Founder of Malan band, predecessor of Beijing 2022 opening ceremony choir, passes away

BEIJING -- Deng Xiaolan, the founder of the Malan village band, passed away on Tuesday in Beijing less than seven weeks after the Malan choir performed at the Beijing 2022 opening ceremony.

Deng passed away in Beijing Tiantan Hospital at the age of 78, according to Hebei Economic Daily. She had been taken to hospital after a recent fall during an interview in Malan, Hebei province.

Deng had volunteered as a music teacher since 2004 in Malan, which was a revolutionary base of the Communist Party of China during the 1940s, and founded the Malan village band.

The band's successor group performed the Olympic Anthem in Greek at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic opening ceremony on February 4.