Peng urges German chorus to use music as bridge

Peng Liyuan, wife of President Xi Jinping, encouraged members of Germany's Burg Chinese Chorus on Thursday to continue to use music as the "golden key" to unlock a new world of Chinese language and experience the charm of Chinese culture through beautiful songs, as they did 10 years ago.

It is hoped that the young people will become the new envoys of friendship between China and Germany, Peng said when meeting in Beijing with members of the chorus, who are visiting China for the first time after COVID-19 pandemic.

It was Peng's inspiration that led to the founding of the chorus in 2014, when she accompanied Xi on a state visit to Germany and made a visit to Burg Gymnasium, a public high school in Germany that has been offering Chinese language courses since 1994. When the chorus members asked how they could improve their Mandarin pronunciation, she suggested that the students sing more Chinese songs.