In September 2019, the Lang Lang Arts Foundation visited Rizhao in Shandong Province, where they donated three "Happy Keys" Lang Lang music classrooms to Chengxi Primary School, Nanhu Town Central Primary School, and Chentuan Town Dongchen Primary School. A donation ceremony was held at Chentuan Town Dongchen Primary School.
On the first school day, Lang Lang arrived at Dongchen Primary School to provide the children with their first piano lesson. Listening to familiar notes “Do Re Mi” flow from their fingertips for the first time, the children, experiencing the piano for the first time, were especially focused in their learning.
▲ Lang Lang is guiding his classmates to learn the piano in the music classroom
On the afternoon of September 1st, more than 300 teachers and students from three primary schools gathered at Dongchen Primary School in Chentuan Town to celebrate with Lang Lang the completion of the "Happy Key" music classroom.
▲ Lang Lang interacts with the children
▲Lang Lang Speaking at the Donation Ceremony
▲ Lang Lang Awarding the "Happy Keys" Music Classroom Plaques to the Principals of the Three Schools
Talented students prepared a variety of artistic performances, showcasing their skills on stage.
▲ Chengxi Primary School Opened the Event with a Passionate Drum Performance
▲ Chengxi Primary School Students Performed "Manual of Youth"
▲ Nanhu Town Central Primary School Students Perform Guzheng Ensemble "My Motherland" in Tribute to the 70th Anniversary of the Country
The three donated schools are all located in rural areas or urban periphery, where educational resources, especially in arts and physical education, are relatively scarce compared to urban schools. In Chentuan Town Dongchen Primary School, the venue of the donation ceremony, there are only 167 students, and over one-third of them are left-behind children. Some of these children have parents working far away and can only see them once a year, while others come from city-designated impoverished villages and have never touched a musical instrument.
Chengxi Primary School is one of the schools designated by the Education Culture and Sports Bureau in Donggang District to accommodate children of migrant workers. Located in the urban-rural fringe, about 20% of its students are children of migrant workers. These children often take on significant responsibilities from a young age, such as caring for younger siblings or helping their parents run businesses, as their parents are usually occupied with labor-intensive jobs and have little time to focus on their children’s education and well-being.
Nanhu Town Central Primary School also has many left-behind children and children of migrant workers, and has even made exceptions to enroll several intellectually disabled children. Many of these students, like their urban counterparts, love singing, dancing, and music. However, due to financial constraints, they cannot pursue systematic learning. Without access to a piano, students can only draw black and white keys on paper, which is a common scene in local music classes but has never hindered their pursuit of musical arts and a better future.
To create a warm learning environment for these impoverished, left-behind, and special needs children, Lang Lang Arts Foundation, Nanhu Town Central Primary School, and the local government have worked together to establish three Lang Lang music classrooms in Donggang District, Rizhao, allowing these children to have well-equipped professional music classrooms for the first time.
▲ Chentuan Town Dongchen Primary School Lang Lang Music Classroom in preparation.
▲ Lang Lang Arts Foundation Staff Inspect the Equipment of the Lang Lang Music Classroom
As Lang Lang said at the donation ceremony, “I hope music can spread to every corner, bringing love and hope.” We look forward to these three “Happy Keys” music classrooms donated by the Lang Lang Arts Foundation helping children realize their musical dreams, allowing music to nourish their hearts with love and joy, and ensuring that children from rural areas can have a happy and bright childhood.