Musicians perform during the 2025 Taihu Jazz Festival at the Taihu Stage Art Center, a branch of China's National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Beijing, capital of China, April 30, 2025. (Xinhua/Wang Meiqi)

　　BEIJING, May 6 (Xinhua) -- At a Chinese international jazz festival that wrapped up on Monday, musicians from across the world delivered a dazzling fusion of jazz and cross-cultural collaborations.

　　The 2025 Taihu Jazz Festival, which was held at the Taihu Stage Art Center, a branch of China's National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Beijing, attracted over 200 musicians from nine countries.

　　As Yannick Rieu, a renowned Canadian saxophonist, noted in an interview with Xinhua, “Jazz is a vibrant musical form that transcends borders and differences.“

　　During the festival, Rieu presented a jazz quartet centered around the theme of integration, in which he especially included an adaptation of the Chinese folk song “Yimeng Mountain.“ “The song deeply moved me -- from the first listen, I felt an intimate emotional connection.“

　　While recomposing the song, the musician strove to preserve its soul and infuse it with jazz's signature freedom and improvisation, allowing Eastern and Western voices to naturally blend together.

　　“From majestic landscapes to unique folk traditions and vibrant regional music, China's rich and diverse culture is an endless source of inspiration for me,“ said Rieu, who has traveled and performed in China nearly 20 times since 2006.