Hitting the right note with children

The Chinese New Year holiday is coming! You scout ticketing apps for music events that you can enjoy with your kids.

However, you are soon disappointed: There are tons of them for adults but very few for children and parents, not to mention a music feast for children.

The good news is that a children's music festival promising both you and your kids an equally good time is on the way.

But you'll have to wait until May. And it's worth waiting for, the organizers say.

The Hand in Hand International Children's Music Festival, widely hailed as the country's first touring music festival for the whole family, has staged more than 80 shows in 21 Chinese cities, attracting nearly 100,000 to its performances since its 2017 debut.

Performing in "100 Chinese cities in five years," is the goal, said Liu Jian, founder of the festival, which just wrapped up its 2020 New Year tour on Jan 5. That's an aim many think too ambitious but Liu firmly believes it is attainable.

Ticket sales for the festival's seven-city New Year tour speak volumes. "All 12 concerts were sold out soon after the word got out," Liu said, grinning.

The festival, backed up by veteran musician groups such as Grammy and Emmy winner The Lucky Band from the US and rock quintet Hippe Gasten from the Netherlands for past tours, will draw more foreign bands for outdoor concerts slated for this summer.