President Hu Jintao (C) visits Chinese and foreign children at Fangcaodi International School in the Chaoyang District of Beijing, capital of China, May 31, 2009, one day ahead of the International Children's Day.

Other senior Chinese officials also took part in activities on Sunday to celebrate Children's Day.

Li Changchun, a member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China Central Committee Political Bureau, attended an evening gala in Beijing that featured songs, dance, martial arts and acrobatic performances by young artists.

Chen Zhili, vice-chairwoman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, China's top legislature, was invited to a national singing performance in Beijing.

Almost 1 million children will join activities in the next four months to sing patriotic songs that will be recorded and broadcast by China National Radio.

President Hu Jintao (C) watches a performance by pupils at Jushan Primary School in the Haidian District of Beijing, capital of China, May 31, 2009, one day ahead of the International Children's Day.

In a separate gathering in Beijing, Chen praised a charity program to aid girls who had dropped out of school because of poverty.

In 1989, the Children's Foundation of China, the All-China Women's Federation, the Ministry of Agriculture and the State Nationalities Affairs Commission, jointly launched the "Spring Bud Program" to pool donations from across the country to help millions of young girls who are forced to drop out of school.

President Hu Jintao (3rd R Back) poses for a photo with pupils at Jushan Primary School in the Haidian District of Beijing, capital of China, May 31, 2009, one day ahead of the International Children's Day.

The program has helped an estimated 1.7 million girls, mainly of primary and junior middle school levels, return to school in the past two decades.

Chen, who also chairs the All-China Women's Federation, told the meeting that the program plans to help poor female students to finish high school, as well as to provide technical training.

(Xinhua News Agency June 1, 2009)