Chinese leaders sing and dance in National Day evening party

• Source: Xinhua
• [10:13 October 02 2009]
• Comments

Chinese President Hu Jintao and other leaders offered a rare glimpse of their dancing steps and singing voices  Thursday evening as they joined tens of thousands of people at an evening gala celebrating New China's 60th birthday.

Red lanterns, bright lights, 33-minute spectacular fireworks, high-spirited songs and dances turned the Tian'anmen Square in central Beijing into a sea of joy Thursday evening.

Hu and Jiang Zemin, Wu Bangguo, Wen Jiabao, Jia Qinglin, Li Changchun, Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, He Guoqiang, Zhou Yongkang, as well as many other leaders, incumbent and retired, came to watch the performances from the Tian'anmen Rostrum since 8 p.m. when the gala began.

About 60,000 people dressed in festive costume, including public servants, company workers, university students, servicemen and local residents, took part in the gala eulogizing Chinese people's love for the nation and great unity of all ethnic groups.

More than 4,000 performers manipulated computer-controlled LED electronic trees to form a "light cube", which showed the images of olive trees and doves as well as characters including "long live the motherland".

At about 9:20 p.m.,  Hu, Jiang and other leaders descended the rostrum to join the crowd at the square amid applauses, cheers and fireworks.

To the cheerful and light-hearted rhythm, the leaders and people wearing traditional costumes of different ethnic groups began their group dancing.

Meiha Ay, a Uygur teacher in Beijing, told Xinhua later that she enjoyed the moment of dancing with President Hu hand-in-hand.

"I'm so honored to dance with the leader on behalf of the Uygur people," she said. "We wish the country a better future."

"The solidarity between the Party and people of all ethnic groups is the guarantee of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation," said Prof. Cai Xia with Party School of the Central Committee of CPC. "The leaders' joining in the festive crowd was of political implication."