National kids singing contest set to rekindle childhood memories

The second season of a national children's singing contest culminated in a grand finale in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, on Saturday.

The event is sponsored by Fortune, a proprietary brand owned by major Chinese agro-product company COFCO.

Of the 10 young finalists, 9-year-old local boy Ma Qishuo claimed the championship, winning family tickets to Shanghai Disney Resort.

The contest took place on Chongyang Festival, known as Double Ninth Festival, which falls on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month.

Traditional celebrations include showing respect and care for elderly people, so it has been designated Seniors' Day since 1989.

To celebrate the traditional festival, the 10 finalists visited a local elderly care center, staging a performance for the senior citizens.

At the end of the visit, Fortune-branded sunflower seed oil was donated to the care center.

The cooking oil is made from selected sunflower seeds from Ukraine, using special production methods to maintain the highest nutrition content possible.

With a high concentration of unsaturated fatty acids - about 87 percent of the total fatty acid content - vitamin E and linoleic acid, it is especially suitable for children and aging people, according to the company.

The finalists also gave a public performance and joined the chorus singing the contest's theme song at Suzhou's landmark sites.

Since the first season launched in May 2016, the three-month contest has attracted more than 1 million families from more than 20 cities across the country to participate.

Following the success of the first season last year, the second season kicked off in Beijing in July, setting off another wave of family singing and rekindling childhood memories.

Continuing to promote family values and parent-children ties, the event has also helped to turn attention to children's growth and their songs' development, according to the organizers.

Fortune has played an active role in charity activities to fulfill its corporate social responsibilities. The annual singing contest aims to increase parent-child interaction and improve family bonds, according to the sponsor.

Other charitable activities Fortune has taken part in include donating to dandelion schools established for rural migrant workers' children, and helping rural students to realize their musical dreams through targeted sponsorships.

(China Daily 11/02/2017 page14)