It started at Carnegie Hall in New York on July 11, and the next day all 114 music students of the National Youth Orchestra-USA landed in Beijing for a seven-concert tour that gave them a 'whirlwind of eye-opening experiences', Niu Yue reports from New York.

T he young musicians of the National Youth Orchestra-USA who toured and performed in China this summer haven't been able to stop talking about their time there.

"NYO's 2015 tour of China was an incredible musical, social and cultural experience," said 16-year-old violinist Evan Falls Hjort of Fall City, Washington. "We had the privilege of sharing some of Asia's most renowned stages with dedicated colleagues and guest artists while also experiencing the beautiful traditions and icons of a country far older than our own."

Tommy Lin, an 18-year-old bassist from Sammamish, Washington, said "the tour was a whirlwind of eye-opening experiences: musically, culturally and interpersonally".

Matthew Chow, 19, a violinist from Los Altos, California, said the tour "afforded us the unbelievable privilege of experiencing how a professional orchestra travels and performs abroad, while allowing us to exercise the curiosity and energy that teenagers have so much of".

Led by conductor Charles Dutoit, the NYO-USA, made up of 114 music students age 16 to 19 from 37 states, headed to China in mid-July for a seven-concert tour through Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou, Xi'an, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Hong Kong, ending on July 26. Chinese piano virtuoso Li Yundi toured as guest soloist.