Excitement and anticipation are building, with the 5th Guangzhou Outdoor Arts Festival set to take place at Huacheng Square in the Tianhe district of Guangzhou – capital of South China's Guangdong province – on Jan 5-14.

With its theme of "The Urban Wave", the festival will involve more than 400 performers who will stage performances from different genres in music, dance and opera.

They include the Guangzhou Opera House's youth marching orchestra, the La Tuna de Canton band, as well as the guitar band Lee Guitars of Taiwan singer-songwriter and music producer Jonathan Lee Chung-shan.

A wind band performs a rousing tune during the previous session of the Guangzhou Outdoor Arts Festival. [Photo by Chen Junsheng/Guangzhou Daily]

Adding to the fun, James Harkins, associate professor at the Xinghai Conservatory of Music; Michael Garza, bassoon player at the Guangzhou Baroque Orchestra and Simon Bishop, founder of the independent electronic music label PAAK, will take to the stage during the electronic music featured program, called Electric Rhythm Haze.

The Guangzhou Outdoor Arts Festival has welcomed more than 1,800 performers from 18 countries and regions since its inception. They include artists from Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States – with the event attracting over 300,000 people to watch its live performances.