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HEFEI, March 23 (Xinhua) -- A group of pupils were practicing the theme song of the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, in a suburban school more than 1,000 km south of the Chinese capital. Every Wednesday afternoon, these students gather in the music classroom of Sanshitou Township Central Primary School in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province, to practice singing for about one and a half hours. "We have been practicing for about four years now, and we have learned at least a dozen songs so far," said Yang Bo, 28, the music teacher who established the school choir in early 2018, one semester after he came to the school on the outskirts of the city. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in music in 2017, Yang realized his dream of becoming a teacher. However, he found out he was the only professional music teacher in the primary school, where about one-third of the students are the children of migrant workers. "Most of the students may not have received good art education before, but they share the same love of music. They have such clean and beautiful voices," Yang said, adding that he felt great responsibility on his shoulders. In order to support the children's music dream, Yang proposed to form a student choir, which was immediately welcomed by the school's principal. Subsequently, Yang began to identify the most gifted and enthusiastic of his students. The choir was established in early 2018, and Yang named it "Mi Yin," which means "sweet voice" in Chinese, hoping that his students could find sweetness and beauty in music. However, recruiting enough members was just one of the many obstacles Yang faced in the process of organizing the choir. Yang was the only one at the school able to play the piano, so he had to invite a piano teacher from another school to join their practices. However, some students quit the choir after a few weeks because their parents thought it was a waste of time, and more time should be spent on academic studies. Yang tried his best to explain the importance of aesthetic education to these anxious parents. Yang has also sent countless music recordings to the students via online social messaging platforms to offer individual instructions. Yang enjoyed chatting with his students and answering their questions in the group before he went to bed every night. All their efforts paid off, as they have won two prizes in music competitions since the choir was established. Thanks to the recent implementation of the "double reduction" education policy across China, which aims to ease the burden of excessive homework and off-campus tutoring for primary and middle school students, more attention has been paid to the development of recreational and sports activities. The school has offered concrete support in terms of facilities and funds to ensure the future success of the choir. Currently, there are 37 members in the choir, ranging from second to sixth graders at the school. "Through participating in the choir, I've learned to persevere and cooperate with other members. To learn a new song, we must practice repeatedly and coordinate with different tones," said Liu Beixi, a girl from the fifth grade, who loves singing and joined the choir three years ago. The choir is now preparing for another music competition. "I hope they can enjoy the process and continue to chase their music dream," said Yang. Enditem
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