Inside Beijing's must-attend April event

Few parties can match Beijing's Vienna Ball for grandeur.

Guests like Austrian ambassador to China Friedrich Stift, performances from the Strauss Festival Orchestra Vienna, and reality TV star Allen Wu as host have made the event the most talked-about on Beijing's April social calendar.

The dapperly attendees and the venue at the Kempinski Hotel Beijing Lufthansa Center, a luxury hotel in downtown Beijing, will make April 13 a night of waltz, high fashion and haute cuisine.

With tickets priced 1,500 yuan ($224), the ball has sold out every year during its five-year history in Beijing, according to organizer, the Kempinski Hotel.

In this video interview with China Daily's website, both the ambassador and Brice Péan, managing director of the Kempinski Hotel, give a preview of what to expect at this year's ball.

It's more than just dance: both consider the ball a window to Viennese social traditions, classical music, and Austrian culture.

While recommending three must-see Austrian cities for first-time visitors, ambassador Stift gave a surprising answer. While well-known cities like capital Vienna with its iconic concert hall, Musikverein, and Salzburg , once home to Mozart, both make the cut, that doesn't tell the full story.

Brice Péan, who studied at ski resort Innsbruck, showed his knowledge of China, mentioning Hallstatt, a small Austrian town modeled on a Chinese housing development, as an increasingly popular destination for Chinese tourists.

Consider this video a warm-up for tonight's ball. If you can't make it, stay with China Daily's app and you'll have a chance to win a guest gift bag.

We're sending 10 of these gift bags to readers in our next episode. Stay tuned.