Torsten Dressler, managing director of Kempinski Hotel Beijing Lufthansa Center gives a welcome speech at the ball. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The fourth Vienna Ball, held at Kempinski Hotel Beijing Lufthansa Center on April 21, lived up to expectations as one of the highlights of the capital's social calendar.

In the luxury ambiance of the Kempinski hotel, Friedrich Stift, Austria's ambassador to China and Dr Michael Häupl, mayor of Vienna, enjoyed a wonderful evening filled with great food, live music and swirls of graceful dances, along with 500 other distinguished guests.

A speech delivered by Friedrich Stift, ambassador of the Republic of Austria to the People’s Republic of China. [Photo provided to China Daily]

As Torsten Dressler, managing director of Kempinski Hotel Beijing Lufthansa Center, said the Ball is a celebration of Austrian culture, lifestyle, and elegance, and "a celebration of the friendship between Austria and China".

The Vienna Ball has a history of more than 80 years, as it was initiated in 1935, bringing together some of Europe's most royal and elite society. Today, over 400 balls are held in Vienna each year, with the Vienna Opera Ball, held at the Vienna State Opera, the most famous.