More than 800 kids join Beijing gala to celebrate heroes

A gala, gathering more than 800 children from Beijing, was staged at the National Center for the Performing Arts in the capital on the nights of Wednesday and Thursday to mark the 71st anniversary of the establishment of the People's Republic of China.

Organized by China Soong Ching Ling Foundation, choirs from over 20 middle schools in Beijing shared the stage to perform songs such as Growing Up With the Motherland and The Beautiful World.

Besides the choirs, the audience also enjoyed programs featuring dances and Peking Opera, performed by art troupes, including a percussion troupe affiliated to the Beijing Chinese Orchestra, a martial arts team from Beijing Haidian District Shuangyushu No 1 Primary School and the drama troupe of Tsinghua University Primary School.

"We spent about three months preparing for the gala, which aims at educating children with the arts as well as sending our best wishes on the country's birthday," says the gala's director Meng Yan. "There are many young people learning musical instruments, singing in choirs and practicing various kinds of art forms. They enjoy arts from a young age, which is great for their future."

Meng adds that to pay tribute to the people who fought on the front line against COVID-19, the organizers also invited medical workers from Beijing to enjoy the show. Those medical workers went to work in hospitals of Wuhan, Hubei province, the hardest-hit city in China, during the outbreak.