Elite performers from the China National Opera House created a festive atmosphere at the Hakka Culture Center in Shanghang county in southwest Fujian province on Jan 16 with a set of special performances to celebrate Chinese New Year, which falls on Jan 28.

Opera singer Geng Zhe of the China National Opera House performs for a Fujian audience in Shanghang county, Longyan city on Jan 16. [Photo by Qin Haishi/Xinhua]

Established in 1952, China National Opera House is supervised by China's Ministry of Culture and is one of China's top performance groups, consisting of an opera troupe, a choir, and symphony orchestra.

China National Opera House's symphony orchestra performs for a Fujian audience in Shanghang county, Longyan city on Jan 16. [Photo by Qin Haishi/Xinhua]

It was a special night at the Hakka Culture Center, the gorgeous 190,000-square-meter museum and cultural venue in the crucible of Hakka culture, Shanghang county.

The center opened in 2015 and contains collections of the genealogies of Hakka families and other historical records belonging to Hakka clans spread across the globe.

Opera singer Ruan Yuqun of the China National Opera House performs for a Fujian audience in Shanghang county, Longyan city on Jan 16. [Photo by Qin Haishi/Xinhua]

Shanghang also holds great importance in the history of the Communist Party of China as the site of the 1929 Gutian Conference, an important meeting of top Communist leaders presided over by Mao Zedong, in which the Party cemented its leadership over the Red Army.