Today started early. At 8.00am, only fifteen hours after arriving in China, we were on our way to the station to catch the train to our first concert, in the city of Jinan. China is building a nationwide high-speed train network with large stations (more like airport terminals) and very comfortable modern trains running on purpose-built railway tracks.
And these very smart trains are operated by smartly uniformed guards who stand at attention while you board. Jinan is 400 km south of Beijing and our journey there took just 90 minutes - with a top speed of 302 km/h (helpfully indicated on a screen in the train carriage).
After travelling from Copenhagen the day before and an early start to the morning, the train ride was a welcome opportunity to relax, catch up on some sleep or simply stare at the Chinese landscape as it swept past us outside. But we also took the opportunity to entertain our fellow passengers - which they seemed to enjoy a lot!
Soon after, we arrived in Jinan - and after checking into our hotel, it wasn't long before we were rehearsing on stage in the beautiful new concert hall here. The inside was primarily built in a pale-coloured wood, with very atmospheric blue lighting, and there were seats above and to the side of the platform - very similar to DR's Concert Hall. We were relieved that the acoustics - the sound of the hall - was warm, clear and suitable for voices. It's often the case that in concert halls like this, built with large orchestras in mind, choirs - especially chamber choirs like the VocalEnsemble - can sound ’understated’. But that wasn't the case here - no one needed to make an extra effort or ’push’ the choir's sound: it was an easy place to sing.
But this was our first concert - and we really had no idea what to expect from a Chinese audience or what they would think of us and the very varied repertoire we brought (Bach, Bruckner, Mendelssohn, some contemporary works and a few Danish songs to showcase Denmark's great community singing tradition). Jinan's concert hall seats 1500 people - but would anyone actually turn up?
In the end, we needn't have worried: The hall was packed - and with a wonderfully varied audience that included not only adults or older people, but teenagers and even some adorable and incredibly well-behaved young children. Everyone listened attentively, clapped enthusiastically and seemed to really enjoy our programme. It was a great start to our tour.
Next stop, Beijing - and a concert tomorrow night in China's largest and most prestigious hall: The National Centre for Performing Arts!