Ethinc singers stand out in CCTV Young Singers' Contest

Every year, the most talented young singers from around China gather for a contest organized by China Central Television, in Beijing. The first round of this year's CCTV Young Singers' Contest ended Monday night. Ethnic singers gave some memorable performances.

This is a chorus from the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region. The song expresses the happy lives of the people who live among the vast grasslands. The excellent performance by the choir members won them first place after the first round of competition.

This year's Young Singers' Contest has strong representation from ethnic communities in different regions of China. There are chorus groups from the Zhuang ethnic region in Guangxi, the Dong community in Guizhou and the Uygur ethnic group from Xinjiang.

The Dong Chorus from southwest China's Guizhou Province sang of the epic struggle by Chinese people after snows devastated China's southern regions last month. Member of the chorus traveled on foot, over five days to get the the disaster stricken regions themselves, before beginning rehearsals.

The top 20 choral groups from the first round of competition, qualify to go on to the second round.