Top Chinese Leaders Watch Peking Opera in New Year Gala

Chinese top leaders Hu Jintao, Wu Bangguo, Jia Qinglin, Li Changchun, Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, He Guoqiang and Zhou Yongkang pose for a group photo with performers after watching Peking Opera in a gala to celebrate the New Year at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 30, 2010. (Xinhua/Zhang Duo)

BEIJING, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- Top Chinese leaders including President Hu Jintao on Thursday watched Peking Opera at the National Center for the Performing Arts in a gala to celebrate the New Year.

Top legislator Wu Bangguo, top political advisor Jia Qinglin, and other senior leaders including Li Changchun, Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, He Guoqiang and Zhou Yongkang also watched the performance together with nearly 1,000audience.

The programs include excerpts from modern Peking Opera "The Red Detachment of Women" and a series of traditional works.

The over 200-year-old Peking Opera, which combines instrumental music, vocal performances, mime, dance and acrobatics, was regarded as a cultural treasure of China. It was recognized as an intangible cultural heritage last month by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Source: Xinhua