Chapters 67-70 Music

Chapter 67

Chinese Music

I came to really like Chinese music. Here in the states we have many different kinds of music, they do also of course. I am not a fan of Beijing Opera. The first time I went to China with the LLFA delegation we went to see that. I do appreciate what they do and their talent and all of the work it takes to put a performance on but I just don’t like listening to it. I don’t like opera here in the US either so I am not prejudiced.

During the first week that Justin and I were in Luoyang in 2002, we asked Jigang if he would take us to a store so we could get speakers to hook up to our computers. When we walked into a store, there was a song playing. It was a woman singing and I liked it right away. It was both her voice and the music that I liked. I asked Jigang if he would ask one of the people that worked in the store who the singer was. They told him and I bought a CD. The singer was Meng Tingwei. The song that she was singing when we walked in became one of my favorite Chinese songs. I like all of her songs. She was popular in the 1990’s I was told. 

A man by the name of Zhou Huajian sang a song called Peng You, it means friends. Another singer is Han Hong. Also S.H.E (it is not pronounced she, each letter is spoken). The initials S.H.E stand for their English names-Selena (Jen), Hebe (Tien) and Ella (Chen). Chen Huilin, also known as Kelly Chen. I have used a song by her for my phone ring for many years. I have seen Zhou Huajian, Han Hong and Chen Huilin at the Peony Festival concerts in 2003 and 2004. I was told that after I left in 2004, a year or two later both S.H.E and Meng Tingwei came to Luoyang to perform at the Peony Festival Performances. I wish that I could have seen them. The Peony Festival started in 1982 and each year different performers go to Luoyang to perform.

Another singer that I like is Wulan Tuoya from Inner Mongolia. There is also the 12 Girls Band. The group was formed in 2001. More than 4,000 young musicians applied, answering ads that were placed in newspapers across the country. They play all kinds of musical instruments. These ladies are twelve of the very best in China. I have never seen them perform. It is instrumental music that they play, not singing. Any of the entertainers that I talked about here have videos on YouTube.

There are other songs that I like also but I don't know the name or the singer. I like them when I hear them. I cannot understand what the Chinese songs are about, I go by the singer’s voice or the music. I can look the songs up online and sometimes find a translation but of course the translation may not make much sense because as we know translating from one language to another doesn’t always make sense.

Chapter 68

Karaoke

Karaoke is a big thing in China. It is very popular for all ages. There are Karaoke places everywhere. These are buildings that are made just for karaoke. They do a huge business and it doesn’t cost much. I can’t remember what the prices were. 

You go into a private room with your friends, there are microphones and nice sound systems. They had all kinds of music on the computer, both Chinese and English songs. I just went one time. Not my thing. 

Mary liked to go so she went with friends from time to time. That one time that I went, there were five of us. Mary and I, one of our friends, Rinny, and two of her friends. Rinny's two friends didn't speak English. Those two girls went to a university in Beijing. The one girl was a music major. She had such a beautiful voice. She sang one of my favorite Chinese songs for me and did a great job.

In the US, karaoke is done in bars by people that have been drinking and think they can sing.

Chapter 69 

Musical Fountain

The musical fountain is located in the New District on Kaiyuan Lu. It is straight south of the main city government building. The government building is on the north side of Kaiyuan Lu and the musical fountain is in Kaiyuan Lake on the south side of the road, they are across from each other.

During the month of April and the first week of May, when the Peony Festival is held, the Musical Fountain runs every night from 8:00-8:20. After that, it runs three nights a week. I was told that it costs a lot of money to run it. When the water is spraying in the air, the colored lights are on and the music is playing. It is very pretty to watch and enjoyable listening to the music.

If a tourist or foreigner is visiting Luoyang, they should try to see it. It is free. Thousands of people surround the lake to watch.

Chapter 70

The Musical Fountain

This is in the Luolong District south of the Luo River. It is really something to see the lights and hear the music. During the month of April when the Peony Festival is going on, there is a show every night starting at 8:00 p.m. for twenty minutes. During the rest of the year, they have a schedule as to when you can see it. If you go on YouTube, there are videos that people have put there.

It takes place at Kaiyuan Lake. The road that goes on the north side of the fountain is Kaiyuan Lu. On the south side of the lake is the Quan Shun shopping mall.


These first three pictures are of Kaiyuan Lake.




The following pictures show the beauty of the lights during the performance. The building in the center of the pictures that you see in the background is the main government building of Luoyang. This is where the mayor has his office. I did not take these pictures, they are from the internet. I do have some pictures and video but these pictures are better. You can see the people in two of the pictures. There are thousands of people that go and surround the lake. For anyone going to Luoyang, this is worth going to see.