THE 30th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting was launched in the California port of San Francisco on Thursday, which is also a world-renowned tourist destination. In South China, the coastal bay-area city of Shenzhen shares a similar vibe and spirit with San Francisco, which can best be interpreted as dynamic and innovative.

In an episode of CGTN’s television program “Tunes From Two Cities,” famous Chinese pianist Tian Jiaxin and Su Meng, a classical guitarist and professor at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, embarked on a musical journey in the two cities, respectively. They explored the connection between culture and music, integrated personal feelings and understanding into music interpretation, and performed a piece embodying the spirit of each city from their perspective through the melodies of piano and classical guitar.

Once a fishing village, Shenzhen is now a first-tier city full of vitality, creativity and innovation in science and technology. As a special economic zone determined to forge ahead, the city has astonished the world with its “Shenzhen speed.”

Tian was impressed by the city’s powerful and fast development. To illustrate her understanding of Shenzhen, she chose a fragment from composer Zhang Shuai’s “Three Preludes” as the beginning of her piano interpretation of the city.

“The inspiring melody and passionate variation of the tempo represents Shenzhen’s fast development,” as Tian put it.

In her creation, she also added the musical elements of the Cantonese folk song “Colorful Clouds Chasing the Moon.” She explained: “It’s like walking out of a busy neighborhood to visit a tranquil fishing village bathing in the sea breeze. During the performance, I feel my mind returning to the most simple and natural state, which reflects another facet of beauty of Shenzhen.”

Does the name San Francisco remind you the experience of gazing at the morning sun or the glow of the setting sun on the iconic Golden Gate Bridge from the Crissy Field Center? To guitarist Su, the city is like a book of poetry, and she “reads” it to the audience with her guitar.

Su chose Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Courante.” She said it was the first Bach piece she learned as a child. “Now, revisiting this piece as a professor of guitar at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, I find it suits the energy of the city so well,” she added. In her eyes, the dynamic music piece endows her with a long-lasting joyful feeling, which is just the same as the feeling San Francisco brings to her.

There might be an end to a piece of music, but the musicians’ exploration never stops. Although separated by mountains and seas and having differing cultural and urban characteristics, the cultural exchange and mutual learning between the two cities will forever continue.  (CGTN)