Dancers perform ballet at the festival Photo: Courtesy of National Ballet of China

The annual Gateway to Arts summer festival concluded on Thursday in Beijing's Forbidden City Concert Hall with a performance by the National Ballet of China.

The National Ballet of China's symphony orchestra presented music from various eras and by composers such as Bach, Astor Piazzolla, and Joe Hisaishi throughout the first half of the event. 

Ballet dancers from the company performed extracts from classic and modern ballets, including The Sleeping Beauty and The Flower Festival in Genzano, in the second part.

Almost 70,000 people attended 73 events and 12 summer camps during the festival, which expanded to cities in North China's Hebei Province and Tianjin for the first time.

The 61-day festival was highlighted by a three-day music marathon where genres including jazz, chorus and traditional Chinese music were played 12 hours a day.

Audiences got the opportunity to closely interact with artists so that they could better experience the musicians' love for art, their excellent skills developed through years of practice, and their different personal styles and charms.