Promotional material for the musical Les Misérables Photo: Courtesy of Qian Shijin

Promotional material for the musical Les Misérables Photo: Courtesy of Qian Shijin

Qian Shijin Photo: Courtesy of Qian Shijin

Culture and arts have always  served as a window for China to see and be seen by the world. Thus, despite the ups and downs that China-US relations have experienced since US president Richard Nixon's ice-breaking visit to China and the issuance of the Shanghai Communiqué 50 years ago, culture and art exchanges between the two countries have been edging forward through the efforts of Chinese cultural and art practitioners. 

One such practitioner is Qian Shijin, former artistic director of the Shanghai Grand Theatre. Qian recently sat down with the Global Times to talk about his experiences introducing classic Western musicals to China and bringing the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra to Carnegie Hall in New York for the first time back in 1990. 

As an artistic director, the idea of putting Western musicals on the stage of a Chinese theater had been lingering on Qian's mind for years after his first visit to the US in 1988, during which time he had the opportunity to watch one of the world's most popular musicals, Les Misérables, for the first time in Los Angeles. 

"I was overwhelmed by the then emerging art form even though I did not understand the English lyrics. I couldn't help but bursting into tears and never took my eyes away from the performers for a second from the beginning to the end," Qian recalled with a voice full of emotion on Tuesday. He noted that despite the fact that he majored in violin at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and was more familiar with Western classical music performances such as operas, which he said always made him sleepy, he was still greatly shocked by the new art form, which he described as being more accessible to the general public. 

The impression left on him was so deep that he first reached out to the renowned British producer of the musical Cameron Mackintosh in 1996, two years before the Shanghai Grand Theatre officially opened to the public, with the intention of bringing the production to China. 

However, negotiations did not progress smoothly. It was not until September 11, 2001 that negotiations finally reached an end, allowing Qian to bring the US production of the musical to the stage at the Shanghai theater the following year. 

By the time it made its Shanghai debut, Les Misérables had already swept 213 cities in 35 countries around the world and had been seen by over 49 million people since its Original London production in 1985 and the Broadway premiere in New York in 1987. 

As 2002 marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Victor Hugo, the 140th anniversary of the publication of his original novel and the 15th anniversary of the musical's debut on Broadway, Qian believed that the introduction of the famed musical to Chinese audience would create an opportunity for communication between Western and Eastern cultures as well as mark a milestone in the history of cultural exchanges between China and the West. 

Apart from introducing Western art into China, Qian has also been a prominent figure in introducing Chinese art to the West. As the general manager of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, he participated in a cooperation project between the orchestra and Carnegie Hall in New York that brought the Chinese orchestra to the renowned concert venue to celebrate the hall's 100th anniversary in 1990, a time when China was shut off from the world. 

"Then Chinese ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations Li Daoyu told me that it was such an accomplishment to send such a heavyweight orchestra to the US and I felt greatly honored to have accomplished such a mission," Qian said.