I know this is off the beaten Airstream blog track, but I wanted to share a bit about my recent trip to Shenzhen China for a concert with the Philadelphia Festival Orchestra.

We were to have two days in Shenzhen, performing a government-sponsored concert the second night at the Lian Hua Shan Glades Music Festival.

On the flight over, I got to retrace (by air) the route (by land) that I took this summer to Alaska. As we flew over, city names appeared on the seat-back screen I had visited: Teslin, Fairbanks, Whitehorse, etc.

When we landed, it was fun to watch my phone’s usual “Verizon LTE” become Chinese characters.

I had also downloaded a VPN, so I could use Facebook, and browse freely within mainland China.

Shenzhen is a modern city, known for its technology, and on the first day, we spent what little time we had, exploring.

There are block after block of electronics booths where you can buy everything from tiny parts, to fully made computers, drones, LED lights, data mining equipment…

Basses had been rented for us, but as with most items at the electronics mart, some assembly was required.

“Fitness” brand basses.

We got them assembled just in time for a rehearsal on stage,

Our stage was set up in the “Kite Park” and as we rehearsed, families gathered to listen and take photos. Toddlers spontaneously danced to Vivaldi’s “Spring” on the grass in from of the stage. Cell phone video played back sections we had just rehearsed.

The next night, at the sound-check, our stage-view was fascinating, and very distracting.

The view from my seat just before concert-time.

Here’s a video an audience member took of our encore: Mozart’s Overture to the Marriage of Figaro.

And now, back to our regularly-scheduled Airstream-related programming already in progress.