New Year gala grips nation's youth
According to Shang, the show adapted from her song Little Stars will collaborate with a practitioner of humai, a throat-singing technique that has been handed down over hundreds of years. In addition, she will recite a part of the Chinese poem Tianwen.
Translated as Quest for Heavenly Truth, Tianwen is a long poem by famous poet Qu Yuan, who lived in the Kingdom of Chu during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC).
Tianwen was also the name of China's first Mars mission. On Feb 24, Tianwen 1 entered a preset parking orbit above Mars.
The China National Space Administration said naming the mission after the poem was intended to illustrate China's determination to explore deep space and also implant a love of science in the nation's youth.
"The sound of humai is stunning. With high and low sounds heard simultaneously, the style creates a sense of space, like putting questions to the universe," Shang said.
"I'm happy to perform in the show and pay tribute to the people in China's aerospace industry, as well as promote the country's culture and understanding of nature and the universe and unending explorations in science and technology," she added.
