To mark the 51st anniversary of China-Thailand diplomatic relations, a special concert titled "China and Thailand Are One Family" was held September 11-12 at Wangjing Cultural Plaza beneath the Badaling section of the Great Wall in Beijing's Yanqing district, forming a centerpiece of the 2026 Beijing International Great Wall Music Festival. A delegation of more than 100 Thai artists and musicians traveled to Beijing to perform alongside Chinese artists, presenting a program blending Thai and Chinese musical elements as a cultural gift marking 51 years of diplomatic ties, turning the sweeping Great Wall once again into a unique stage for artistic exchange between the two countries. The outdoor performances ran for two consecutive nights and drew large numbers of Thai, Chinese and international media covering the event.

The Thai delegation was led by Phinij Jarusombat, President of the Thai-Chinese Cultural Relationship Council (TCCRC), and Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul, chairwoman of the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra's board, who brought the group to Beijing's Yanqing district. The delegation included symphony musicians, traditional instrumentalists and opera performers, spanning both classical and folk artistic disciplines. The TCCRC has for years promoted people-to-people exchange between the two countries in arts, education and youth programs, and organizing a delegation of more than 100 performers for this trip to China ranks among the council's largest cross-border cultural exchange efforts in recent years.

The star of the program, the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra, is affiliated with the College of Music at Mahidol University and is one of Thailand's oldest and most accomplished symphony orchestras, regularly performing at major Thai diplomatic and cultural occasions. Taking the outdoor stage beneath the Badaling section marked the orchestra's first-ever outdoor concert at the Great Wall, and the first time a full Thai symphony orchestra had staged a dedicated performance at one of China's iconic cultural heritage sites — a notably groundbreaking moment. The concert was jointly conducted by Thai conductor Prateep Suphanroj and conductor Pamonchan Komonpamon.

For the program, the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra performed symphonic arrangements of traditional Thai pieces adapted by Prateep Suphanroj, alongside Western classical works including Shostakovich's Festive Overture, Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake Suite, Bizet's Carmen Suite and Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, aiming to present the fusion of Thai musical idiom with the Western classical tradition on the same stage.

Renowned Thai ranaat (traditional wooden xylophone) player Paran Yuenyong delivered a solo performance rich in Thai musical character, performing the original Thai composition "City Soul Prelude" as well as "Chinese Yangqin," a piece adapted from traditional Chinese instrumental music — interpreting Chinese melodies through a traditional Thai instrument in what became one of the concert's most watched moments of cultural fusion. The ranaat is one of the most distinctive instruments in Thai court and traditional ensemble music, known for its bright, ringing tone, and arranging a Chinese yangqin piece for the instrument was seen as an artistic embodiment of using music to build friendship while seeking common ground amid differences.

On the Chinese side, renowned coloratura soprano Chang Sisi took the stage to sing "Spring Ballet" and "You Inspired Me," while Zhao Huaxiang — the sixth-generation representative of the folk heroine "Liu Sanjie" — and actor Huang Hua of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Theatre jointly performed classic excerpts from the "caidiao" opera "New Liu Sanjie," bringing the distinctive flavor of Guangxi's regional opera to the Great Wall stage. At the September 12 performance, tenor Zhang Yingxi also took the stage, and both nights' concerts closed with excerpts from "New Liu Sanjie," achieving a fusion of the charm of Eastern opera with classic works of world symphonic music.

While in Yanqing district, the Thai delegation also held brief exchanges with local cultural and tourism authorities, with both sides sharing preliminary views on possible future cooperation, including reciprocal delegation visits and the development of young musical talent. The concert was part of the 2026 Beijing International Great Wall Music Festival series, which draws on the historic and cultural landscape along the Great Wall and has in recent years grown into an important platform for Beijing's international cultural exchange, regularly inviting overseas performing groups to stage dedicated concerts at the foot of the wall. The venue, Wangjing Cultural Plaza in Yanqing district, sits directly opposite the towering Badaling section of the Great Wall, pairing the historical weight of a World Heritage site with the artistic power of a live symphonic performance, letting the audience take in the music while gazing out at the sweeping fortifications. This year, coinciding with the 51st anniversary of China-Thailand diplomatic relations, organizers specifically arranged a Thailand-themed program, inviting the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra and numerous Thai artists to perform, using music as a vehicle to link together the two countries' good-neighborly relationship that has continued for more than half a century since diplomatic ties were established in 1975.

Phinij Jarusombat, who led the Thai delegation, said the visit was one of the TCCRC's key exchange projects in recent years, aimed at deepening mutual understanding and emotional ties between the two peoples through music and other art forms. He added that the Thai side had deliberately selected artists with both classical training and expertise in traditional Thai instruments, hoping that this varied lineup would give Chinese audiences a fuller picture of Thai musical culture rather than exposure to just one genre or performance style. The Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra likewise said that staging a dedicated concert at the Great Wall, a World Heritage site, held special significance for the orchestra, and expressed hope for more regular cooperation with Chinese ensembles in the future, including reciprocal visits, joint compositions and exchanges among young musical talent.

Reports indicate the concert drew wide attention from Chinese and Thai media and audiences alike, with both nights' performances playing to full houses. Observers say this kind of cultural exchange event — staged against the backdrop of the Great Wall and blending each side's traditional and classical repertoire — offers a uniquely weighty and artistically compelling vehicle for China-Thailand people-to-people exchange, adding a distinctive cultural footnote to the two countries' 51st anniversary of diplomatic relations. The Thai delegation has since returned home, and relevant agencies on both sides say they will continue to evaluate how large-scale musical exchange events like this one are organized, to consider whether it could be established as a recurring annual China-Thailand cultural exchange fixture.