National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, the oldest symphony orchestra in the island, made a debut show at Chinese mainland's National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Beijing Thursday.

The orchestra put on stage an array of works including Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 and eight pieces from "Taiwan Tone Images", such as "Train Travel to I Lan" and "The Bell Toll of Lung-Shan Temple at night", composed by Bao Yuankai.

"The programs blend both classics and works representative of local flavor," said Zhu Wenxin, an officer in charge of the project.

"We extended an invitation to the orchestra about one year ago and they accepted it almost immediately," he said, "But due to busy schedules on both sides, we only made it tonight."

The orchestra was founded in 1945 with Professor Tsai Chih-kue as its first president. Since its establishment, the Orchestra has performed such well-known works as "The Magic Flute" and "La traviata", and a few large-scale original performances like opera "The 100th Bride", and dance drama "Going to Xikou".

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