The third Harbin Street Music Festival kicked off on June 8 before the Memorial Tower of Fighting against the Floods of Songhua River.

In the evening, artists and bands from nearly 40 countries, including the US, Britain, France, Spain, the Czech Republic, Argentina, Peru, Paraguay and Colombia, gave wonderful performances to fans near the tower. Some famous Harbin musicians were also invited to play their original music to reflect Harbin’s characteristics.

Other interesting programs were showed at “music square” as well as 1st, 3rd, 9th and 14th street of Central Avenue. Various bands provided the citizens and tourists from China and abroad with a fantastic musical feast. A group called Forest Dream played music using a bayan (a chromatic button accordion), violin, flute and guitar. Another band named Kylin performed songs featuring percussion instruments. Also, a group called Yue Wu Ni Shan performed using the pipa (a four-stringed Chinese musical instrument), bamboo flute and guzheng (a Chinese plucked zither).

This year’s “music square” is not only a stage for music performers, but a place for teenagers who like street dance, beat-boxing and musical remixes. “Music square” became a “hip-hop center” every weekend to represent Harbin’s most popular street dance and hip-hop culture, adding a sense of fashion to the centuries-old Central Avenue. Qualification trials for the talent show attached to the festival were also opened to music fans with talent. The mass-selection took place at Harbin Youth Palace.

The festival, which runs through Oct 7, contains 400 concerts or performances and will give the audience a chance to hear music from all over the world.

Sponsors of the festival are the Harbin municipal Party publicity ministry, the Harbin Communist Youth League and Daoli district.