Hundreds of music lovers gathered around open air stages at temples, mansions, and pedestrian streets on Sunday as France brought its "Fete de la Musique" to Shanghai for the first time.

 

Created in Paris in 1982, "Fete de la Musique" has now become a global celebration for the advent of summer on June 21st each year.

The event's official launch in Shanghai featured a performance by a choir of five-hundred children from the city's French school accompanying a six-piece rock band and an orchestra of two-hundred Chinese children playing accordions.

Elsewhere, jazz trios performed in front of old mansions, hip art galleries held mini concerts and choirs sang in front of Jing'an Temple, one of the city's oldest Buddhist shrines.

More than 40 groups of musicians, both professionals and amateurs, Chinese and international, adults and children, rockers, DJs, jazzmen, and choirs performed in various places throughout the city.

The event was brought to Shanghai for the celebration of France Pavilion Day at the World Expo.

Since its inception in 1982, "Fete de la Musique" has spread to more than 350 cities around the globe.

The rest of the world celebrates the festival on the day of the summer solstice on June 21st, but Shanghai kicked off its festivities a day before the hundreds of free concerts in cities such as Paris, Hanoi, and New York.

The event celebrates the spirit of liberty, spontaneity, and an openness to all forms of music.