Basically, as one executive put it, “there are two Philadelphia brands the Chinese respect — the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and the Philadelphia Orchestra.” Classical music is often used as a conversational warm-up for business discussions in China, not unlike the way sports is used elsewhere, and, as another executive puts it, the orchestra’s tour “serve[s] as a big draw for potential Chinese investors and companies to explore investment opportunities in the Philadelphia area.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer