The 2025 China-UK Youth Friendship Cultural Exchange Program recently fold up with great success, bringing together over 150 musicians and students from China and the UK for a series of vibrant performances, literary workshops, and cross-cultural dialogues. Held across five cities—Birmingham, London, Cambridge, Ludlow, and Oxford—the events captivated local audiences and showcased the power of cultural exchange.
Supported by the Birmingham City Council and the Cultural Office of the Chinese Embassy in the UK, the program was jointly organized by the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO), St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church in London, the University of Cambridge, and other institutions. Through the universal language of music, the initiative fostered deep dialogue and mutual learning between Chinese and British youth, highlighting how art bridges cultural divides and builds trust.
At the opening ceremony, Birmingham Mayor Zafar Iqbal presented the “China-UK Friendship and Cooperation Certificate” to representatives of participating universities and the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire at Birmingham City Hall. Mayor Iqbal expressed his enthusiasm for hosting young Chinese musicians from sister cities, noting the importance of fostering lasting friendships through collaboration with the Birmingham Youth Symphony Orchestra. Chinese and British dignitaries joined in celebrating this milestone.
The next day, the Guangdong Experimental Middle School National Orchestra from Guangzhou enchanted audiences with a lively Chinese folk music performance at St. Martin-in-the-Fields in central London. The students’ masterful playing earned thunderous applause, leaving the audience deeply moved by the beauty of traditional Chinese music.
A highlight of the program was the “China-UK Youth Side-by-Side” concert and workshop on the 21st, where students from Nanjing No. 1 Middle School String Orchestra and the Guangdong Experimental Middle School Folk Orchestra joined musicians from the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Under the guidance of conductor Michael Seal, they explored improvisational rehearsals and shared techniques, demonstrating the boundless potential of cross-cultural collaboration. The ensembles also premiered Exit, a piece composed by 20-year-old British composer Christopher Churcher specifically for the exchange. With its lyrical poetry and sweeping melodies, the work offered a novel sound from the UK’s emerging generation of artists.
It is understood that the eight days cultural exchange were officially ending on the 22 July. The program organizer said that in addition to music, the Sino-English exchange program should also integrate the vision of cross-border exchanges and cooperation to expand and enhance the fields and horizons of youth participation.
Xiao Di, the artistic director of the program and professor of piano at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire said, “This is not only an exchange performance of the music series, it is also a future-oriented platform and an important mission to promote Chinese culture to go overseas in sustainable development, we aim to broaden horizons and inspire cross-border collaboration in even more fields”.
