Idiomatic Cantonese music is now available at Guangzhou Metro! On January 18, eight well-known Cantonese songs were performed by five performers from Guangdong National Orchestra at the Chenjiaci metro station. 

(Photo provided to Newsgd.com)

This year, Guangzhou Metro will launch at least 6 cultural activities, 6 cultural exhibitions and a series of cultural products with the theme of "Wonderful Journey of Cultural Metro". Every quarter, there will be an influential cultural activity, and every month there will be a featured cultural activity. Passengers can enjoy these cultural events throughout the whole year.

“Guangzhou Metro now operates under a total mileage of 589.4 kilometers, with a daily passenger flow of 8 million on average. Citizens can travel among all districts by metro. It has become an important space for showcasing urban culture,” said Xu Kunjie, head of the Publicity Department of Guangzhou Metro.

Che Yongqiang, deputy head of Guangdong National Orchestra, said: “I hope our cooperation with Guangzhou Metro will leave Guangzhou with a special memory of sound via Cantonese music. The metro drives the pace of our life while people rush between work and family every day. During the journey, when people enjoy the music, it will relieve their stress and anxiety.”

(Photo provided to Newsgd.com)

By combining traditional Chinese culture, Lingnan culture, traditional festivals, Guangzhou Metro will also launch a batch of commemorative tickets, cultural products for citizens who are interested in traditional culture and keep their memories of Guangzhou. 

In the future, Guangzhou Metro will introduce music with the copyrights of Guangdong National Orchestra and Guangdong Music & Folk Art Troupe. Passengers can enjoy folk music featuring Cantonese culture in the station when taking the metro. The two sides will also jointly hold concerts, music salons and other activities to spread Cantonese music both online and offline.

(Photo provided to Newsgd.com)

Guangzhou Metro has always attached importance to the inheritance of history and culture. Along metro line 1, station names are written by calligraphers. Themed culture walls have been set along line 6. In the south section of line 4, there are cultural theme stations with elements such as Chinese Characters, Cantonese, Cantonese opera, kapok, lion dancing, and litchi; there are also memories of the “Marine Silk Road”, the “Water-town of Lingnan”, “Mountains, Rivers and Forests”.  

Passengers can enjoy this splendid history and culture of Guangzhou during journeys on the metro. In the new round of metro line construction, Guangzhou Metro will focus more attention on integrating history and culture into the design of stations.

Author | Hannah, Jiang Chang (intern)