To endorse the decision made by the just-concluded Sixth Plenary Session of the 17th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to boost cultural development, the city of Guangyuan in Southwest China's Sichuan province staged the modern Henan Opera "Mother" in the Jincheng Art Gallery in the provincial capital Chengdu on November 7 and 8.

"Mother", which won the Outstanding Performance Award of the Second Henan Opera Festival, was created by the Guangyuan Art Theater.

It tells the true story of a mother from a mountainous area who lost her husband at a young age and lived with her son. She endured many hardships to bring him up and finance his college studies.

Unpon completion of his college studies, the son worked in the city but had difficulty in finding a spouse because of his poor family, which made the mother worry. He did not get married until he was nearly 30, an old age for a man from the rural area.

To help his son, the mother who feared his daughter-in-law would dislike her disguised herself as a nanny to take care of her grandson. To mitigate the financial burden on her son, she left the family for her mountainous village when her grandson was three years old.

The nearly two-hour play praising the mother's great spirit of selfless dedication moved the audience packing the Jincheng Art Palace when it was formally staged on the evening of November 8.

"As a mother, I understand the selfless love for children from each mother," said 60-year-old Li Yingxiu while wiping her tears.