Teen singer goes from village to global stage

Fifteen-year-old Jihao Youguo, who sang at the opening ceremony of the Chengdu Universiade on Friday evening, comes from a remote mountainous village and once performed for President Xi Jinping.

On Feb 11, 2018, Xi stopped by her impoverished family in Sanhe village during a visit to the Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture, Sichuan province.

Xi discovered that she had a passion for singing and asked the then-10-year-old to sing. She sang "The National Flag is So Beautiful", the same song she performed at the opening ceremony.

The village was among the last group of villages in China to be lifted out of poverty by the end of 2020.