Chinese leaders watch Peking Opera for New Year

BEIJING - Top Chinese leaders including Xi Jinping, general secretary of Communist Party of China Central Committee, on Sunday watched Peking Opera at the National Center for the Performing Arts in a gala to celebrate the New Year.

Vice-Premier Li Keqiang and other leaders including Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli also watched the performance, together with nearly 1,000 audience.

Top Chinese leaders Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli watch a Peking Opera show to celebrate the New Year at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing, capital of China, Dec 30, 2012. [Photo/Xinhua]

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.