BEIJING, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- Top Chinese leaders watched a New Year gala featuring traditional operas on Friday evening in Beijing.

Leaders of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the state, Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli, joined an audience of nearly a thousand in the National Center for the Performing Arts.

The show featured various forms of traditional operas, including Kunqu Opera, Peking Opera and Zhuang ethnic drama, as well as north Sichuan lantern show.

There are literally hundreds of forms of local Chinese operas, of which Peking Opera is the most popular. Peking Opera and Kunqu Opera are listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as intangible cultural heritage.

The program included classic opera excerpts featuring love stories, martial heroes, and modern excerpts featuring stalwart CPC members, life in small towns, among others.