Folk musicians strike a chord for poverty reduction in revolutionary base

XI'AN - With a white towel wrapped around his head and dressed in a sheepskin coat and baggy pants, Liu Jun plays an old farmer in a musical drama staged every day in Shaanxi province.

"The hall can seat nearly 500 people. Sometimes it is hard to buy a ticket. I didn't expect our show could be so well-received," Liu said.

The 35 year old is a folk singer. He and his troupe perform traditional folk music and dance in the city of Yan'an, a former revolutionary base of the Communist Party of China.