Tolkynuly Talgar poses with his cello. [Photo/Tide News]

Ten years ago, 20-year-old student Tolkynuly Talgar boarded a flight from Kazakhstan to China, unaware that the trip would reshape his future. On Nov 16, the cellist participated in the Jiaxing Dachao Philharmonic Orchestra's debut in Haining, a county-level city in Jiaxing, East China's Zhejiang province.

Talgar first studied piano as a child, but everything changed when he entered a music school and picked up a cello for the first time. In 2013, visiting faculty from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music noticed his talent and invited him to study in China. Despite language barriers and an unfamiliar environment, he chose to take the leap with his parents' support.

Talgar enrolled as an undergraduate at the conservatory in 2016. With help from teachers and classmates, he adapted to student life, completed his degree, and later returned to pursue graduate studies, receiving his master's degree this year.

After graduation, he made another pivotal decision: joining the newly formed Jiaxing Dachao Philharmonic Orchestra as a cellist. Since moving to Haining in August, he has been exploring the city between rehearsals.

Thinking back on the decade that brought him from Kazakhstan to China, he said both places now feel like home.