A group of students in rural Anxin county were handpicked in February to take part in arts lessons. They are now preparing to stage a performance to show off their new skills. Zhang Yue reports in Hebei province.

It's 10 am on a Sunday, and 12-year-old Li Ziyi from Duancun village in Anxin county, Hebei province is practicing the basic movements of ballet in the dance studio at a middle school with 17 of her peers.

She practices splitting her legs. As her legs stretch wider, she feels increasing pain. "Our teacher told us in the first lesson that if you feel pain, you may shed tears. But you should not cry out loud," she says.

Students practice instrumental ensemble on the bank of Baiyangdian Lake in Anxin county, Hebei province.

This is her 21st ballet class this year. She took her first in February. Bearing her teacher's words in mind, Li and her peers, all girls, are practicing Dance of the Four Little Swans.

This is a group dance that is usually performed by girls who have learned ballet for more than five years.

Though the girls have not fully mastered the technique of standing on their toes, they are enjoying the beauty of the performing art with excitement.

Before February, Li spent most of her weekends playing with her friends and watching TV at home.

Then, a group of about 20 teachers and students from Beijing Dance Academy, Central Conservatory of Music and the National Ballet of China, gave the children the chance to try something different.

They have since visited the village every weekend to give the children free classes namely ballet, drama, symphony (which includes violin, horn and drum), painting and choir.

Li Feng, a 58-year-old investor in Beijing, initiated the idea of bringing art classes to rural China. Duancun is his ancestors' hometown. Li Feng's elder brother donated money to build a primary school in Anxin county several years ago.

Having spent his childhood in well-equipped schools in Beijing and learned the violin as a teenager, Li Feng says art education is important for a person's lifelong development. He owns an investment company in Beijing and has invested in many art exhibitions and publications.

All the expenses of the weekly art teaching program are sponsored by Hefeng Art Foundation, which Li Feng founded with 2 million yuan ($326, 800).

When he visited three primary schools in Anxin county in 2012, he was shocked that the schools did not provide art lessons.

"One reason is that local schools do not have the money to buy enough equipment. But the root cause is that it's never easy to employ art teachers in rural areas," Li says.