Lang Lang: It takes great patience and passion to keep mining new understandings of old works. To do so the musician has to learn from grandmasters, and what's more, heed to life's lessons and search deep into the heart.

I was told by my mentor Daniel Barenboim, the renowned conductor, to learn music from life and to learn life from music as well. This is wise advice. Some great musicians didn't come up with perpetual works of genius for all the ages. Some make their names quite young, like Mozart; it is this kind of extraordinarily acute observer, lover of life, and imaginative high flyer that gives life to music.

I am young, and aware of the ocean of knowledge left for me to discover. I keep learning, and in the process often come across things that intrigue me, which add new meaning to my performance.

For instance I once played in a poor community in an African country in my capacity as goodwill ambassador for UNICEF. In response, some local kids performed a traditional piece. The tune was simple and the instruments crude, but the resilience and confidence encoded in the music really touched me. For a long period thereafter a touch of the keyboard always brought to mind the sight of these lovely kids struggling with adversity. If I can render my music in a way that makes it distinct from others, I do so by falling back on subjective experience and a personal interpretation of life.

Reporter: If you feel like settling down someday in the future, what will you be looking for in the city that you will finally make your home?

Lang Lang: I prefer a quiet urban life that allows me to reach deeper in my heart, a journey that will never come to its end. As for my expectations for a city, it all depends on which city I end up in. After my performance in European and Russian cities, the first thing I want to do is to visit the former residences, tombs or museums of the late, great musicians of the region, those whose works left marks on human history. It feels like I could have a dialogue with these great minds from other times. After a show in Gulangyu, an island in Xiamen (Fujian Province), the organizer arranged for me to visit the local museum of antique pianos; some of whose instruments are hundreds of years old. Touching is forbidden, but the curator made an exception for me. I was allowed to play every one of them. It was really fascinating. I ran my fingers over the keyboards, summoning up the elves who were believed to cast spells on the music these archaic instruments produced long ago. My only dream for a city life is to live close to great musicians of times past.

Reporter: There is the division between classical and popular music, which might also be applied to cities. In the hectic drive to urbanization many classic cityscapes have been swallowed by progress. As a classical pianist, what's your opinion on protection of our tangible cultural heritage?

Lang Lang: All countries and cities should promote an awareness of preserving and honoring the classical. The classical is popular in its own right, because popularity is the only reason why it has stood the test of time. It is the same with cultural relics. If cultural relics are regarded as part of a city's soul, they won't be taken for granted anymore.

An American friend of mine commuted between Beijing and New York year round, and loved both of them. His impression is that though Beijing is much older than New York, it doesn't look so except at the handful of historic sites like the Forbidden City, the Great Wall and the Summer Palace.

New York is teeming with buildings over 100 years old, but how many of those can be found in the Chinese capital? Key historic sites are well preserved, but what about those of lesser prominence but no less significance?

If we work on cities to make life better, we cannot reach the goal by neglecting cultural heritage. I think this is one of messages the Shanghai World Expo is trying to impart.

(The reporter received generous help from U.S. Li Ning Audio-visual Studio for this interview.)