Beijing, Dec 31 (IANS): Top leaders of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Sunday watched the Peking Opera at a gala here to celebrate the New Year.
Xi Jinping, general secretary of CPC central committee, and Vice Premier Li Keqiang were among 1,000 people who attended the event at the National Center for Performing Arts.
The programmes included excerpts from classical Peking Opera "The fourth son visits his mother" and a series of other traditional works, Xinhua reported.
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 the Peking Opera as an intangible cultural heritage.