The Philadelphia Orchestra visited and performed in China in 1973, when the country was largely closed to western engagement. In 2023 and 2024, with the Ford Foundation’s support, the orchestra returned to China to commemorate the 50th anniversary of its historic first tour. Ford’s funding enabled the orchestra’s community-focused events in several Chinese cities, including educational programs for children and performances in unique spaces such as libraries, to reach broader audiences and encourage cross-cultural connections.

Read more about this historic visit in this article which originally appeared in The New York Times

By Javier C. Hernández

President Biden and China’s leader, Xi Jinping, face a host of thorny geopolitical issues as they meet Wednesday in San Francisco: trade, Taiwan and the war between Israel and Hamas.

But they have found some common ground in the cultural sphere. Both leaders have in recent days praised the visit by a delegation of Philadelphia Orchestra musicians to China.

The musicians arrived there last week to mark the 50th anniversary of the orchestra’s celebrated 1973 visit to Beijing, when it became the first American ensemble to perform in Communist-led China as the two countries worked to re-establish official ties.

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