After two public performances, seminars were organized for musicians and scholars to offer suggestions. The participants responded warmly and spoke highly of the work.

Xu Peidong, a member of the Chinese Music Association, praised the work during one seminar, saying it manages to convey the development of Chinese culture and also encourages people to think about this culture.

Ode to Virtue was performed from July 15 to July 19 and Aug 25 to Aug 31, in the Shenzhen Concert Hall and the Baoli Theater.

Han Wangxi, who wrote some of the lyrics for the piece, says using symphonic orchestration that is familiar to Westerners to compose a work on Confucianism will make it easier for Chinese culture to move out into the world.

"National rejuvenation needs to rely on culture, and what culture shows is a nation's spirit."

Han says that simply displaying bronze antiques and other items of China's cultural legacy is not enough to fully express the country's culture, which is full of spiritual content.

"Chinese people have a natural sense of intimacy with their history, and tradition is where we should go to find inspiration," says Han, who has a PhD in ethics from Renmin University and is also a visiting scholar at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

"Ode to Virtue uses a very beautiful form to express traditional content, which today is a good way to promote Chinese culture."

Shenzhen has strived to become a world-class city, and many see this symphony as a symbol of its development. Though it focuses on Confucius, thus highlighting China's traditional culture the work also stresses the value of the current government's policies.

Wang Jingsheng says that Ode to Virtue has made a valuable attempt to reflect and promote Chinese traditional culture and contemporary values.

Shenzhen has always been at the forefront of reform and opening-up. Wang says the symphony is also the dream of Shenzhen: the city will always take the lead, dare to dream, and become the first city to realize the Chinese dream.

Shenzhen's Party Committee Publicity Department said its next step would be to promote the work to the whole country and even to the world to help create a Chinese culture brand.

"Books need translation; language has boundaries," Wang says. "But music has no borders. It can transcend ethnic and national boundaries.

"This is the glory and the dream of a city, that uses music to tell the whole world the story of the Chinese dream. I believe the world will understand."