There was a performance of the Children Living in Mountains opera by the Lvliang Folk Art Troupe of Shanxi province, at the Grand National Theater of Beijing, on April 15, with the vice-minister of culture, Dong Wei, members of Shanxi provincial standing committee, and the head of Shanxi‘s publicity department, Hu Suping, joining the large audience to watch the performance.

The opera is about the lives of the children who make up the troupe and the course of their lives and their struggles and optimistic spirit. And it is the first opera of its kind in China about real children from the countryside and got a rousing well-deserved reception.

The children, who are all from Shanxi's Lin county, Shanxi province, have improved a lot and have taken part in CCTV's spring festival gala and the Shanghai World Expo. The opera's art director, Gong Xiaoqi, was an advisor for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics, while its chief director, Mu Qing, was a director of the two important ceremonies.

The famous singer, Yan Weiwen, said that the child actors'feel for art and their dedication were touching and that they sincerely represented their real lives and that he hopes the performance will improve through repeated performances.

The play was staged again, the evening of April 16, at the Grand National Theater, for another appreciative audience.

Edited by Zhou Yuanyuan and Roger Bradshaw