Choir sings its way into Chinese hearts

To the accompaniment of traditional Chinese folk instruments guzheng and erhu, the Children's Chorus of Washington sang the popular Chinese folk song, Mo Li Hua, or The Jasmine Flower, in Mandarin.

The performance was well received by the audience in the packed Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing. The next Chinese song, Da Hai Gu Xiang, or The Ocean Is My Hometown, a pop song from the 1980s, got the audience singing along.

This is the award-winning choir's first tour of China. The 11-day trip from July 18 to 28, saw them perform in Shanghai, Xi'an and Tianjin. They did not expect their shows to be so well received by Chinese audiences.