'Nihao! China' tourism promotion wows Boston

The China National Tourist Office New York held a "Nihao! China" Tourism Promotion Reception on Tuesday at New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts. The reception was hosted in cooperation with the Silkroad Ensemble, with the aim of highlighting the power of music and cultural exchanges in inspiring travel and fostering mutual understanding between China and the United States.

The reception was attended by a distinguished gathering of guests, including Chen Li, Consul General of the People's Republic of China in New York; Boris Dolgonos, board chair of Silkroad; Thomas Blumenthal, board chair of NEC; Ma Yunfei, director of China National Tourist Office New York, and others.

Chen pointed out that the Silk Road spirit is a precious heritage of human civilization and expressed his hope for young people from China, the US and other countries around the world to exchange ideas, deepen understanding and make friends just as Silkroad artists listen to each other's melodies and seek resonance amid their differences to create harmonious music together. Ma warmly invited foreign friends to visit China and stressed that hands-on experience is the most authentic way to understand a place, and that the essence of travel lies in personal discovery and real connection.

The reception was also part of the celebrations of the opening of Silkroad's Global Musician Workshop 2025.

Silkroad is an ensemble founded by cellist Yo-Yo Ma and holds the belief that cultural exchanges can bridge divides and build understanding. Its Global Musician Workshop brings together musicians from around the world for a week of cross-cultural musical collaboration. Since 2024, Silkroad has also hosted a Global Musician Workshop in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, in partnership with the Zhejiang Conservatory of Music.

The reception was followed by a concert where Silkroad artists and other Global Musician Workshop faculty showcased the artistry of their virtuosic solos, dynamic collaborations and boundary-pushing music. The concert reached a peak when Wu Man — the world's premier pipa virtuoso and co-director of Global Musician Workshop Hangzhou — together with the rest of the crew, played Tune of Four Seasons, a folk tune from Qinghai province.

The event successfully leveraged music — the universal language — to extend a warm invitation from China to global travelers, once again demonstrating how travel and tourism serve as vital bridges for cultural connections.