WUHAN, April 14 (Xinhua) -- A special performance of chimes ensemble "bianzhong", a Chinese ancient percussion valued as national treasure, was arranged in a national participatory marathon event held on Sunday in Wuhan, the host city of the 7th World Military Games.
The ancient musical instruments, which first appeared around 3,000 years ago, were displayed and performed beside the running tracks of this marathon event. Never before had people watched this kind of performance in any sports event.
"We want more people from all over the world to give an ear to the beautiful harmonious resonances of 'bianzhong', so we decided to perform in this marathon event, " said Fu Qiang, Head of Bianzhong Performance in Hubei Museum.
The bells of bianzhong, cast in bronze, are oval and of different sizes arranged to the order of the pitch. They were hung on a large wooden frame. The bells were struck with a wooden mallet or a long stick to produce the tones.
"One bell can not make harmonious resonances without other bells. That's why bianzhong has bells in different sizes," said Fu Qiang.
Being the host city of the 7th World Military Games, Wuhan has gained a national even worldwide attention, as the number of the registered marathoners for this yearly sports event hit over 24,000.
"We want to attract the participation from all over the world, from all walks of life, to resonance with us in hosting a harmonious World Military Games," according to Fan Ying, the spokeswoman with Executive Committee of the Games, "because we believe it is a big sports event for people of different races and colors."
