"I cannot afford the price of formal concerts and it's not convenient for us in our 70s to go to the ticket office, get the ticket and then go for the concert," he says. "The good thing about this free concert is that they don't do a sloppy job just because it's free. On the contrary, they take it seriously and do a good job."
In Shanghai, the metro station isn't the only public venue to hold such concerts. Audiences can bring blankets and picnic baskets to the relatively relaxed part of the city's Chenshan Botanical Garden to listen to performances. They can sit or lie on the lawn while listening to classical music and admiring the sunset.
At this year's Chenshan Botanical Garden concert, held on May 19, Prague Symphony Orchestra was one of the performers.
China Maritime Museum also announced its weekly Saturday concerts starting from May.
Wu Xinyi from Shanghai Shentong Metro Group Co, who's also in charge of metro concerts, however, expresses his concerns about coping with overcrowding in public concert venues such as metro stations.
"That's why we keep a close eye on passenger flow and control," says Wu, adding his team is sticking to a few principles such as never inviting celebrities (too many commuters will stop for them) and never bringing in a full symphony orchestra to the metro station.
"Safety concerns are also the reason why we're only having the concert in People's Square station - the venue is big enough."
China’s weekly story
(2013.5.18- 5.24)
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