Chinese top leaders Hu Jintao, Wu Bangguo, Wen Jiabao, Jia Qinglin, Li Changchun, Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, He Guoqiang and Zhou Yongkang shake hands with artists as they enter the venue of a Peking Opera show to celebrate the New Year at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 29, 2011. (Photo: Xinhua)
Chinese top leaders Hu Jintao, Wu Bangguo, Wen Jiabao, Jia Qinglin, Li Changchun, Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, He Guoqiang and Zhou Yongkang pose for group photo with performers after they watch a Peking Opera show to celebrate the New Year at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 29, 2011. (Photo: Xinhua)
President Hu Jintao and other Chinese leaders watched Thursday Peking Opera at the National Center for the Performing Arts in a gala to celebrate the New Year.
Top legislator Wu Bangguo, Premier Wen Jiabao, top political advisor Jia Qinglin, and other leaders including Li Changchun, Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, He Guoqiang and Zhou Yongkang also watched the performance, together with nearly 1,000 audience.
The programs include excerpts from classical Peking Opera "The Fourth Son Visits His Mother" and a series of other traditional works.
The 200-year-old Peking Opera, which combines instrumental music, vocal performances, mime, dance and acrobatics, was regarded as a cultural treasure of China.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has listed Peking Opera as an intangible cultural heritage.
