Mercedes-Benz's noteworthy musical challenge

BEIJING - Taking music lessons used to be nearly impossible for the average school student in the countryside in Southeast China's Sichuan province. However, that's no longer the case.

"It's amazing that my classmates and I can perform beautiful music with mixed rhythms after just one hour of practice, using plastic bottles, paper boxes, and some strange but simple hand-held musical instruments we've never seen before," said Liu Zhichao, a Grade 6 student at Shifang Mercedes-Benz School in Sichuan province.

"It was also the first time I had stood before a crowd giving a show. I was not as nervous and embarrassed as I expected. Performing music is no longer a distant dream."