All musicians at the SCO traditional music concert play the Russian folk song Kalinka.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Other performances showcased the vigorous and fast-tempo komuz music from Kyrgyzstan, a medley of Uzbekistan folk songs, and a piece adapted from the classical Russian folk song Moonlight composed by the renowned musician, Vasily Andreyev.

Dmitry Dmitrienko, the artistic director and conductor of the Russian ensemble, was responsible for conducting Kalinka at the concert, "Performed by artists from four countries, the piece symbolizes the cooperation between them."

The idea for the SCO Member States Arts Festival originated during multilateral cultural exchanges at the 2004 summit in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Member states passed the resolution to hold the annual arts festival the following year at the SCO summit in Astana, Kazakhstan.

All musicians at the SCO traditional music concert play the Russian folk song Kalinka.[Photo provided to China Daily]

This year's arts festival ran from May 29 to June 1 in Beijing, with a range of stage performances, exhibitions and master classes, including a folk dance performance and a photography exhibition of cultural heritage sites.

Li Jinsheng, general manager of the China Arts and Entertainment Group, says, "through a variety of activities, the arts festival intends to present the diversified civilizations of the SCO member states, in order to promote exchange and mutual learning between countries, and to strengthen people-to-people bonds."