During the festival, Western China's Melody, an international music documentary co-produced by WCICO and Danish music producer HEDEGAARD, was screened in Belfast, offering local audiences a glimpse into the diverse musical traditions and cultural heritage of western China.
Dr. Paul O'Hagan, Director of Ludo Dao CIC, told iChongqing that music provides an important way for different cultures to meet.
"Western China's Melody offers international audiences a new perspective on the rich musical diversity and cultural heritage of western China," he said. "It also shows how traditional music can be presented to contemporary international audiences through new forms of expression."
The collaboration also included a real-time musical experiment connecting musicians in Chongqing and Belfast.
Developed in collaboration with the CoSTAR Screen Lab at Ulster University, the initiative explored future live performance technologies and how digital tools can overcome geographical boundaries to support real-time performance and creative collaboration.
During the musical exchange, Irish musicians performing at the Belfast festival connected in real time with Chongqing Yanyuhaoshi Band at the WCICO studio, more than 9,000 kilometers away and separated by an eight-hour time difference.
Through the live digital connection, musicians from the two cities performed the classic western Chinese folk song The Sun Rises Joyfully alongside Irish traditional music. Chinese musicians incorporated elements of their own musical traditions into Irish melodies, while Irish musicians performed the Chinese folk song using traditional instruments.
Musical traditions from East and West converged in the shared performance, creating a direct dialogue across cultures. Two cities separated by thousands of kilometers were connected through music, while digital technology opened up new possibilities for traditional cultural expression.
As the cross-continental performance unfolded, the audience in Belfast responded with warm applause.
The initiative also marked Belfast’s first exploration of a real-time musical connection with a city in another country. Teams in Chongqing and Belfast overcame challenges including geographical distance, time differences, network conditions and technical coordination, combining traditional music performance with digital technology to explore new possibilities for international cultural exchange and artistic collaboration.
Ludo Dao CIC was established to explore new ways for people and organizations to collaborate in a rapidly changing technological economy. Operating as a Community Interest Company, it develops and tests collaborative approaches that support long-term cultural, social and economic benefits.
It leads the "Belfast–Chongqing Digital Cultural Handshake" international cultural exchange project, through which the screening of Western China’s Melody and the real-time musical connection between the two cities were developed in collaboration with WCICO as part of the festival activities.
Reflecting on the collaboration, Dr. Paul O’Hagan told iChongqing: "For us, this was not simply a performance. Together, we explored something that had never previously been done in Belfast — creating a direct musical connection between the two cities through digital technology and bringing traditional musicians and contemporary digital production together across continents."
"The response in Belfast was extremely positive," he added. "The experience has also created strong interest in developing further collaboration between Belfast and Chongqing."
Music carries the cultural memory of a place, but it can also serve as a bridge between different cultures and civilizations. When the musical stories of western China meet Irish traditional melodies, and when digital technology connects cities thousands of kilometers apart, cultural differences can become opportunities for dialogue, understanding and new creative possibilities.
