Youth chorus performances staged in Hong Kong to mark 75th founding anniversary of PRC

A special event featuring a large-scale youth chorus was held at an art park in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) on Monday to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which falls on Oct 1.

Taking place at the Art Park of West Kowloon Cultural District (WestK), the "Celebration of National Day – The Next Generation Chorus Performance" drew some 1,000 students and youth group members to take part in the singing of patriotic songs.

Among the performers was the Senior Mixed Voice Choir from St. Paul's Co-educational College, which recently won two gold medals at an international competition in New Zealand.

Although a record-breaking drone show, which was set to feature 2,099 drones, had to be canceled due to technical difficulties, the performances proceeded without interruption. The number 2,099 had been chosen to symbolically represent the year 2024 and the 75th anniversary, as the sum of 2024 and 75 equals 2,099. At present, residents in Hong Kong still have the highly anticipated fireworks display to look forward to on Tuesday.

To further engage the public in the celebrations and stimulate local consumption, a variety of offers and freebies covering public transport, culture, arts, leisure activities, dining and retail are available, encouraging hands-on participation in the National Day festivities.

The event was organized by the Tourism Commission of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau of the Hong Kong SAR.

China's outstanding aggregate social financing -- the total amount of financing to the real economy -- reached 442.12 trillion yuan (about 63.4 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of 2025, up 8.3 percent year on year, central bank data showed on Thursday.

The country's aggregate social financing stood at 35.6 trillion yuan (about 5.1 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2025, up by 3.34 trillion yuan (about 479 billion U.S. dollars) from the year 2024, said the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank.

According to the data, the M2, a broad measure of money supply that covers cash in circulation and all deposits, increased 8.5 percent year on year to 340.29 trillion yuan (about 48.8 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of December.

In addition, outstanding yuan loans stood at 271.91 trillion yuan (about 39 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of 2025, up 6.4 percent year on year.