The 2020 cross-Straits beiguan exchange activity was held Aug 12 in Quangang district, Quanzhou, a city in East China's Fujian province.

Different from previous years, due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, artists from Quangang Jinxiang Beiguan Art Troupe and Taiwan Changhua Huatan Yufengge Opera Troupe played beiguan together through an online video connection.

Beiguan is a type of folk music performed using traditional stringed and woodwind instruments. It was introduced to Quanzhou from the Yangtze and Huaihe rivers area during the Guangxu Period of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and was introduced to Taiwan by the people of Quanzhou.

In 2006, beiguan was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage lists due to its importance to the Fujian-Taiwan cultural system.

Recently, through the joint efforts of artists, experts and scholars of beiguan from the cross-Straits region, there have been frequent exchanges on beiguan between Quanzhou and Taiwan, promoting the continuous and innovative development of the traditional folk music.

It's hoped that the beiguan exchange activity will enhance the cultural identity of people from the cross-Straits region and maintain cultural ties between them.