Photo: Screenshot of Weibo video

While snow and strong winds covered Beijing on Saturday night, in a corner of the capital a special concert was being held at Hongfuyuan residential area, in Changping district after it was closed and put under control in October 22 when four COVID-19 infection cases were reported.

A group of volunteers wearing white protection suits stood on a truck transformed in a temporary stage parked at an open space in the neighborhood and sang songs including "The Brightest Star in the Night Sky," "Tomorrow Will Be Better," "My Motherland" and "Under a Vast Sky." All of these songs are popular among Chinese people and can enhance morale.

"Today I watched the snow falling on a cold night, I wandered far away with my heart cold," Wang Tianyang, leader of the group, sang the lines of Hong Kong's music band Beyond's "Under a Vast Sky," attracting more residents that opened windows and sang together with him.

They went to two different locations in the Hongfuyuan neighborhood and performed three songs at each place. Wang told the Beijing Youth Daily that the goal of volunteers is to relief stress of residents during quarantine at home.

Wang and other volunteers belong to a youth organization of the neighborhood and all members are students of the Central Academy of Drama, one of highest institutions of drama art education in China.

This is not the first of such kind of concerts. The voluntary team has been for residents since Wednesday, after 13 days that the area had been announced to be closed, as Beijing News reported.

They helped the neighborhood committee to deliver the necessary supplies to residents and found that some people felt anxiety as well as stressful. Therefore, they discussed to comfort residents' spirit with music.

These concerts do not have too much preparation. The volunteers borrowed a truck, an electric generator and two speakers to build a simple stage.

Before the concerts, they published a notice in 159 online chat groups of the neighborhood and called on residents to enjoy the concerts from their balcony.

Huangfu Xiaopeng, one of founders of the organization, said that "It is a bit like watching the Spring Festival Gala. Residents waited for us early and actively interacted with us upstairs."

The lights went out because of a power outage during the performance but many residents took out cell phones to light up the stage, Huangfu recalled.

A resident of the neighborhood who was in isolation at home told the Global Times on Sunday that she could hear the music at night even if the concerts were not held next to her home.

People who also have experience of being under quarantined approved the effect of the special concerts.

"I had been quarantined alone for almost one month and can understand when a person stays at home for a long time, the upset and anxiety will increase quickly. The activity can vent the negative emotions and let them breathe for a while without the worries caused by the virus," a resident surnamed Li who was isolated in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, told the Global Times.

Another Beijing resident living in Chaoyang district said that it is a chance to make neighbors realize they are not alone and love is with them.