Charity gala raises money for rural schools

About 400 business leaders, cultural celebrities, well-known public figures and 200-odd media gathered together at the Bazaar Star Charity Night Gala last week to raise money for charity.

Over 30 million yuan ($4.3 million) was raised and will be donated to a charitable project that aims to renovate classrooms, design art and science lessons and train teachers at rural primary-level boarding schools.

According to Liu Jiang, the president of Trends Group, "charity should not be benevolence for a moment. Instead, it is lifelong work."

Over the past 16 years, the annual Bazaar Star Charity Night Gala has collected over 530 million yuan to help 51 public projects and benefited more than 110 million people.

A group of stars gave performances and made speeches during the night. They also helped to auction off some artworks as part of the bid to collect money for the rural students.

Speaking about the Gala, its initiator, Su Mang, said, "Charity is the best thing we can do together in our whole lives.