National Parks of Taiwan

Kinmen National Park Management Office will hold the “Kinmen Tunnel Music Festival” on December 16, 2017 (Saturday) and December 17, 2017 (Sunday) at the Jhaishan Tunnel. A total of 6 musical events will be held in this 2-day period. The event is anticipated to attract music lovers and tourists from all over the world.

The Kinmen Tunnel Music Festival started in 2009 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Guningtou battle. At the time, the well-known cellist Professor Zheng-Jie Zhang elaborately planned the “Guningtou Prayer for Peace Concert.” The unique geographical environment of the Jhaishan Tunnel allowed music to flow like water and cloud, which totally amazed the audiences and received praises from the public. Since then, the Kinmen Tunnel Music Festival has been held each year to continue the amazing effects of the original concert. According to statistics, up to 40% to 60% of the audiences came from Taiwan. Many travel agencies have also listed the program as a must see event, which has successfully promoted the local tourism development for Kinmen.

In the past, the Kinmen Tunnel Music Festival has already offered Chinese and Western or Eastern and Western combination musical performances. For the latest rare “Chinese Opera vs. European Opera” showdown, Teacher “Lu-Hao Zhu” (the Chinese Opera star best known as the Monkey King) will star in the opera events on December 16th to perform the alluring Kunqu and Chinese Opera with melodies provided by the string quartet.

The participating musicians of the string quartet include Ting-Yu Wu (principal violinist of the National Symphony Orchestra), outstanding new generation violinist Qian-Dai Xu, Viola Professor Xiao-Hong Xu, and cellist Zheng-Jie Zhang. The detailed and passionate expressions of the quartet will showcase the subtle emotions of the east, and this brilliant rendezvous of the East and West is bound to become the focus of attention.

On December 17th, Tenor Dian Wang and Soprano Qi-Zhen Jiang of the “Tunnel Opera House” will be invited to interpret the popular opera repertoire. Jhaishan Tunnel provides an outstanding echo effect that amplifies the emotional tension of the melodies, which is different then that experienced from live performances in opera houses.

Two years ago, the Kinmen National Park Management Office has started to implement the Tunnel Music Festival online ticket sales method and charged a small fee. The purpose of the fee is not to make a profit, but to ensure the audience quality. Since the small fee has been implemented, the attendance of the concert significantly improved and the Kinmen National Park Management Office is delighted to see this changing trend.