its symphony.

“‘Yankee Doodle’ was a twist that I did not expect,” said Josh Carlat during an interview with the UCA’s student newspaper The Echo. “The show was very good; I enjoyed it a lot.”

In partnership with East China Normal University, UCA has been housing the 24^th Confucius Institute in the U.S. since 2007.

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The method of playing the Pipa has changed over the years. Originally, a triangular plectrum was used to pluck the strings, while the performer held the instrument horizontally. But, by the time of the Tang dynasty, players began holding the Pipa in a more upright position and some started using fingernails to pluck the silk strings. The material of strings has also changed from silk to present day nylon.

The name of the instrument is derived from the movement of plucking itself. ‘Pi’ means to play forward and ‘pa’ means to play backwards. Although taken as an unfamiliar instrument at first, Pipa gained a lot of popularity in courts and solo play with its unique appeal. The Chinese Bayin registers Pipa as a silk instrument based on the eight material based classification of the instrument system.

Pipa is designed with a plain back but an incredible body. It has frets running to the belly of the instrument and the peg box is ornamented with symbolic illustrations. They served as a noble gift as well. It bears a family resemblance to the Biwa of Japan with its flat back and to the Arabic Ud, with its a round back.

The instrument is known best for filling the atmosphere with the enchantment of reflections of nature that its music creates. The excellence of sound and efficiency of performance of Pipa has always made musicians fall in love with it.

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The authors would include the likes of Tie Ning who is currently the president of China Writers’ Association. Another reputed name in the list is that of Yu Hua. His novel ‘To Live’ was later turned into movie and he will be sharing his experiences about writing in this new theatre.

In collaboration with the Singapore Writers’ Association, these reputed novelists will meet almost 100 local Chinese language based writers at the event. This centre was mainly designed to foster the exchange between China and Singapore in fields of art and culture.

The centre has been designed by Liu Thai Ker who is one of the well known architects from Singapore. The centre was build over a period spanning more than 2 years and it cost more than 200 million Yuan which amounts to over $44 million Singaporean dollars. It is expected that the opening event will be hosted by the top leaders from both the nations.

China wants to have at least 50 such centers by 2020 because it is looking to promote its culture as it wants to showcase its soft power all over the world. The library present on the 6^th floor in this centre is much hyped because it will have more than 40,000 books. The books will mainly be focused upon Chinese history and current affairs and will be opened for public use once the book collection has arrived.

The opening of this centre would be earlier than the Singapore Chinese cultural centre which is located in the Shenton Way and that will happen by end of next year..