A woman plays the piano inside a shared piano room near the Shenzhen Concert Hall in Futian District on Tuesday morning. Yang Mei
A man plays the piano in a well-equipped shared piano booth. Ye Yangte
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As reporters from Shenzhen Daily arrived at the Shenzhen Concert Hall in Futian District at 10:20 a.m. Tuesday, they noticed that the two shared piano rooms adjacent to it were already booked. Inside each of these rooms, an elegantly dressed woman was engrossed in playing the piano.
One of the ladies, surnamed Cheng, a resident of Longhua District, specifically traveled to Futian to practice. She enthusiastically shared with Shenzhen Daily her delight in securing an appointment for the booth the previous day because the piano rooms near the concert hall are always in high demand.
“Even on workdays, these two booths are incredibly popular. Yesterday, when I tried to book it, I discovered that someone had already reserved the booth for the 5-6 a.m. slot. The 10:10-11:10 a.m. slot worked well for me though. Today, I also found out that the time slots after mine were also fully booked,” Cheng remarked.
Cheng, who used to play the piano a lot in her childhood, can seldom find the time to play now due to work commitments. However, she has rekindled her passion for playing and frequents free-of-charge piano booths twice a week. Cheng has practiced in booths in Huaqiangbei and Lianhuacun in Futian.
Cheng commended the concept of a free piano booth, not simply because it’s free, but because it’s well-equipped and easily accessible. “The piano studio near my home charges 80 yuan (US$11) per hour, which is quite expensive. However, these public piano booths feature quality pianos and allow children interested in learning the piano to experiment and explore without the need to buy one,” she noted.
Shenzhen Daily invited Ecuadorian musician Angelo Castagneto to try one of the piano booths Tuesday morning. As he stood before the booth, he was so impressed that he couldn’t resist recording a short video to introduce the concept to his Instagram followers.
Castagneto performed French pianist Richard Clayderman’s “Ballade pour Adeline” and the love song “Tong Hua (Fairy Tale)” by Michael Wong, a Chinese-Malaysian singer and composer.
Castagneto told Shenzhen Daily that playing the piano had re-energized him. “When I was playing the piano, I got energy. Yesterday, I was working the whole day, and then I walked here, and I found the piano. I played to recharge my energy. It’s very nice,” he said.
The musician speaks highly of the city government’s initiative, which allows the general public to play the piano throughout the city. “Art and culture are vital for the development of a society. Through music, art, and culture, Shenzhen can nurture its citizens in this beautiful city,” he noted.
The shared piano room program, launched in Futian in 2021, has expanded to five other districts in Shenzhen including Luohu, Nanshan, Longgang, Longhua, and Bao’an. Interested residents can conveniently make reservations for a shared piano room through the WeChat miniprogram called “琴小站,” while also checking the locations of nearby rooms and their availability. The rooms are available to the public 24 hours a day. Each room is nearly 4 square meters in size and is equipped with a piano, an air conditioner, power sockets, and several pieces of art hanging on the walls.