A historic performance

Born and raised in Hefei, capital of Anhui province, Wang Li showed a talent for music as a child. At age 14, she was enrolled in Anhui Professional College of Art to study music, where she learned operatic singing and Huangmeixi, a provincial form of traditional Chinese opera. Three years later, she traveled to Beijing to study singing at the China Conservatory of Music and joined the art troupe of the People's Liberation Army Air Force after graduation.

"When I first played the role of Jiang Jie, I was not married. Now I am a mother, which helps me gain a deeper understanding of the role," says Wang Li, adding that in the opera, Jiang Jie is a hero, who devotes her life to the country. She is also a woman who is separated from her son, and whose husband has been killed by the enemy.

Last year, the singer, along with some members of the opera's creative team, visited Zhang Guimei, a teacher working to promote female education in mountainous areas of Yunnan province. Zhang is a big fan of the opera and was named among the 29 outstanding members of the CPC who received the July 1 Medal, the Party's highest honor, in 2021.

"We spent two days teaching the students and teachers to sing songs from the opera and Zhang impressed me because she remembers them all," recalls Wang Li. "The love for the songs expressed by the young students will keep the character alive."