"This is the first time that migrant workers have stepped onto the national stage and presented their own artistic creation," said Liu Zhongjun, a senior official with the Chinese Ministry of Culture and also chief producer of the performance.

He said that inviting migrant workers to the performance means giving everyone in society an equal opportunity to show their talent, thus building up a harmonious society.

Young migrant worker Sun Heng and his compatriot will sing a song written by themselves, in a program called"people on the road". The migrant workers will perform alongside well-known Chinese singers, singing a dozen songs expressing their longings for their home town and their love for relatives and friends.

"People's strong feelings for their motherland will be highlighted in the performance," said Wen Zhongjia, musical director of the performance."The construction of our country needs this kind of patriotic emotion."

Liu said the performance will be innovative. Singers from different minority groups will be invited to perform ethnic songs. Street dance and skate boarding- very popular with Chinese youngsters- will be staged with Chinese acrobatics. Among a dozen beautiful songs, there will be two written by Chinese Culture Minister Sun Jiazheng and vice Culture Minister Chen Xiaoguang.

According to Liu, the Chinese artists will try out new artistic expressions during the performance, such as having ballet dancers accompany the singing of Chinese folk music, and having Kunqu opera artists perform a popular song in poetic language. Enditem