Lang Lang enthralls fans to promote Saudi pre-Islamic site

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Chinese pianist Lang Lang enthralled the audience at the first "Winter at Tantora" music festival which is being held in the pre-Islamic desert ruins of Al-Ula in northwestern Saudi Arabia as part of the reclusive Gulf kingdom's preparations to launch itself on the global tourism map.

The festival is being seen as a soft opening of Al-Ula, home to Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO World Heritage site Madain Saleh. The site – a collection of over two millennia old ornate tombs carved into huge rock formations – is believed to be the southern outpost of the ancient Nabatean people who similarly carved the ancient city of Petra in Jordan from stone.

Chinese pianist Lang Lang is now among the first international artists to have performed at Madain Saleh, a UNESCO World Heritage site near the northwestern Saudi town of Al-Ula. /Photo via CIC, Saudi Arabia

Lang said he was "really awe-struck" by what he saw in Al-Ula and by the hospitality he received in Saudi Arabia. /Photo via CIC, Saudi Arabia

The Chinese pianist expressed his hope to play with Saudi orchestras the next time he visits the Gulf kingdom. /Photo via CIC, Saudi Arabia

Lang, who played alongside the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra in a concert titled "Monumental" on Friday, expressed his jubilation at being one of the first international artists to perform at the venue that is set to open to international visitors soon.

“I was really awe-struck by what I saw in Al-Ula and by the hospitality I received in this place. The whole experience was unbelievable. It was like a beautiful dream… almost surreal,” said the Chinese pianist, popularly known as the "man with magic fingers".

Lang said he would return to the kingdom to play with Saudi orchestras. “That would be an interesting thing because I would be able to learn some Saudi folk music and play it on the piano.”

Taking note of the strengthening cultural ties between China and Saudi Arabia, Lang said that he foresaw more exchanges between the two countries in the future. “That will give opportunities to me as well as other Chinese artists to visit the kingdom more frequently”.

Cultural ties on the upswing

Chinese pianist Lang Lang played alongside the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra in a concert titled "Monumental" as part of the first "Winter at Tantora" music festival in Al-Ula, Saudi Arabia, January 18, 2019. /Photo via CIC, Saudi Arabia

The concert was hosted in an auditorium made of mirrored glass, which has seen cultural events and performances by a number of international artists during the ongoing "Winter at Tantora" music festival. /Photo via CIC, Saudi Arabia

Showering praise on Lang's performance at the "Winter at Tantora" festival, a Saudi official told CGTN Digital that "the award-winning musician not only delighted music fans at the festival but also highlighted China's soft power."

Citing knowledgeable sources, he said that Saudi Arabia and China are poised to sign multiple agreements, including in the cultural sector, in the coming months to boost their bilateral relations, which has seen firm progress in recent times.

Last year, the National Museum in Riyadh hosted a major Chinese exhibition titled “Treasures of China” featuring collections of the most famous artifacts in Chinese civilization, including the terracotta warriors.

The display, from September 13 to November 23, was part of a rare and priceless collection of historical Chinese artifacts marking the largest cultural relics exhibition hosted by China in the Kingdom. The exhibition also showcases objects from Chinese-Saudi joint archaeological excavations at the ruins of Al Sereen site in Mecca.

“The Treasure of China exhibition represents the convergence of two great civilizations and economic powers. China is a pivotal country and so is Saudi Arabia, so there are many areas of cooperation in the fields of human and cultural heritage as well as in the tourism sector,” Prince Sultan bin Salman, then President of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH), had said commenting on the significance of that show.

The show follows the participation of Saudi Arabia in the "Roads of Arabia" show held in Beijing from December 2016 to March 2017.

The "Winter at Tantora" festival, hosted by the residents of Al-Ula, started on December 20 and will continue until February 9.

The main events are hosted in an auditorium made of mirrored glass which has seen cultural events and performances by international artists such as French classical violinist Renaud Capucon, Lebanese singer Majida El Roumi, and Saudi vocalist Mohammed Abdu. The music carnival has even featured a holographic depiction of the legendary Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum.

Culture, heritage and tourism

The Qasr al-Farid tomb, or the lonely castle, carved into a rose-colored sandstone in Madain Saleh, near Al-Ula, January 4, 2019. /VCG Photo

The Elephant Rock in the Ula desert near Al-Ula, January 5, 2019. /VCG Photo

Tourists visit the Ula desert near the town of Al Ula, January 5, 2019. /VCG Photo

The music festival is seen as an attempt to open up the pre-Islamic heritage sites- which were previously considered blasphemous in the conservative kingdom - to a wider public and even to international tourists.

"Developing cultural ties to promote understanding and human to human relations has become a hallmark of Saudi diplomacy over the past two years, the latest effort being the "Winter at Tantora" festival being held in Al-Ula," a Saudi official told CGTN Digital.revious

Although a first in Al-Ula, the carnival is the latest among many such musical events being held across the kingdom, where entertainment shows were almost unthinkable even three years ago when Saudi Arabia launched the "Vision 2030" socio-economic reforms

With culture and tourism becoming vital to this vision which also aims to diversify Saudi Arabia's oil-dependent economy; the liberalization drive, a pet project of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has given a new life to cinemas, concerts, and sports in the kingdom.

Al-Ula is expected to fully open up to foreign tourists within three to five years. The project aims to revive the glory of Saudi Arabia's ancient past.

Long insulated from the non-Muslim world, Saudi Arabia signaled its willingness to set aside its deep-rooted religious aversion to digging into the pre-Islamic history of the kingdom a few years ago by opening up some of the ancient, and hitherto unknown, archaeological sites for exploration, including Madaen Saleh.

While Saudi Arabia still does not offer tourist visas, the country has relaxed regulations through fast-tracked electronic permits for foreign travelers wanting to visit the kingdom during events such as "Winter at Tantora", sporting events and performances by international artists.

Plans to introduce tourist visas have been under works. Saudi officials have earlier told CGTN Digital that a system has been put in place for the issuance of tourist visas, without confirming when exactly it will be launched.

(Cover: Chinese pianist Lang Lang performs at a concert titled "Monumental" as part of the first "Winter at Tantora" music festival in Al-Ula, Saudi Arabia, on January 18, 2019. /Photo via CIC, Saudi Arabia)

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