Shanghai's downtown art troupes and institutes will present classic music, operas, dramas and art courses on campuses to enhance the aesthetic and humanistic quality of local youngsters. The first batch of 13 art troupes and theaters, including the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and Shanghai Yueju Opera House, established an aesthetic education alliance over the weekend with seven primary and middle schools in Hunan Road Subdistrict of Xuhui. Seven courses covering reading and painting, film, stage drama, children's performance, theatrical art, traditional Chinese opera and classic music have been released for the students. The Shanghai Conservatory of Music and Shangyin Opera House will host lectures, music workshops and art talks at the schools, while inviting the students to the theaters. Students will also be able to play and sing Yueju Opera under the guidance of professional performers. Famous musicians from the symphony orchestra will promote classic music to the students. The Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center will help students learn to enjoy and play stage dramas to enhance cooperation and communication skills, as well as establish self-confidence. Other members of the alliance include the Children's Art Theater of China Welfare Institute, Shanghai Film Museum and Xuhui Art Museum. President Xi Jinping has stressed the importance of strengthening aesthetic education to ensure the healthy growth of the country's youth, both physically and mentally. He noted that aesthetic education plays an important role in shaping a more beautiful mind. The Hunan Subdistrict is in the core area of the city's Hengshan-Fuxing Roads Historical Conservation Zone, the biggest and most famous among Shanghai's dozen historical zones. It features historical villas, former residences of cultural celebrities, art troupes and theaters as well as tall plane trees flanking the streets. The one-kilometer-long Wukang Road has been listed as "China's famous historic and cultural street" by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The road and its surrounding area are popular among tourists and citizens with the Normandie Apartments, as well as the former residences of famous writer Ba Jin, cartoonist Zhang Leping and Nie Er, the composer of China's national anthem. The subdistrict has been gathering its cultural resources to host various art and cultural events to enrich the life of the citizens. More than 40 students and teachers attended the first art course at the Xuhui Historical Building Art Center on Wukang Road over the weekend. Officials and artists from the art institutes shared the history and culture of their companies with the elementary students. "Ba Jin, the man of letters in the 20th century, said books were the most important nutrient to him when he was young," said Zhou Limin, the curator of the former residence of Ba Jin (1904-2005). Chen Lizhao, a senior resident living in the Normandie Apartments, said the building gained its reputation because it was once the west gateway to the city's downtown. The students later took part in a guided tour of historical buildings and former residences.